Three to Receive UW Distinguished Alumni Awards

Oct. 15, 2002 Three University of Wyoming graduates who became leaders in their respective fields will be honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards during UW Homecoming Oct. 18-19. They are Dr. Thomas Hannum (B.S. '51, arts and sciences) of Brigham City, Utah; U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas (B.S. '54, agriculture); and C.E. Bud Webster (B.S. '35, business) of Cody. They will be honored during UW Homecoming activities Oct. 18 19.

Hannum was born to a pioneer doctor father and a schoolteacher mother who homesteaded in Gillette. He had never wanted to be anything except a doctor, like his father, so he was in pre-medicine at UW while participating in many different organizations including Iron Skull and Kappa Sigma. He attended the University of Rochester Medical School, served in the Air Force, and began his practice in Brigham City, Utah.

After five years of general practice, he volunteered for the HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) ship, a WWII destroyer outfitted as a hospital that visited countries needing help with their medical system. His volunteer experiences included service with the American Medical Association Volunteer Physicians for Vietnam, the Monument Valley Navajo Hospital and with Amigos de los Americanos in Honduras.

Hannum for many years was involved with the Experiment in International Living, in which people got together to create peace through cultural exchange. He was on the first board of directors for hospice in northern Utah, and built a medical office building next to the hospital, offering many medical services for the convenience of his patients. He's been chairman of the board for the hospital several times, and has served on the board of directors for the Utah Heart Association and the Utah Lung Association. The Chamber of Commerce gave him its Total Citizen Award and he received the A.H. Robbins Award from the Utah Medical Association, a recognition given annually to a physician for unselfish contributions to his community.

Raised in Cody, Thomas attended the rural elementary school in Wapiti Valley and graduated from Cody High School. Interested in agriculture as a youth, he majored in animal science at UW. After his freshman year, Thomas earned a wrestling scholarship. When he graduated in 1954, he went directly into the Marines. He served with distinction as a platoon leader and infantry company officer until 1959.

After his discharge, he went to work with the Wyoming Farm Bureau. He moved up the organization eventually serving as vice president. Thomas moved to the American Farm Bureau as director of their natural resources department. He then went to Texas to be administrator of the Texas Farm Bureau; next it was back to Chicago with the American Farm Bureau again.

Thomas served in the Wyoming Legislature when, in 1989, Wyoming Congressman Dick Cheney resigned to become secretary of defense. Thomas ran for and was elected to Cheney’s open seat. Thomas served there until 1994, when he ran for the Senate, to take Malcolm Wallop's seat. He won that election by one of the largest margins in Wyoming history.

Webster, who grew up on the family's sheep and cattle ranch, beside the Greybull River near Meeteetse, took businesses administration and accounting courses at UW. His life took an unexpected turn when, in 1937, he and his brother, Owen, got a chance to buy the old Yellowstone Garage in Cody. Webster at age 25 became the local Chevrolet dealer.

In 1958, he was appointed Cody’s Buick dealer. In 1987, he built a brand new dealership building. In 1989, he earned Time magazine's Quality Dealer Award. In 1997, he marked his 60th year as the Chevy dealer in Cody -- the longest operating Chevy dealership in the country. He bought the Coca Cola bottling company in Thermopolis in 1943 and operated it for 36 years. In 1946, he became the director of the Shoshone Bank, and was in that position for 40 years.

He's been on the board of trustees of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center for several years and has served as chairman of the hospital board. "My relationship with UW has been very rewarding," says Webster, whose family was selected in 2000 as UW's Family of the Year. Eight of 14 family members are UW graduates. "I told my children they could go to any college anywhere -- as long as it was in Wyoming," he says.

Posted on Tuesday, October 15, 2002