The University of Wyoming 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are Chuck Brown,
Michael Jording and Carol Tome. (UW Alumni Association)
By Julianne Couch, UW AlumNews
(Lengthier articles about the three recipients can be found at http://www.wyoalumni.com/2010DAMSA.html.)
Three University of Wyoming graduates will receive Distinguished Alumni Awards during UW Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 15.
The 2011 recipients are Wheatland business owner Chuck Brown (B.S. '62), Newcastle physician Michael A. Jording (B.S.C.E. '70), and Jackson native Carol (Buchenroth) Tome (B.S. '79), executive vice president/CFO of Home Depot.
They will attend several Homecoming activities, ride in the parade Saturday, Oct. 15, and be recognized during the Cowboys' football game against UNLV at noon.
The owner of C.H. Brown Co., equipment financers, Brown served on the board of directors of the Denver branch of Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, States Hardware and Equipment Dealers Association, the Wyoming Game & Fish Commission, the Wyoming Transportation (formerly Highway) Commission, and Platte County Memorial Hospital among others. He also is a former president and board member of the UW Alumni Association.
Thomas M. Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, says, "Mr. Brown is an effective bridge, bringing community and local business input and views from Wyoming to the Federal Reserve's policy deliberations in Washington, D.C."
In addition to his other activities, Brown's involvement with UW has been substantial over the years. He was appointed in 2005 to the Board of Trustees and has served as its president. UW President Tom Buchanan says, "Chuck has a deep respect for education and the foundation it provides for all of life's pursuits. He is genuinely concerned about the future of Wyoming and its young people."
Jording taught at the Wyoming Family Residency program and was on the Wyoming Medical Society Board of Trustees for eight years. He was a member and president of the Wyoming State Historical Society Board of Trustees and the Wyoming Historical Foundation.
Sheila Bush, executive director of the Wyoming Medical Society, says, "One of Dr. Jording's greatest WMS accomplishments is his founding role in the Wyoming Medical Society Centennial Scholarship Fund. His personal dedication to this effort helped raise more than $50,000, of which nearly $49,000 was matched to establish an endowment valued at more than $100,000 to award scholarships to WWAMI medical education students and outstanding graduates."
Jording has an interest in Wyoming communities beyond the health of their citizens. He is also deeply interested in Wyoming history, and has written several books and articles that are acclaimed by historians and widely sought by interested readers. His first book, "A Few Interested Residents: Wyoming Historical Markers and Monuments" was published in 1992.
Tome provides leadership in the areas of finance, real estate, store construction, financial services, strategic business development, and growth initiatives. The job keeps her on the move every week, traveling around the world for activities such as meetings with investors and suppliers or new store launches.
Among her accomplishments are serving as board chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a No. 16 ranking in Forbes' 2008 list of the world's most powerful women and being named an executive fellow at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta.
Home Depot Chairman and CEO Francis S. Blake says, "As impressive as her business accomplishments are, even more impressive are her strength of character, her generosity, and the role model she sets for all of our associates in Home Depot."
A member of the Atlanta Botanical Garden's board of directors, Tome received the 2009 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans award from BDN Network and the 2009 CFO of the Year award from the CFO Roundtable.
