By
Ayse Guner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
32 to be honored during Homecoming festivities
The UA Alumni Association will honor 32 alumni for their lifetime accomplishments at an awards ceremony today.
Those being given awards were picked based on their contributions to the University of Arizona or their local communities.
Some are being honored for work done with families and injury prevention, helping the homeless, and setting up a scholarship fund for UA students.
The UA Alumni Association receives about 150 award nominations a year and the Arizona Alumni Association National Board of Directors selects 100 people to receive the awards. There are 20 different awards offered and a non-alumnus can also win an award by providing a minimum of 10 years of UA community service, financial donations to the university or distinguished public service in their own community.
The Alumni Association's award committees look at what they have done and evaluate their accomplishments, said Rod Cleveland, the former chairman of the awards and recognition committee who also helped in this year's award selection.
"We use the program to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of the individuals who helped the university over the years," Cleveland said
One of those individuals is Polly Elson, who graduated from the UA in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in family studies. Elson will receive her second award from the Alumni Association. She received her first award in 1996, a Distinguished Citizen Award, and this year she will receive Slonaker Award for volunteering at the university.
Elson was nominated by the Council of Alumni and Friends of the School of Family and Consumer Sciences of College of Agriculture, an independent entity affiliated with the college of agriculture alumni council. She was also supported by the College of Agriculture alumni council.
Elson, an injury prevention specialist at the Tucson Fire Department, trains firefighters, educates pre-school children with disabilities about injury and drowning prevention and shows parents how to maintain safety in their home environment.
One message she gives to children is, "'Mom and Dad, help me be safe,'" she said.
She also works one-on-one with juveniles about the causes and the consequences of setting a fire.
"They are acting out to get attention," she said about the juveniles who start fires.
In addition, Elson works in the advisory board of Campaign Arizona and plans ways of approaching the public for fundraising. She also mentors UA undergraduates who are interning in the College of Agriculture.
Jill Tunick Rich, a realtor, is another alumna who is receiving the Leo B. Hart Humanitarian Award. Rich graduated from the UA in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
Since she was five years old, Rich said she has been volunteering "non-stop" to raise money and help homeless. She said her first experience started after seeing children on a TV commercial. She asked her father why kids lacked milk, and the next day she was selling Hershey milk bars to office buildings, earning about $5.
That experience lead to more volunteerism and now she volunteers for the American Red Cross as a coordinator of winter shelters, Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless and the Jewish Family and Children's Service Family Ties Program. She also visits the Salvation Army Hospitality house to bring blankets, socks and other necessities to the homeless.
Rich also finds homes for about 100 refugees from all over the world every year.
"People in Russia used to wait hours in line to get a bread," she said. "Most of the refugees are shocked to see the variety in our grocery stores. When you volunteer, you get a more accurate view of life."
Rich was nominated by her co-worker at the Realty Executives, Sallie Tofel, who is also a UA graduate.
"She is my hero," Tofel said about Rich's volunteer work. "Her truck is filled with socks, gloves, toothbrushes, soaps... we can all learn from her."
Each alumnus will receive a citation and plaque for their achievements at the Awards Ceremony, which will begin at 3 p.m. at the Marriott University Park Hotel, 880 E. Second St.
