Pitt Alumni Association Honors 2007 Alumni Volunteers

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association recently recognized outstanding alumni for their volunteerism and commitment to the University at the 2007 Pitt Alumni Association Award luncheon held in Alumni Hall's Connolly Ballroom, Oakland. Winners were honored with the 2007 Volunteer Excellence Award, the Pitt Alumni Recruitment Team (PART) award, Pitt Career Network (PCN) award, and new this year, the Ivan and Mary Novick Award for Young Alumni Leadership.

The Volunteer Excellence Award recognizes alumni who give their time over one year or provide multiple years of service to the University and Alumni Association. This year two alumni received the Volunteer Excellence Award.

The first Volunteer Excellence awardee is Ernest J. Mantini (UPJ '79, DEN '83), treasurer of the Pitt-Johnstown Alumni Association who has served as its past president and vice president and as council member for more that 20 years. An active fundraiser for the University, Mantini is chair of the Johnstown association's annual Mountain Cat Basketball tournament and recently adopted a leadership role in UPJ Proud to support the Alumni Association's scholarship fund.

Patricia J. Mathay (KGSB '92) also received the Volunteer Excellence Award. She serves as president of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business Alumni Society and secretary of the Metro Pittsburgh Pitt Alumni Club and is a member of the Alumni Leadership Council. Since becoming involved in the association, Mathay has participated in every Alumni Association event that the organization has sponsored.

The Ivan (CAS '49) and Mary Novick award will be given annually to an alumnus who has graduated from Pitt within the past 15 years, is age 38 or younger, and has demonstrated committed involvement as a leadership volunteer for the Pitt Alumni Association and/or the University. This award is funded with a gift from Ivan and Mary Novick.

This year's Ivan and Mary Novick award winner is Michelle D. Tallarico (CAS '01), who is president of the Chesapeake and Potomac Pitt Club and a regional director and scholarship chair of the Pitt Alumni Association Board. Under Tallarico's leadership, the Chesapeake and Potomac Club was recognized as the Outstanding Pitt Club of the Year in 2005. She continues to provide leadership by maintaining a broad and varied series of programs and activities and by expanding the club's leadership base.

Alumni are a valuable resource in the recruitment of incoming students through the PART program, a partnership between Pitt's Alumni Association and Office of Admissions and Financial Aid.

This year's PART Volunteer of the Year is Nello Stover (CAS '80), who has attended almost every recruitment event the University sponsors in the York, Pa., area. While at Pitt, Stover was a member of the Pitt Band. He is vice president and owner of York Services Incorporated, a logistics and transportation company. Stover assists Pitt's Office of Admissions and Financial Aid with recruitment, sharing his enthusiasm for Pitt with prospective students from central Pennsylvania.

Michael Neuman (CAS '90), president of Amplify Sports & Entertainment in New York City, is this year's PCN Volunteer of the Year. He is a former senior executive with STRATEGIC, Paragon Marketing Group, and Arnold Communications. Neuman has been recognized as an industry leader by contributing to numerous publications, international conferences, and collegiate and team sports marketing seminars. He also serves as adjunct professor of sports marketing and corporate sponsorship in the Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management at New York University. As a PCN volunteer, Neuman hosts Pitt students in his company every March to talk about entrepreneurship, the marketing industry, and living in New York City.

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5/30/07/tmw