Alumni

KUCIMAT AWARDS 2001--Salt Lake City

• Lifetime Achievement Award--Marion Goodell
• Edwin O. Stene Award for Managerial Excellence--Leon Churchill
• Profile in Courage--Dena Laurent Sorenson
• Intern Excellence Award--Shannon Meadows
• More Pictures

Marion Goodell

The purpose of the KUCIMAT organization is to promote and foster the professional self-improvement of its members, to advance the urban management profession through its members and to assist and promote the continued improvement and development of the Kansas University Master in Public Administration program and curriculum.

In reviewing the statement of purpose, there could be no individual more deserving of this recognition than the woman who has made this purpose her job since 1984, as the Administrative Director of the Ku Department of Public Administration and the Edwin O. Stene Graduate Program, Marion Goodell.

Since 1984, Marion has counseled and modeled hundreds of new entrants into the city management profession.  She has instilled in these individuals the values of the profession and the values of the KUCIMAT organization by her work and her actions.  As she has taken these students under her wing she has also linked them to the proud past and traditions of the profession and organization by fostering relationships, internships, and mentoring experiences with those who have already established themselves in the profession.

Marion is a 1982 graduate of the Stene Program.  She completed her MPA while herself working in "the profession" in Prairie Village, Kansas.  Since 1984 she has seen the "program" become the "department."  She has worked for four department chairs, providing continuity and stability through these transitions.   She has applied for and received countless grants to support students.  She has found part-time and full-time jobs for 100 percent of the students that have gone through the program since she began.  The department's number one ranking for its city management specialization rests on the success of its internship option.  No one has made a greater contribution to that program than Marion.

For many KUCIMATS and for many non-KUCIMAT intern sponsors nationwide, Marion embodies the KU program.  Her knowledge of the profession and personal and professional commitment to the Stene Program has insured that the KUCIMAT organization has thrived and flourished.  And now, as Marion begins a journey into retirement, she is most deserving of the KUCIMAT Lifetime Achievement Award.

Managerial Excellence Award Leon Churchill

This award recognizes individuals who have performed in an exceptional manner in the management of the organization in which they are employed.   This may include establishment of a new and innovative program, resolution of a difficult organizational problem or completion of a long-term organizational goal.

Leon R. Churchill, Jr. was appointed Town Manager of Windsor, Connecticut in January of 1999.  After two short years, his contributions and achievements were highlighted to his peers at the 2001 ICMA Best Practices Symposium in Newport, Rhode Island, in the case study on High Performance Government.  Windsor, CT (pop. 28,000) has worked under Leon's skilled leadership, toward becoming a high performance government.  The case study shared experiences in flattening the hierarchy, encouraging participative decision-making, and building team dynamics.  The results have included improved labor-management relations, enhanced community-government communication, and increased productivity in a range of permitting, e-business, and inter-agency activities.

For those who heard Leon's personal presentation on the work he has done in Windsor, you could not help but be proud of him and proud to know him.  Leon is a dynamic presenter whose personal charisma helps translate his own commitment and passion for what he is doing. 

Leon is a 1987 graduate of the KU MPA program.  Since graduation, he worked in Texas, Massachusetts, and his home state of Virginia, before finding a community to call his own in Windsor, CT.   Windsor is Leon's first appointment as Manager, and he is proving his schooling and professional experiences have prepared him to not only be a good manager but a great manager who is helping to transform the style of local government in this country. 

Leon has taken what he has learned and implemented a remarkable transformation in Windsor.  He also has shared his successes and challenges with his colleagues so that we can all learn from him and carry on to implement appropriate applications in our own communities.  Leon has performed in an exceptional manner in Windsor, CT, and our organization is fortunate to have such a deserving nominee for the Edwin O. Stene Award for Managerial Excellence.

Profile in Courage Award Dena Laurent Sorenson

This is indeed a very special award.  Our organization has honored some pretty courageous individuals over the past years, and this year's recipient is an inspiration for all of us.

Brent McFall, now City Manager of Westminster, Colorado, shared this about Kent, Washington's Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Dena Laurent Sorenson.

A year ago, Dena and her husband Michael were thrilled and excited to welcome their new baby son, Luke, into the world.  Then, when Luke was only three months old, Dena discovered a lump in her breast.  Tests would reveal that she had breast cancer that had metastasized into her bones, and had already spread to her skull, shoulders, hips and vertebrae.  The prognosis was not good.  The survival rate when cancer has progressed to this level is only about five percent.  Dena, her family, her friends, and the Kent city staff were all devastated.  However, the one thing we underestimated was the shear will and determination of Dena Laurent Sorenson.

Dena set out to beat this disease.  She established goals.  She was going to survive and be there to watch Luke graduate from college.  She learned that there are eight million survivors of breast cancer in the United States.  She was determined to make it eight million and one.  If shear will and positive attitude could beat this disease, then Dena was going to make it.

After undergoing not only the trauma of this disease but several months of devastating treatments, Dena got the good news.  She is in remission.  The disease has not progressed further, and there is some healing in her bones.  There are now eight million and one survivors.

Previous winners: Teddy Ryan, David Davis.

Intern Excellence Award Shannon Kroeger-Meadows

It is my pleasure to nominate Shannon Kroeger-Meadows for the Intern Excellence Award for the Kansas University MPA class of 2001.  Shannon truly reflects the strong tradition of the Kansas city manager training program and is a promising young professional who will no doubt be successful in our profession.

Shannon worked closely with the Springfield City Manager's Office during her undergraduate years at Wittenberg University.  She developed a strong interest in the city management profession, and we were proud that she was subsequently accepted into the KU MPA program.  She served her required KU internship in my office from June 2000 through April 2001.

Shannon Kroeger-Meadows has been an exemplary intern for the City of Springfield.   She has exhibited great self-initiative in taking on projects and following them through to completion.  She also has a great deal of political savvy and is very perceptive of organizational dynamics.

Shannon has already earned the respect of department heads and the City Commission for the work she has performed for the City during her internship.  Shannon will continue in her position until the end of the year.  Present plans are to promote Shannon to a regular staff position in the City Manager's Office in 2002.

Matt Kridler, City Manager, Springfield, Ohio