Here's a look at this year's Sioux Award honorees, as well as the Young Alumni Achievement Award winners.
Sioux Awards
- John "Gino" Gasparini: As UND men's hockey coach from 1978 to 1994, he put the Fighting Sioux program in the limelight, claiming four WCHA titles, winning national championships in 1980, 1982 and 1987 and sending dozens of players to the National Hockey League. He headed UND's athletic department from 1985 to 1990 before leaving to become president of the United States Hockey League. He retired as president in August and continues to serve the USHL as its commissioner. Gasparini played center for UND from 1965 to 1968.
- Dr. Allen Van Beek: He earned a bachelor's degree from UND in 1966. He headed the surgical team that reattached John Thompson's arms in January 1992. Thompson's arms were severed when he got caught in a tractor's power takeoff unit at his family's farm in Hurdsfield, N.D. Van Beek traces his medical career back to a farm accident at age 13, when he was run over by tractor. The Westfield, N.D., native has his own practice in Minneapolis and focuses on reconstructive and cosmetic surgery -- specifically hand and microsurgery.
- Larry Jodsaas: He graduated from UND with a degree in electrical engineering in 1962. The Lisbon, N.D., native became a major player in Minnesota's computer technology boom of the 1970s and '80s. He retired as senior vice president at Control Data in the Twin Cities after 28 years with the company. In 1990, he purchased a division of Control Data, split it into two semiconductor manufacturing businesses, and sold one to Lucent Technologies, giving 20 percent of the proceeds back to employees. In 2007, Jodsaas donated $1.3 million to the UND Foundation to build an entrepreneur center at the UND School of Engineering and Mines. It was named the Jodsaas Center.
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- David Williamson: He earned his degree in English from UND in 1970. He worked for 3M until 1988 when he joined Mead Westvaco, where he serves as vice president of sales and marketing, most notably for At-A-Glance day planners. Williamson was inducted into the UND Letterwinners Hall of Fame in 2000.
- Gayle Shermorry Williamson: A Williston, N.D., native, she came to UND as a swimmer and graduated in 1969 with a degree in education. She worked with Davenport West High School, the National Automobile Dealers Association and St. Paul Credit Union. She started volunteer parent programs in two of her children's elementary schools in Hudson, Wis., and has served on the board of North Dakota Dollars for Scholars.
Young Alumni Achievement Awards
- Brenda Jo Gillund: She recently became the first North Dakotan named among the United States Jaycees' Ten Outstanding Young Americans. She's worked in oncology since 1993, teaching at UND until 1999, when she became a nurse at Altru Cancer Center in Grand Forks. She's done extensive work with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
- Jennifer Thoreson: A Fertile, Minn., native, she graduated with a degree in English from UND in 1993. She is the current vice president of strategic projects for Private Client Group, a division of American International Group. Thoreson has worked for AIG for six years. She lives with her husband and daughter in Maplewood, N.J.
Source: UND.
