2004 FSU Alumni Association Recognition Awards

John and Sue Bradac Above and Beyond Award

(L-R) Mircea Cotosman, Lindsay Thorne and Steve Bertogli
with President David Eisler

Pacesetter Award

Brad Henion graduated from Ferris State in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in accounting, and began his career in banking and finance as an auditor for Arthur Anderson and now serves Huntington National Bank as vice President of Corporate Banking from his office in Grand Rapids, Mich.

In his home community of Muskegon/Grand Haven, Brad serves as Chairman of Senior resources, Chair of the manufacturing section of the United Way Campaign, captain for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Instructor for Junior Achievement of Greater Grand Rapids, Board of Directors member for West Michigan Supplier Diversity and member of the Urban League of Greater Muskegon. He is also involved with the Muskegon Tall Ships program and the Tri-County Area meals on Wheels program.

An active Ferris alumnus, Henion has returned to campus to talk with students as part of the Alumni Association's Backpack to Briefcase Alumni Speaker Series. He has also participated with the association's planning committee for the annual alumni reception at the Muskegon Air Fair, generously provided sponsorship to the annual Alumni Association Golf Outing and is active in communicating with legislators and community leaders through the bulldog Advocacy Network.

Henion and his wife Amy, also a Ferris Alumna, and their children Kelsey and Grace reside in the home that they recently built in Grand Haven, Mich.

Ken Mance College of Allied Health Sciences, Health Care Systems Administration -1997

Kenneth W. Mance earned his bachelor's degree in Health Care Systems Administration at Ferris State in 1997. After completing an internship with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Mance began his career as a Senior Human Resources Coordinator for McLaren Health Care in Flint, Mich.

For the last three years, Mance has worked for Rite Aid Corp. as a Human Resources Manager for their Great Lakes Customer Service Center. In this capacity, Mance is responsible for managing human resources operations which include evaluating performance of management, coaching and counseling store management staff, facilitating training related to employee relations, OSHA issues, employee dispute resolution and more. Rite Aid recognized Mance with back-to-back Distribution Excellence Awards and Safety Awards in 2001 and 2002. He is a member of the Rite Aid's Executive Team for the Great Lakes Region and the Mid-Michigan Arbitration Committee.

In the community, Mance's activities include membership in the Marketing Education Advisory Committee and Flint Area Chamber of Commerce Business & Education Coordination Council. He founded and still helps coordinate the City of Waterford's Safety Town child accident prevention and education program; coaching the Flint Rugby Team and Grand Blanc Little League baseball and volunteering for the State of Michigan Senior Days program.

An involved alumnus, Mance has actively recruited students from Ferris' Pharmacy and Allied Health programs to work for Rite Aid, and also participated as a guest speaker for the 2002 Allied Health Student Alumni Conference, the Alumni Association Backpack to Briefcase Speaker Series and the annual FLEX for Success Student Leadership Conference.

Mathew M. Vivona graduated from Ferris in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and went immediately to work as a construction superintendent for Father & Son Construction, the family business. His career with Father & Son actually began six years earlier as draftsperson and permit runner for the Troy, Mich., based company.

Following the tragic death of his father in 1995, Vivona took over as President of Father & Son Construction Company, President of MVM Advertising, Inc., and Vice President of Consumer Loan Company.

For the last 22 years, Father & Son has been listed as one of the top 100 remodeling companies in the United States. Their marketing slogan and advertising jingles have won several awards, while instances of their exemplary customer service have been featured on local news stations.

Vivona is heavily involved with the Metro-Detroit area business community, currently serving as Chairperson of the Better Business Bureau Board, Detroit Chapter. He is also active in the national Association of Home Builders and National Association of Remodeling Industry.

His community service includes membership in the Rochester Elks Club and the Clawson Eagles. He is founder of the Father & Son Charitable Golf Outings, which have benefited local charities such as the American Red Cross, Cancer Society, Diabetes Association and Leukemia Society. He also founded the Father &Son Adopt a Family Program, which assists the Salvation Army with helping needy families during the holidays.

Vivona has returned to campus several times to talk with students as a part of the Backpack to Briefcase Alumni Speaker Program. A member of Ferris State's Phoenix Society, Vivona helped sponsor the Alumni Association outing at the Detroit Lions opening pre-season game in 2003 and attends other functions in the Detroit area.

Distinguished Alumni Award

These award recipients have helped guide our multicultural society toward the celebration of our own diversity through their accomplishments within their vocations and avocations. All FSU alumni are eligible for nomination for the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Mark Alley graduated with his bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Ferris State in 1985 and began his law enforcement career with the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department in Port Huron, Mich., before joining the City of Lansing Police Department in March of 1986.

Since then, Alley has served the LPD as a police officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, acting deputy chief and, as of June 2000, chief of police overseeing a staff of 378 with a budget of 19 million dollars.

On the job, Alley has directed several creative community and law enforcement partnerships targeted at reducing truancy, promoting handgun safety awareness for youth, and establishing a crime prevention and education scholarship initiative to encourage at-risk youth to pursue a college education.

As Chief, Alley is involved with several community and professional organizations including the International and Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, the national Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and Lansing Area Community Government Taskforce, which he chairs.

Beyond his duties, Alley serves on a variety of service boards including the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Ferris State Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Board, of which he is chair-elect.

Continuing education is priority for Alley, who received his master's degree in Police Administration in 1994 from Michigan State University where he teaches as an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice. He returned to Ferris in May of 2003 to keynote the annual Criminal Justice senior banquet. He also serves as a trainer for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standard Board, and as a certified Human Diversity and Incident Command System Trainer.

Alley is married to his wife Cassie, a fellow Ferris State CJ alum and police officer, and proud father of Alys and Charles.

Stephen Ehardt, a 1978 Ferris State College of Pharmacy graduate, purchased his first community pharmacy at the age of 25 in 1981. Now President and CEO of Ehardt's Pharmacy, Inc., with stores in the Thumb and blue Water areas of Michigan, his multi-store group specializes in patient care services.

After serving in local government for nearly 17 years, in 1998 Ehardt was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives for the 83rd District representing Sanilac County and a portion of St. Clair County. Chair of the Health Policy Committee, Ehardt also sits on the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation, Land use and Environment, Insurance and Financial Services committees and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

In 1999, Ehardt was appointed by the Speaker of the House to the Michigan Center of Rural Health Board of Directors and Vice chair of the Select Committee of Strategies to Reduce Teen Pregnancies, and appointed by Governor John Engler to serve as House Liaison on the Michigan Work Development Board. In 2001 he became Associate Speaker pro Tempore, a position he still holds.

Ehardt has served as a guest instructor for the College of Pharmacy, opened his pharmacies to host Ferris clerkships and is an active legislative advocate for the University. In 2001, the College of Pharmacy Alumni Association recognized him with the Clark A. Andreson Award honoring his fidelity and loyalty to the College.

Ehardt resides in Lexington with his wife Ardie and their children Allen and Erica.

Dr. Gary Kadlec graduated from Ferris State with a bachelor's in Pharmacy in 1972, having worked in pharmacies in Grosse Pointe with his father and grandfather from the age of seven.

Kadlec began his career as a staff pharmacist at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, then in 1977 he established Specialized Pharmacy Services Inc., providing pharmaceutical services to elderly patients in long-term care facilities. After directing SPS as president for 18 years, in June of 1995 the company merged with Omnicare, Inc., headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today, Kadlec serves as Omnicare's senior regional vice president in charge of pharmacy sites serving nearly 100,000 long-term care patients.

Kadlec's work as pharmacist, health care entrepreneur and executive has been widely recognized for establishing benchmark standards for principles of patient care and health care management. He has served on the Board of Trustees for the American Pharmaceutical Association, including a term as board president from 1995-1998. He also has served on the executive board of the Michigan Pharmacists Association including terms as president and chairman of the board. Kadlec also sits on the Board of Advisors for the Arbor Press and is a Trestee for the Academy of the Sacred Heart.

I 1997 he was recognized by the MPA as the Michigan Pharmacist of the Year, and by Merck for "Outstanding Achievement in the Profession of Pharmacy." He also received an MBA from Michigan State University in 1991.

A longtime Alumni Association member, Kadlec has supported the College of Pharmacy over the years as a member of the Presidents Club. In 1998, the College of Pharmacy recognized his service with the Clark A. Andreson Award. In 2002, he joined the Ferris State University Foundation Board of Directors and received an honorary doctorate of science from Ferris that May.

Married to wife Marie, Kadlec is the proud father of Nicole, Ryan, Kyle and Molly.

Richard Suave is an international GPS surveyor holding civil engineering credentials from Michigan Tech and a 1983 bachelor's degree in surveying from Ferris State.

Currently a technical sales representative for Leica Geosystems, Inc., based in Heerburg, Switzerland, the support Suave provides his clients has earned him the company's Heinrich Wild Sales Excellence Award each year from 1998-2001 in recognition of his sales, which were the highest above target in the western hemisphere.

Suave's surveying career has allowed him to apply his expertise to work on projects around the world, from Algeria to Norway, Chile to Iran and Abu Dhabi to Beijing - not to mention many projects in the United States. He is also a leader in national efforts to establish Continuous Observation Reference Stations, a project that will help establish new world standards for navigation and precise positioning.

A member of the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors, MSPS has recognized Suave with their Presidents Award in both 1999 and 2002.

Suave is a frequent guest instructor for Ferris' Surveying Engineering Technology program, teaching students how t use the latest surveying technologies. Over the last five years, through his advocacy and activities with students, Ferris' program has enjoyed more than a half million dollars in support, including equipment, accessories and monetary contributions from Leica Geosystems - now a member of the Ferris State Phoenix Society. Suave also gives of his time to help the student chapter of the Burt & Mullet Surveying Association and the Sigma Lambda Surveying Honor Society staying involved with surveying professional activities and networks.