2000 Recipients
Alfred Green '45
Al Green, you have stepped forward to serve WPI on many occasions over the past three decades, earning distinction as a class leader and a valued friend. With enthusiasm, you have taken on volunteer assignments that span an array of Alumni Association programs and services. And whether it was co-chairing your 40th Reunion Committee, serving on the association's Investment Committee, or representing your class on the Alumni Council, you always contributed to the success of the programs you served.
Your many leadership roles demonstrate the strength of your support for WPI. As president of the Tech Old Timers, you guided this well-run organization during the past year, producing highly regarded monthly programs. As chair of your 50th Reunion Anniversary Gift Committee, your leadership inspired the generosity of your classmates, who made the third largest 50th Reunion Gift in WPI history, up to that time.
Your additional contributions as a member of Reunion program committees, the Nominating Committee and the Worcester County Alumni Club have made WPI and the association stronger. Most remarkably, you were able to accomplish all this while balancing the demands of your family and career.
Al Green, it is with great pride and appreciation that we present you with the Hebert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.
Lester Reynolds '50
Les Reynolds, the myriad alumni roles you have played over the years are testimony to your dedication to WPI and to the industry you have displayed throughout your life, stretching back to your days of working on your father's apple farm.
You enrolled at WPI at the encouragement of your uncle, the late Herbert Ferris, Class of 1899, a WPI trustee. After receiving your degree in chemical engineering, you continued your uncle's legacy of support by becoming an active member of the WPI Alumni Association, serving in a variety of capacities that included class secretary, class Reunion chair and Alumni Council representative. You also helped keep the Northern New Jersey Club a vibrant and active alumni chapter through your participation and leadership.
As you advanced your career at American Cyanamid, where you rose to the post of manager of planning and business development for the Chemical Products Division, the Alumni Association invited you to serve on the Executive Committee. In this capacity, you successfully chaired the regional club and leadership training programs. After you retired, you were called upon again, this time to serve on the Nominating Committee.
You also committed yourself to the long-term health and success of WPI by serving on the steering committees for your 40th and 50th Anniversary Gift campaigns and generously supporting these efforts. As further testimony of your vision of lasting participation in the future of the University, you became a member of the Alden Society, which is committed to providing future resources through estate and other planned gifts.
Your volunteerism has not been limited to your alma mater. You have made countless contributions to your profession, your church and your community. You were the founding president for three nonprofit organizations: the North American Society for Corporate Planning, the Somerset County Jail Chaplaincy in New Jersey, and the Old Lyme, Conn., Affordable Housing Corporation.
Les Reynolds, in recognition of your leadership, talent and steadfast commitment to the mission of this University, it is an honor to present you with the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.
Harlan Williams '50
Harlan Williams, a deep commitment to serving WPI has been the hallmark of your involvement with your alma mater. You have stepped forward willingly, demonstrating a sense of dedication that has won you the admiration of your classmates and the University.
Your volunteer career at WPI began just a decade ago, but you have accomplished more in that time than others have through several decades of service. As a class representative to the Alumni Council and a member of your Class Board of Directors, you have given generously of your time and energy in service to the Class of 1950. As chair of your 45th and 50th Reunion committees, you've gone the extra mile to ensure that these important events were enjoyable and successful. A strong proponent of class communication, you have engaged many of your classmates in the publication of a class newsletter. In everything you've done, you've set an example for other class volunteers to follow.
Your service as a volunteer as had an impact on other Alumni Association activities. As chair of the ad hoc Alumni Computer Network Committee and the Alumni Online Committee, you were instrumental in establishing the Alumni Gateway, a Web-based service that provides a new way for alumni to interact with one another and with their alma mater.
Your leadership as chair and Executive Committee representative for online alumni services led to your participation in the creation of a new master plan for the Alumni Association in 1998 and to membership on the Career and Lifelong Learning Task Force. You have also served for several years as a member of the Alumni Association Communications Committee. Your ideas and your dedication continue to advance the mission of the Alumni Association as they help it make the transition to the 21st century.
Harlan Williams, it is with great pride and appreciation that we present you with the Hebert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.
F. David Ploss '70
Dave Ploss, you exemplify a true alumni leader and have given of yourself to WPI as have few others. During your student days you embraced the competitive nature of crew as a coxswain and a rower. Since then, you have channeled that energy and spirit to advance the mission of crew and of the University wherever you go.
As an alumnus and a coach, you have been a staunch ally, working to uphold the quality of WPI's crew program. From 1972 to 1987, your coaching career at WPI was nothing short of inspired. From humble beginnings you built a Division III sports program through which young men and women have competed respectably with the best in the world. As a coach and a mentor, you have taken crews as far as they can go -- to become national champions, and to compete in Canadian championships, World championships and the Henley Regatta. You once said, "We can't always win, but we can let people know who WPI is."
Instrumental in the recent transition of crew from a club sport to a varsity sport, your continued involvement and philanthropic support is testimony to your ongoing commitment to the future of crew and the University. You have set a standard of loyalty that others cannot ignore.
Your additional contributions to your alma mater -- as a member of several Reunion committees, as a class agent, as a member of the Citations Committee, and as a Poly Club officer and Executive Committee member -- have made WPI and the Alumni Association stronger.
Dave Ploss, it is with great joy that we recognize your unique contributions to your alma mater and present you with the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.
Anne McPartland Dodd '75
Anne Dodd, your enthusiasm and commitment to serve your alma mater and your class have been the hallmarks of your volunteer career at WPI. You have stepped forward willingly, demonstrating a sense of dedication that has garnered you the admiration of your classmates and the University.
In 1989 you became the first woman to serve on the Alumni Fund Board; in 1995 you were the first woman to assume the position of chair. A year later, through your leadership, the board implemented a strategic plan that laid the groundwork for the role the Alumni Fund plays today in The Campaign for WPI. That same year was a record-breaker for the fund, a testimony to your leadership, dedication and perseverance.
Your volunteerism has had an impact on a number of other Alumni Association activities. As a member of the Executive Committee, you chaired the 1988 Master Plan Committee. More recently, you have lent your energy and enthusiasm to the Alumni Master Plan Organization Task Force. Currently, you head the association's Operations Division, part of a new association structure. As chair of the Alumni Leadership Conference Planning Committee, you have been instrumental in shaping this first-of-its-kind event, scheduled to take place this fall.
Not only have you shared your time and knowledge with WPI, you have set an example for others and have inspired them to support WPI. And you have served the Class of 1975 as a member of its Board of Directors and by helping plan its last three Reunions, adding to the success of those programs.
Anne Dodd, you have given of yourself to WPI, sharing your vision for the betterment of your alma mater. It is with sincere appreciation that we present you with the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.
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