2011 Distinguished Service Award Winners
Leon Heyward ’81
Leon Heyward, UVM Class of 1981, for years has been among the first responders when the University of Vermont Alumni Association has put out the call for volunteer leadership of its priorities and initiatives. A selfless and tireless advocate for the University and its alumni, as Chair of the Diversity Committee for the Alumni Association Board of Directors he has challenged the board to make diversity programming and engagement a priority in all that it undertakes and helped to forge strong bonds between the Alumni Association and the ALANA community on campus. He has been a key volunteer working in collaboration with the Admissions Office in helping to recruit ALANA students from the New York metropolitan area as part of UVM’s partnership with the Christopher Columbus High School, an effort that has had significant impact in giving UVM’s campus community a more diverse profile and has earned the University recognition for its progress in advancing that commitment. As a valued advisor and supporter of UVM’s Transportation Research Center since its inception in 2005, Heyward has lent his insights as a transportation professional in one of the world’s most complex urban transportation hubs to Vermont’s efforts to deliver innovative and interdisciplinary research, education and outreach on sustainable transportation system solutions. And as a committed participant in the UVM Career Network, he has selflessly mentored untold numbers of students and young alumni in finding their way along the career continuum.
Louise Weiner ’61
Louise Weiner, UVM Class of 1961, has served the University in a myriad of ways over the half century since her graduation from UVM. From her work on the Alumni Association Board to her role as 1961 class president, she has always had UVM’s best interests at heart —serving on and chairing many Class Reunion committees, participating in countless UVM alumni events and along with her husband, Sheldon, graciously hosting a number of receptions for UVM alumni in and around their home in Estero, Florida. As chair of the UVM Bicentennial Celebration Awards Committee in 1991, Weiner helped the University to mark one of the most significant events in its history by bestowing appropriate honors on some of its own. In addition to service to the University, her contributions to the local Burlington and Vermont communities are legion. She has served as president of the Vermont Retail Association, charter member and vice president of the Vermont Business Roundtable, and director of the Vermont State and Lake Champlain Chambers of Commerce, and was recognized as the Small Business person of the year for the State of Vermont.
