Richard (Dick) Pound tells us that he grew up in smelly towns all across Canada--a fact, no doubt, which led him to plumbing the depths of the pool and aspiring to the heights of a corner office at Montreal's Stikeman, Elliott law firm. In his early years, Richard distinguished himself as an Olympic athlete in swimming (qualifying for two finals at the 1960 Olympic Games in Tokyo), as a Dean's List student at McGill (in accounting and law), and as a volunteer extraordinaire. He is married to Julie Keith and has three children and two stepchildren. His work as a tax lawyer is accompanied by a long list of volunteer activities which benefit Montreal, international sports, and McGill.

Richard is concurrently the Chairman of the McGill University's Board of Governors (a governor since 1986) and Chairman of the McGill Athletics Board. He greatly contributed to the successful fund-raising for the University's new athletics building. Richard is a former Chairman of the Fund Council (1992-1995), and was President of the McGill Graduates' Society (1981-1982). He continues his McGill involvement on top of his weighty duties as a member of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee where he oversees all Olympic television negotiations, marketing and sponsorships. Richard is largely credited for putting the IOC revenues in a league of their own.

The McGill Alumni Association is proud to have Richard Pound as a member and is pleased to present him with the Award of Merit--its highest honour.

Betsy has been instrumental in strengthening and developing the McGill Alumni Association's Ottawa Branch which, this year, has been chosen Branch of the Year. Betsy graduated from McGill with a BA in 1954 and from Columbia University with an MA in French literature in 1956. Since leaving McGill she has worked in Montreal, New York City, Edinburgh, and Edmonton at a wide range of jobs including town planning, antique dealer, and real estate. She is currently Property Manager for Urbandale Corporation in Ottawa. Betsy has four children and one grandchild. She has served McGill faithfully in Ottawa and, most notably, staged the McGill-Harvard Dinner Dance (1992)--a gala event featuring a McGill band. Betsy has served as a diplomatic host to many McGill luminaries and is known for her fine attention to detail and for her ability to remember names and faces--crucial skills for an alumni volunteer.

Since she began as a volunteer, seven years ago, Sandra has been the driving force in increasing the profile of Macdonald College alumni. Reliable, committed, and not afraid to roll up her sleeves, she has even prepared food and table decorations for reunions and meetings when budgets fell short. (We might expect as much from a consulting dietician!) Sandra currently serves on the Homecoming Committee, as a Class Representative for Homecoming and as a Class Agent for the Alma Mater Fund. She has successfully increased the presence of Macdonald College alumni on the downtown campus and has worked at phonathons to raise donations for the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. A resident of Beaconsfield, Sandra is married to Peter Henrico and they have two children, Kurt and Leeanne.

Sally is the only woman in a family with five men--she deserves an award for this fact alone! During her years at McGill, Sally was an avid athlete involved in field hockey, soccer and skiing. The daughter of Chip Drury, BEng(Chem)'39, Sally married McGill grad Doug McDougall, BA'67 and together they have shepherded four sons through McGill: Todd, BEng'95, John, BEng(Mech)'95, MEng'97, Reid, BSc'97, and Peter, currently studying biology. Armed with an inordinate amount of inside information on student life, Sally is a stalwart and devoted volunteer to McGill. She has served as a director on the Board of the Graduates' Society, as the Alumni Representative to the Athletics Board, on the University Admissions Committee, Sports Hall of Fame Committee, Alumni Services, and Dentistry Committee, to name just a few. She was also instrumental in promoting the recent program of alumni involvement in student recruitment.

Genteel, one very sharp dresser, and committed to McGill--these are only a few of the warm descriptions of Kiel Oxley who, at 92, is McGill's most senior volunteer, having served as a Class Agent for more than 40 years. While at McGill, Kiel was on the staff of the McGill Daily and was a student of economics under Professor Stephen Leacock. One can see why Kiel attends the Stephen Leacock Luncheon every year. Over the course of his career, he was a teacher for the Montreal Protestant School Board, Principal of Lachine High School, and District Superintendent of Schools. He has served on many community boards including the YMCA and the Montreal Girls Association. Kiel has one child (Mrs. Glenn Brooks), four grandchildren (Jill, Richard, Lori and William), and six great grandchildren. The years have not slowed Kiel down! He was recently seen driving to Florida in a Lincoln Town Car with his lady friend.

The E.P. Taylor Award is given to a volunteer who has demonstrated outstanding voluntary service to the McGill Alma Mater Fund and Kiel Oxley is most deserving of this honour.

Mary Rogers is the Head of the Scholarship and Bursary Sub-Committee of the Women Associates of McGill and serves as Co-Chairman of the McGill Book Fair, a hugely popular annual event which raises money for women scholars at McGill. Mary graduated, with high distinction, from Penn State University with a degree in mathematics in 1963. Married to Emeritus Professor Roddy R. Rogers, they raised two daughters, Julie, BEd'86, and Diana, who both went on to advanced university studies. Her dedicated volunteer efforts at McGill mean that women students have been able to experience the benevolence of the University's extended family.

Since joining McGill in 1979, Judy Pharo has served the University above and beyond the call of duty. Currently, she is the Undergraduate Faculty Student Advisor in the Office of the Dean, Faculty of Education. She has played a key role in building a support system for women in the Faculty of Engineering and in making this Faculty a more welcoming place for them. Recently, while attending a student forum, she was presented with a "Certificate of Appreciation" from the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students. Judy is an active member of the McGill Women's Networking Group and has worked to help mature students and visiting students from several countries, particularly France, in the Faculty of Engineering. She is currently a member of a committee to improve the first-year experience at McGill and was elected by her peers to represent non-academic staff on Senate earlier this year. Judy Pharo has contributed immeasurably to university life at McGill.

Stephen Toope is Dean of the McGill Faculty of Law--the youngest dean in the Faculty's history. A top student, Stephen attended Harvard University on a full scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. He was equally as impressive at McGill where he studied law and won a series of prizes in essay writing, constitutional law and international law, as well as the James McGill Award. Stephen was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Brian Dickson and joined McGill as a professor of law in 1987. He has published extensively on both international and family law and is a consultant on human rights to the federal government. Importantly for McGill, Dean Toope has taken a keen interest in development and alumni relations and values its importance. He is an artful speaker who makes time to visit and speak with graduates, and is equally comfortable soliciting private support for the University. Upon assuming the position of Dean, he took up the cause of the Law Library, for which construction is scheduled to begin soon. Stephen Toope's strategic and tireless efforts exemplify the same sense of civic and community spirit as that of David Johnston, the namesake of this award. Dean Toope is married to Paula Rosen, who can be credited for her support, and they have three children.

Since she came to McGill from Kingston, ON in 1993, Christie has been involved with the Student Organization for Alumni Relations (SOAR), and she was President this year. SOAR is credited with bringing students and alumni closer together. Christie has helped organize send-offs, care packages, Streetfest'96, and the mentoring program. She was also President of the Pan-Hellenic Council and the umbrella organization for campus sororities, and Vice-President Internal of the Inter-Greek Letter Council, which runs many charitable events. The daughter of Nancy and Hugh Smith, Christie graduated this year with a major in Contemporary German Studies and a minor in linguistics. She has been hired as a flight attendant with Air Canada and will be based out of Vancouver. Christie hopes to pursue an MBA.

Hailing from Hudson, Quebec, Peter graduated this year with a Bachelor of Arts in political science specializing in Canadian politics. His activities at McGill range from athletics to student politics to volunteerism. A member of the McGill Track team (hurdles, high jump and team relay), he qualified twice for the National Championship in the 60-metre hurdles and in 1996 as a member of the 4 x 200-metre relay team while at the same time achieving the honour of Academic All Canadian (1994 to 1996). As well, Peter served as the Athletics' Representative to the Student's Society of McGill and ran a successful campaign to encourage student funding of the Athletics Complex and Student Services Building.

This year Peter effectively chaired the Faculty of Arts Class Action program where he motivated students to pledge to the faculty. Peter's contributions have left an indelible mark. He now moves on to Wadham College in Oxford to study law and hopes to pursue a career in international business and federal politics. For the record, he is not related to Dick Pound, but is the son of proud McGill grads Marilyn (Gray), BA'67, MEd'72 and Thomas Pound, BSc'67, MSc71, MBA'81.

If McGill gave out degrees in student leadership, Alex would be offered her PhD (with a tenure track teaching position): she co-founded the McGill Sexual Assault Centre and pioneered gender neutral language at McGill University--just two of the achievements attributed to this second year law student. Since Alex's arrival at McGill in 1989, she has held such positions as Arts Representative to the University Senate, Vice-President (Internal Affairs) of the Students' Society and Student Coordinator for the Faculty of Law's participation in McGill's 175th Anniversary Celebration. While studying Mandarin for more than a year (1992-1994) at the Beijing Language Institute, Alex promoted alumni activities in the Far East. In her current position as Vice-President of the Scarlet Key Society, she works to unite former student leaders and helps them to become active members of the alumni community. Alex is the daughter of former McGill principal David Johnston and Sharon Johnston, MSc'87, PhD'96.

Paul has worked with the Bank of Montreal for 30 years and is currently Vice-President, Risk Management Policy. He lives in Oakville, Ontario, with his wife Diana and their five children. It was while posted in New York that Paul cut his teeth on alumni relations work. In addition to being President of the McGill Alumni Association's Oakville/Halton/Wentworth Branch, he serves as Class Agent for the '72 commerce class. Now, thanks to Paul, McGill is better serving its 3,000 alumni in the Oakville area. Over the past two years, Paul has been successful in establishing the Oakville/Halton/Wentworth Branch and in ensuring that four diverse events are held annually. Recent events have included a well-attended visit to see The Nutcracker and a Branch dinner. Paul is known for his outgoing personality and prompt attention to detail--items greatly appreciated by the professional staff at Martlet House.

Some 8,000 McGill alumni live in the Ottawa area. The Ottawa Branch has managed to continually increase the breadth of activities and the number of alumni who turn out for events. For example, the Ottawa Branch recently hosted its first Young Alumni event with the Old Four (Queen's, McGill, Western and the University of Toronto), a Jane Austen night, and a talk by astronaut Douglas Watt. Also to their credit, they staged a successful send-off for new McGill students. Members of the Branch always offer their support whenever McGill calls for assistance and much of the credit goes to the Branch President, Doris Bradbury, for her dedicated leadership. In addition to her McGill activities, Doris heads the Central & Eastern Europe Unit at the Association of Universities & Colleges of Canada, where she designs and administers scholarly exchanges with Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Organizing McGill events must seem like a holiday! Or does it?

Harold Rosenberg was a student photographer for the McGill Daily who went on to bigger things--he currently works as a crime scene photographer for the Montreal police. His experience with suspicious characters led Tom Thompson to hire him each year as the official photographer for the McGill Reunion Weekend. The experience obviously had an impact. For his own 25th year Reunion, Harold put down the camera and began organizing a gathering of former McGill Dailyites. He obtained the names of those involved and personally called or visited everyone he could. Through his dedication, which was patient, understated and effective, the McGill Daily Reunion grew into a major alumni event with 220 attendees from all over North America. He worked with many volunteers, including Arnold Bennett, Barbara Shamy, John Marrett and Betty Palik. All event attendees were greeted with a special edition of the McGill Daily, pins and mugs. Afterwards, they each received a group picture and an internet listserve was established to assist the group in keeping in touch. Harold is married to Janice Hamilton and they have two children.