LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin’s University is announcing the six recipients of its 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards, which will be presented during Homecoming festivities on Saturday, February 23, 2019. Honorees are Armandino “Dino” Batali ’59 of Seattle; Kenneth Berchtold ’59, posthumous; Patrick Crumb ’85 of Seattle; Br. Boniface V. Lazzari, O.S.B. ’67 of Lacey; Christine Schoonover ’69 of Cincinnati, Ohio; and Michael Waske ’66 of Seattle.
“It is an honor for the University to recognize the achievements of these alumni,” said Cecelia Loveless, vice president for institutional advancement. “The Distinguished Alumni Award recipients all live and enact the values of Saint Martin’s University and we are proud to celebrate them.”
These alumni have a lifetime of achievements: personally, professionally and with Saint Martin’s University. The University formally began recognizing its notable alumni in the early 1980s. Recipients were selected from nominations based on service to their community, professional achievement or service to Saint Martin’s University. Here are some highlights about each of this year’s award recipients:
Armandino “Dino” Batali ’59
Armandino Batali ’59 is being recognized for Service to Saint Martin’s. For the past 11 years, he has worked extensively with Saint Martin’s University on planning class reunions, alumni and university events; serving on the Board of Trustees; and helping reimagine the University’s fundraising Gala, which was established in 2006. Batali’s vision was to showcase Saint Martin’s campus and hospitality while providing delicious food and entertainment. Since 2011, Batali has been instrumental in bringing to campus a host of world-renowned chefs who have raised more than $8.5 million in support of student scholarships. The Saint Martin’s Gala has also become a must-attend community event and has brought national and international awareness to the University. Prior to his extensive involvement with Saint Martin’s, Batali worked as a process engineer for Boeing, and lived abroad with his wife, Marilyn, and their children in places such as Spain and Italy. After retiring from Boeing, Batali opened Salumi, a restaurant and salumeria in Seattle's Pioneer Square.
Kenneth Berchtold ’59
Kenneth Berchtold ’59 is being posthumously recognized for Service to Saint Martin’s. His service began as student body president in the late-1950s and he remained a devoted alumnus throughout his lifetime. Berchtold regularly attended events, volunteered his time and expertise, and he and his wife contributed to every major capital project on campus. They also funded a scholarship endowment to support students majoring in business. Berchtold held a position on the Board of Trustees from 2010 until his passing in 2016. As a Trustee, he chaired the Finance Committee and provided sound counsel to the Investment and Audit Committees. Prior to serving as a Trustee, Berchtold was a member of the President’s Advisory Council. After earning his business degree in 1959, Berchtold spent 11 years as a finance and business manager for The Boeing Company. In 1970 he joined Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles, from which he retired in 1997 as a corporate finance vice president.
Patrick Crumb ’85
Patrick Crumb ’85 is being recognized for Professional Achievement. He is the President of AT&T Sports Networks, a subsidiary of AT&T, and is responsible for leading AT&T Sports and its four regional sports networks branded as AT&T SportsNet and ROOT Sports. The networks hold exclusive television rights to over two dozen professional and collegiate teams. During Crumb’s tenure the networks have won over 50 Emmy awards for its sports productions. In 2017, two leading national media publications, The Sports Business Journal and Broadcasting & Cable Magazine, both named Crumb as one of the most influential executives in the sports television industry. Crumb has held senior executive positions in several other Fortune 500 companies, including DIRECTV, Liberty Media and Fox/News Corporation. Prior to his business career, Crumb was a practicing attorney for 11 years and a partner at two prominent Seattle law firms. He is also a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law.
Br. Boniface V. Lazzari, O.S.B. ’67
Brother Boniface V. Lazzari, O.S.B. ’67 is being recognized for Benedictine Service. He has been a member of Saint Martin’s Abbey since 1964 and an educator since 1966. Lazzari is currently an Associate Professor of World Languages, teaching Spanish at all class levels. He has also taught English and religious studies during his career. Lazzari has been an active member on numerous Abbey and University committees over the years, all of which have supported the betterment of the school, its students and faculty and staff. His involvement has included the Board of Trustees, faculty search committees and faculty and staff recognition committees. Lazzari has a long-standing interest in the arts. He has been the director for nearly three decades of the Abbey Church Events, an annual concert/lecture series sponsored by Saint Martin’s Abbey; a two time past-president of the Board of Directors of the Olympia Symphony Orchestra; and is the current curator of the Abbey’s Martin of Tours Collection of Pacific Northwest Art.
Christine Schoonover ’69
Christine Schoonover ’69 is being recognized for Professional Achievement. She is a visionary real estate professional with four decades of experience. Her work has centered on downtown Cincinnati’s city living renaissance and has been primarily focused on the development of quality housing for those of every economic level. Schoonover and her husband and business partner have been the lead sales agents for over 15 new construction condo projects. Schoonover has also been a board member and active volunteer for numerous nonprofit and professional organizations throughout her career. Her involvement in her community has led her to be recognized in both professional and civic circles in Cincinnati and throughout Ohio as a catalyst for change. She has received numerous professional honors, including being named one of the top 10 business women in Cincinnati and being named by Cincinnati Magazine as one of the 40 most influential people who shaped the city over the past 25 years.
Michael Waske ’66
Michael Waske ’66 is being recognized for Service to Community. After a brief stint in corrections, Waske changed his career path and went to work in labor relations as a union official. He has over 40 years of service in the trade union movement with 27 of those years in the local union area and international union arena. After retiring from the local union he went to work for the AFL-CIO, Solidarity Center as Country Director for Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. The programs Waske directed encouraged and perpetuated democratization and the creation of civil society through rule of law and recognition of viable free trade unions. He has also served in the countries of Russia, Ukraine and Greece performing work on behalf of the AFL-CIO under grants from USAID—United States Aid for International Development. Waske was awarded in 2007 the prestigious “Order Of Merit” from the President of Poland for distinguished contributions to international cooperation and assistance to Poland.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent, four-year, coeducational university located on a wooded campus of more than 300 acres in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 13 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 26 majors and ten graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education, nursing and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes more than 1,300 undergraduate students and 250 graduate students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its Lacey campus, and more students to its extended campus located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
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