2008 Laurel Circle Inductees
The following new Laurel Circle Members were inducted at the 2008 Dinner Reception.
Bill and Honey Jaffe
Blake and Linda Gall
Donna and *Gilbert Kahn
John and Maryann Gilmartin
Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo
Richard and Sharon Westerlund
Charles H. "Skip" Smith
Bill and Honey Jaffe
Bill and Honey have established their philanthropic partnership with the University through giftsto Athletics, Arts and Architecture, Communications and Liberal Arts. Most recently, the Jaffes have established a Charitable Remainder Trust, which includes endowments for the Center for Performing Arts for developing new audiences, preserving the Palmer Museum's art collection, and providing program support for the women's volleyball program, Penn State public broadcasting, and Pennsylvania Centre Stage.
Bill, a 1960 graduate of the College of Communications, heads The Jaffe Group, a human resources consulting firm based in State College. Before forming his consultancy in 1996, Bill spent 28 years with two large international consulting firms. He also served as an adjunct professor of management at the George Washington University and adjunct lecturer at Penn State.
Bill and Honey are active members of the State College and University communities. Honey currently serves on the board of the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Arts and previously served on the Center for the Performing Arts' Community Advisory Board. She also is a docent at Centre Furnace Mansion and was on the board of the Nittany Valley Symphony Guild. Bill has been active in numerous community organizations, including serving currently as President of Pennsylvania Centre Stage and co-chair of the All-Sports Museum. He is a past president of the College of Communications Alumni Society and has been honored as an Alumni Fellow, Lion's Paw Medal recipient, and the Alumni Association's Volunteer of the Year.
Blake and Linda Gall
Though Blake and Linda never attended Penn State, their contributions and commitment to the University place them in the ranks of our most loyal alumni. The couple met at Princeton University, and after graduating in 1974, married and moved to Manhattan, where Blake worked as a securities analyst with Standard and Poor's and Linda as an actuary with Equitable Life.
Blake, originally from Long Island, N.Y., and Linda, from Tampa Bay, Fl., moved to the State College area after the birth of their first daughter, Lauren, when Blake accepted a job with Trinity Investment Management in Bellefonte. Three years later, the couple welcomed a second daughter, both of whom would go on to become Penn State students.
After leaving the corporate world to focus on parenting, Linda immersed herself in serving the local community through numerous organizations including the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts where she served as board president for four years, the Girl Scouts, Second Mile, the United Way, and, of course, Penn State University. She has served on the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art advisory board, the Center for the Performing Arts advisory council, the National Council for Penn State Philanthropy, and the Schreyer Honors College advisory board. Blake also volunteers in the community as the investment committee chair for the Center County Community Foundation.
In 2006, the Galls' were named Penn State's Renaissance Fund honorees for their great contributions to Penn State and the State College communities. Their philanthropy to the University includes the creation of an endowed faculty fellowship and four endowed scholarships, including most recently a Trustee Matching scholarship for the College of Arts and Architecture.
Donna and *Gilbert Kahn
Donna and Gil Kahn have enjoyed a lifelong interest in education, which is demonstrated by their generous giving to Penn State. Gil, who passed away in 2007, earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1961 from Penn State and received a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School in 1963. He spent most of his professional career as an executive with Union Camp Corporation before retiring in 1998. He was a member of the Marine Corps Reserve from 1963 to 1969.
The Kahns have targeted much of their giving to the College of Education where Gil served as chairman of the Deans Development Council. Most recently, the Kahns funded a professorship, their third endowment in the College of Education.
Donna earned a bachelor's degree from Simmons College in Boston and a master's degree in nursing from Boston University. She currently lives in New Jersey as a retired nursing educator.
John and Maryann Gilmartin
John and Maryann are improving the quality of educational experiences for inner city children with their most recent gift to Penn State's College of Education. The John Gilmartin Endowment for Enhancing Educational Opportunities will strengthen existing programs and create new initiatives, with emphasis on program's directed towards underprivileged children and students who contribute to the diversity of the student body.
John is a 1965 graduate of the Smeal College of Business and a retired CEO of Millipore Corporation, a worldwide provider of products and services to life sciences companies. Maryann is a former nursery school teacher.
The couple has also been involved with the Boston Renaissance Charter School, which enrolls more than 1,400 urban students in kindergarten through eighth grade in a safe learning environment. John is a trustee and former chairman of the school. Maryann is not able to be with us this evening.
Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo
For the past 40 years, since Peter graduated from Penn State with a degree in industrial engineering, the Dal Pezzo's have established their devotion to Peter's alma mater with numerous generous donations to the College of Engineering.
Originally from Allentown, Peter is the retired co-owner and vice president of corporate projects for PELCO, a worldwide manufacturer of video security systems and equipment. At Penn State, he serves on industrial engineering's Industrial and Professional Advisory Council and its Service Enterprise Engineering boards.
In 2003, he was named an Outstanding Engineering Alumnus, the highest honor awarded by the College of Engineering. This award is given to alumni who have reached exceptional levels of professional achievement.
Most recently, Peter and Angela endowed the department head chair in the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. These funds will be used to seed innovative programs and to expand the department's global reach.
Richard and Sharon Westerlund
As long-time members of the Nittany Lion Club, Richard and Sharon have demonstrated their love for Penn State sports by supporting many athletic initiatives. The couple has endowed a full position football scholarship and provided generous support for the varsity golf clubhouse project by naming the team lounge and event room.
Richard is a 1971 graduate of the College of Business with a degree in accounting. He received his MBA in finance from Drexel University and is a CPA in Maryland. He is general manager of Hazel Land Companies, where he previously served as CFO.
Richard and Sharon are both avid golfers and have recently entered the restaurant business. They have one daughter who graduated from the University of Colorado and now lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where Richard and Sharon reside.
Charles H. "Skip" Smith
As the son of a State College contractor and former Penn State professor, Charles H. "Skip" Smith graduated from Penn State in 1948 with a degree in electrical engineering. Two years later, he founded State College Television Company, now known as State College Audio-Visual Supply. He then began working with his brothers at their father's real estate development and rental company, H.O. Smith and Sons.
Skip recently provided Penn State with the lead commitment supporting the Arboretum at Penn State in honor of his father, Harry "H. O." Smith, a 1920 electrical engineering graduate of the University. This gift has launched the construction of the Arboretum and will name "The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens." These Botanic Gardens will create an educational environment unlike any other on the Penn State campus. Later phases of the arboretum project will include an education and visitor's center, a conservatory, and a shade and woodlands garden, among numerous other features.
New Laurel Circle members who were not able to attend the 2008 Mount Nittany Society dinner are:
Benjamin Paul Blasingame
Brook J. and Dawn Kelly Lenfest
John K. and Frances K. Tsui
* Deceased