Circle of Gold

The FSU Alumni Association’s Circle of Gold recognizes worthy individuals who, through their service and achievements, personify the university’s tradition of excellence. It is given to those alumni and/or friends of FSU who, through their dedication and loyalty to the University, exemplify the Alumni Association’s core values of Tradition, Leadership, Family, Spirit and Greatness.

Circle of Gold and Bernard F. Sliger Honorees will be recognized at the Florida State University Alumni Awards during Homecoming weekend.

Nominations and applications for the 2025 Circle of Gold will open Fall 2024.

Nomination Information

Requirements:

Individuals must be recognized for their service and achievements.
They should personify the university’s tradition of excellence.
Recipients must demonstrate dedication and loyalty to the university.
Exemplifies the Alumni Association’s core values, which include: Tradition, Leadership, Family, Spirit and Greatness

A complete nomination includes:

Nomination form: Please provide accurate and current information for the nominee and the nominator.
Statement of nomination: Please provide a statement of nomination describing the nominee's devotion to Florida State University.
At least two letters of support: A completed nomination will include at least two Letters of Support. A strong nomination will contain at least one letter from a respected colleague in the nominee's area of professional distinction.

Nominations:

Nominees must be placed in formal nomination each year with a completed online nomination form. Nominations can be made by anyone. Nominations will be solicited through the Florida State University Alumni Association’s newsletters, social media and alumni chapters and networks. All nominations must be received by the Alumni Association upon the designated due date each year.

Important Dates:

October 23, 2023 - Nominations open
January 22, 2024 - Nominations close
Late January- February - Verification and review process
Spring 2024 - Honorees are notified
Fall 2024 - Honorees are recognized during Homecoming

Process: A committee appointed by the Alumni Association National Board of Directors selects the recipients of the Circle of Gold. Each year’s recipients are notified upon approval of the Engagement Committee in Spring 2024. If a nominee is not selected in a particular year, they may be re-nominated in succeeding years.

Self-nominations and FSU faculty/staff will not be considered. Exceptional nominations for non-degreed friends of Florida State University will be considered.

Florida State University Alumni Association reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine the final list.

Interested in sponsoring the Alumni Awards Gala? Click here.

2023 Circle of Gold Honorees

Fred Tresca

(B.S. ’82), College of Business

Woodland, Texas

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Entrepreneur Fred Tresca is the founder and managing director of The Aberdeen Organization, where he is responsible for group operations, investments and strategy. Previously, Tresca was the co-founder, principal and managing director of the Branta Group and a partner at Price Waterhouse, where he was a founding partner of their practice in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Tresca is involved in various boards and committees, including the Bravo! Vail Board of Directors, Vail Valley Foundation Board of Directors, Amegy Bank Advisory Council, Montgomery County Youth Services Board of Directors, The Woodlands Methodist Church and various social clubs. He actively gives back to Florida State University through the College of Business, where he has been recognized for his service as a Charles A. Bruning Distinguished Speaker. Tresca is also a member of the Business School Board of Governors and was inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

Maura Hayes

(B.S. ’82), College of Communication and Information

New York, New York

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Maura Hayes is the director of operations for Times Square Studios. Having spent 42 years with the Walt Disney Company, Hayes began her career as a dancer and singer at Walt Disney World in “The Diamond Horseshoe” and the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.” Hayes received Disney’s “Partners in Excellence” award for her spirit and commitment to the guest experience. In 1999, Hayes relocated to New York City to oversee operations for the Disney production facility, “Times Square Studios.” She now leads a team that oversees client and production services for all East Coast properties. She serves on the executive boards of Times Square Alliance and Lincoln Square Business Improvement District. Always answering the call for FSU, Hayes has turned up the lights on Broadway at Time Squares Studios to welcome FSU alumni for various university events. She’s served the university on the Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors, having helped found the Young Alumni Council. Hayes is a previous Inspire honoree and a staunch advocate for supporting the CARE program at FSU and giving back to the next generation of students through mentorship.

Fred Flowers

(B.A. ’69, M.S. ’73), College of Arts and Sciences, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

Tallahassee, Florida

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Fred Flowers of Flowers Law LLC is an expert trial attorney who, for over 40 years, has litigated hundreds of cases involving civil rights, personal injuries, wrongful deaths, wills, probate and guardianship. He was notably the first African American athlete to wear an FSU uniform. Flowers joined the varsity baseball team as a walk-on player and pitched under FSU Hall of Fame coach Fred Hatfield. In addition to his athletic pursuits, Flowers helped create the Black Student Union and was a founding member of the Chi Theta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, the first African American Greek-letter organization at FSU. In 2004, he was immortalized in the iconic Integration Statue on FSU’s campus. Flowers has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1981 and has played an active role at Florida State, including establishing the FSU Civil Rights Institute.

Jeanne Curtin

(B.S. ’92, MBA ’99, JD ’01), College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, College of Business, College of Law

Tallahassee, Florida

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Jeanne Curtin is the policy chief of the Water Quality, Supply and Treatment Subcommittee for the Florida House of Representatives. She has held positions as deputy general counsel of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and director of its Livable Florida initiative and in private practice. At FSU, she has served as assistant dean for development and professor of legal research and writing and law practice management at the FSU College of Law. Curtin is the current Chair of the FSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors and serves on the College of Law’s Board of Visitors. She has twice served as a volunteer coach of the law school’s nationally recognized Moot Court team and as chair of the strategic planning committee for the Women for FSU. Committed to student success, she’s endowed a scholarship in honor of her late mother, the Roberta “Bobbie” Rusk Clark Endowment for Marching Chiefs, to support clarinetists. She and her husband, Larry, also established the Larry and Jeanne Curtin Endowed Scholarship in the College of Law to recruit top students to FSU.

Kathy Mears

(B.S. ’03, MPA ’11), College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

Tallahassee, Florida

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Kathy Mears is the assistant commissioner for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. She has spent over 25 years in the highest levels of state government. Mears has worked in the offices of the Florida House Speaker, the Florida Senate and the Office of the Governor, holding leadership roles in policy and communications. She also previously worked as Florida State University’s chief lobbyist, helping secure record funding during her tenure. Mears is active in the Tallahassee community, serving on FSU Health’s Transformational Committee and as a member of the Board of Directors for Capital Health Plan.

Circle of Gold Members

1993 Honorees

Bernard F. Sliger

1994 Honorees

Charles D. Ausley
Robert C. Bowden
William M. Durham Jr.
Charles W. Ehrhardt
Daisy P. Floruy
Donald A. Gifford
Katherine B. Hoffman
Bolley L. Johnson
Leslie V. Pantin, Jr.

1995 Honorees

Gordon W. Blackwell
Milton S. Carothers
John E. Champion
Talbot D' Alemberte
Mary D. Findley
Mary P. Hutchinson
Betty Lou W. Joanos
James E. Joanos
J. Lester Kaney
George R. Langford
Dale W. Lick
J. Stanley Marshall
James H. Melton
Avery Roberts
T.K. Weatherell

1996 Honorees

Cassandra D. Jenkins
James E. King Jr.
Sarah L. Marxsen
R. Andrew Miller
Mary Loud Norwood
William M. Parker
William G. Smith Jr.
Guy M. Spearman
Beverly B. Spencer
June F. Strauss
H. Kenza van Assenderp

1997 Honorees

Reubin O' D. Askew
Richard W. Brinson
E. Eugene Deckerhoff
Paula S. Fortunas
Mark Hillis
Terry A. Johnson
James E. Kirk Jr.
Michael D. Martin
Sherry A. Quarello
C. David Smith
Gus A. Stavros
Stephen S. Winters

1998 Honorees

Joseph L. Camps Jr.
Steve Edwards, Jr.
Grace I. Fox
Charles D. Hall
Betty L. Harrison
Douglas L. Manheimer
James L. Miller
James E. Pitts
Melvin L. Pope, Jr.
James C. Smith
W. Godfrey Smith
Alan C. Sundberg
Norman E. Thagard
Cynthia S. Tunicliff

1999 Honorees

Charles E. Barnes II
Huge H. de Beaubien
Sue C. Boynton
C. Raymond Cottrell
N. Frank Fain
Davis P. Gaines
J. Sherman Henderson
L. Gregory Phifer
Wilma M. Rosenbloom
John E. Thrasher
Winston E. Scott
Don A. Veller

2000 Honorees

Roderick M. Brim Sr.
Thomas O. Goldsworthy
Sue D. Hall
Thomas C. Haney
W. Douglas Henderson
David F. Lyons
Mina Jo Powell
Ronald R. Richmond
William A. Tanner
Pearl Tyner
Thomas G. Wright

2001 Honorees

Michael D. Andrews
Robert L. Bannerman
JoAnne A. Graf
Robert A. Holton
James W. Horne
Wiley L. Housewright
A. Lawton Langford
John M. McKay
Guy A. Moore
Barbara J. Palmer
Durell Peaden, Jr.
Sherrill W. Ragans
Burton L. Reynolds
Patricia G. Smith
Nancy A. Turner
D. Eugene Walden

2002 Honorees

Lawrence G. Abele
Cheryl S. Beckert
Maxwell Carraway, Jr.
Clifford R. Hinkle
Lynda Keever
Walter T. Massey, Jr.
David D. Mobley, Jr.
Mabel Jean Morrison
Billy G. Smith
Thomas A. Waits

2003 Honorees

Ronald B. Diamond
W. Andrew Haggard
Louis Hill, Sr.
Mart P. Hill
Lee. F. Hinkle
Ryals E. Lee, Jr.
Susan D. McHenry
J. Michael Pate
Stephen C. Reilly

2004 Honorees

James M. Clark
Mary B. Coburn
Allen D. Durham
Linda A. Henning
Franklin D. Murphy
Ronald G. Smith

2005 Honorees

Allen G. Bense
Derrick D. Brooks
Bridget M. Chandler
Robert O. Fohl
DeVoe L. Moore
Shirley M. Moore
Thomas F. Petway,III
A. Gary Walsingham

2006 Honorees

Robert L. Akers
Kevin W. Cashin
Lee R. Corso
David B. Ford
Sandra A. Johnson
Donna H. McHugh
Eldon J. Nosari
Paula P. Smith
Larry O. Strom

2007 Honorees

F. Allen Boyd, Jr.
Warrick D. Dunn
Lucy Ho
Robert M. Johnson
Jeffrey D. Kottkamp
J.D. Rayburn, II
Wayne L. Rubinas
Hans W. Tews
Thomas L. Williams, III

2008 Honorees

Kathy Atkins-Gunter
Scott F. Atwell
Margaret H. Bindhardt
Dennis O. Boyle
Robert T. Carnes
Charles K. Hill
Ronald H. Hobbs
Maury R. Kolchakian
Christopher L. Kraft
Elvin G. Lightsey
W. Russell Morcom
Thomas M. Woodruff

2009 Honorees

Lucy M. Baer
Donald L. Eddings
Nancy C. Hillis
James A Riscigno
John Roberge
Betty J. Steffens
Kathleen A. Villacorta
Thomas A. Warren

2010 Honorees

Eric J. Barron
David K. Coburn
John E. Dailey
Carl J. Domino
Gordon D. Gaster
Jeffrey L. Hill
J. Wayne Hogan
Charlotte E. Maguire
Melquiades R. Martinez
Laurel A. Moredock
William L. Proctor
Janet. L. Stoner

2011 Honorees

James W. Apthorp
Richard G. Fallon
Patrick W. Hogan
Sally P. Karioth
John R. Marks
Jane W. Meigs
Joseph S. O’Shea
Sandra W. Rackley
Leo Sandon, Jr.
Mary Ann Stiles
Rosa Lee D. Tomberlin
Dorothy D. Whittle

2012 Honorees

Diane S. Ervin
Garrett W. Johnson
Joel C. Padgett
Sean A. Pittman
E. Ray Solomon
Gordon J. Sprague
Donald E. Stone
Gary D. Wilson

2013 Honorees

Michele M. Adair
John R. Carnaghi
Marie E. Cowart
Kyle R. Doney
Hugh N. Durham
Mark J. Edenfield
Ricky L. Polston
Eugene E. Stearns
Charlie Ward Jr.

2014 Honorees

Donna Lou Askew
Chip Baker
Bruce B. Blackwell
Ray Fielding
S. Dale Greene
Anne Hamilton
Connie Jenkins-Pye
Billie J. Jones
Richard A. Kurras
Mary L. Pankowski
Myron L. Rolle
Janet Wells
David F. Westberry
Virginia Wetherall
Mark T. Zeigler

2015 Honorees

Ruth Ruggles Akers
Billy R. Close
Stella S. Cottrell
Jim Gladden
R. Martin Hall
Gordon S. Holder
Thomas V. Hynes
Robert G. Perrone
Sue P. Semrau
Jesse W. Solomon

2016 Honorees

Sam Ambrose
Steve Brown
Yvonne Brown
Gerald Ensley
Tonya Harris
Jim Jones
Jerry Kutz
Jack McCoy
Max Oligario
Steve Pattison
Delores Spearman

2017 Honorees

Florence Ashby
Molly Barron
Mary Champion
Ben Crump
Julie Dunn Eichenberg
Ritesh Gupta
Marilyn Lick
Craig Lynch
Shirley Marshall
Patsy Palmer
Billy Sexton
Greta Sliger
Jean Thrasher

2018 Honorees

Ed Burr
Alicia Crew
Janice Finney
Eric Friall
Odell Haggins
Billy Francis
Judy Pate
John Rivers
Max Zahn
Don Weidner

2019 Honorees

Keith Carr
John Crowe
Kathleen Daly
J.D. Doughney
Doby Flowers
Melvin Stith
Brian Swain
Jesse Wexler

2020 Honorees

Jean Accius
B. Dan Berger
Christopher Iansiti
Karen Laughlin
Bill Montford

2021 Honorees

Kenneth Austin
James L. Lee
Scott E. Wiegand
Marilyn J. Young

2022 Honorees

Craig Dewhurst
Dave Lane
Dazi Lenior
Nancy McKay
Ahli Moore

2023 Honorees

Peter Collins
Jeanne Curtin
Fred Flowers
Maura Hayes
Kathy Mears
Fred Tresca