The Mac Report - Western Golf Association

The Mac Report
The Evans Scholars Alumni Magazine
From the Caddie Yard
to the Board Room
WGA to launch
new Web site
Alumni drive success
at Auto Show charity
SUMMER 2010

THISissue
Summer 2010
The Mac Report
Newsletter No. 140
The Mac Report is published for
Evans Scholars Alumni and friends.
To change your address :
alumni@wgaesf.com or (847) 724-4600
Around the loop:
Send class notes, including your full name, school
and year graduated to alumni@wgaesf.com or
Western Golf Association, 1 Briar Road, Golf, IL,
60029. Pictures and letters are welcome.
other correspondence:
Send to alumni@wgaesf.com or Western Golf
Association, 1 Briar Road, Golf, IL, 60029.
ALUMNIspotlight
Western Golf Association
Evans Scholars Foundation
Chairman
Roger Mohr
President and CEO
John Kaczkowski
Editorial Staff
Editor
Amy Boerema
Editorial Assistant
Nicole Thompson
Director of Communications
Gary Holaway
16 Joe Shields (NU ’08) learns
the value of community while
volunteering in India
18 Mary Petrovich (Mich. ’85):
From the caddie yard to the
board room
22 Park Ridge’s caddie master
helps guide students to Evans
Scholarships
23 Steve Caminiti (Mia. ’83)
ditches the corporate
world for comedy
24 Dr. Dwight Fitch (Mich. ‘97)
forms a special connection
with his cancer patients
13
11
10
24
Cover: Mary Petrovich (Mich. ’85), CEO of
AxleTech International, returns to Franklin Hills
Country Club in Farmington Hills, Mich., where
she once caddied. Photo by Brad Ziegler.
26 Bill Conroy (Ind. ’83)
mentors young softball
players
28
34

Important Milestones
Dear Evans Scholars Alumni,
This year, Alums will surpass $50 million in total lifetime
giving to the Evans Scholars Foundation — an amazing
accomplishment! As we celebrate 80 years of the Evans
Scholars Program, Alumni giving is more important than ever.
We continue to be challenged by escalating tuition costs and the
ability to increase our contributions each year. In 2009, Alumni led
the way with an increase over 2008. We are confident you will meet
the challenge again in 2010.
As of this spring, there are now more than 9,000 Evans Scholars
Alumni, and this fall, 215 New Scholars will begin their lifelong
journey in the Evans Scholars Program.
OTHERdepartments
2 Alumni Calendar
4 Scholarships News: A
new Web site, a Scholar
video, the NU dedication
10 Alumni Events: An Auto
Show fundraiser, a Bandon
Dunes trip and more
13 Championships News:
The Blackhawks Celebrity-
Am, the Chick Evans Pro-Am
and more
27 Alumni Honors
The current Evans Scholars are excelling in the classroom, on
campus and across the university community. For the ninth straight
year, Scholars hosted their annual
Evans Scholars blood drives. The
In 2010, lifetime
WGA/ESF staff also participated
Alumni giving will this year, as we hosted a successful
blood drive here in Golf, Illinois.
surpass $50 million.
The excellent feature stories in this
issue of the Mac Report illustrate
Alumni accomplishments and the critical role the Evans Scholarship
played along the way. We think you will enjoy reading them.
Thank you for your generous support of the Evans Scholars
Program. Please stay in touch, and we look forward to seeing many
of you during our travels in the coming months.
Enjoy your Mac Report.
28 Scholar Spotlight:
Beverly Evans Brunch,
Winter Outing, New
Scholars
34 Alumni Update
58 In Memoriam
60 Postscripts
Jeff Harrison
Vice President of Education
John Kaczkowski
President and CEO

ALUMNIcalendar
July-October
Evans Scholars
Friends and
Family Night
at U.S. Cellular
Field in Chicago
in 2009.
July 6
Nearly 650 Evans Scholars, Alumni and
other Program supporters bought tickets to
the fifth annual Evans Scholars Friends
and Family Night at U.S. Cellular Field.
Nearly $8,000 was raised to benefit the
Foundation.
July 18-19
Current Scholars picked up job and
networking tips at the
second annual Evans
Scholars Expo on
Sunday, July 18, at
Olympia Fields Country
Club.
The 60th annual
Evans Scholars
Summer Outing at Olympia Fields featured
golf, an awards presentation and a dinner.
July 19
Detroit-area Evans Scholars supporters tee
it up at the 21st annual Evans Scholars
Golf Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
July 26
Alumni and other supporters gather for the
eighth annual East Coast Evans Alumni
Classic at Hawk Pointe Golf Club in
Washington, N.J.
Flossmoor Country Club will hold its annual
Evans Scholars Day celebration in
Flossmoor, Ill.
Cincinnati’s Coldstream Country Club will
host the 23rd annual Caddie Classic, a
golf event that has raised more than $1.2
million in its history for the Evans Scholars.
August 2
The 13th annual Evans Scholars
Invitational, the Alumni’s premier one-day
fund-raising event, is set for Onwentsia Club
in Lake Forest, Ill., and Shoreacres in Lake
Bluff, Ill. It has raised more than $2.3 million
in its history for Evans Scholars.
August 2-7
The Western Amateur Championship
will be held at Skokie Country Club in
Skokie, Ill.
August 9
Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill., will
host its Evans Scholars Day celebration.
2 The Mac Report
James E. Moore
Scholarship Trophy

August 16
The Seven Club
Tournament
returns for its
19th annual
fundraiser at Oak
Ridge Country
Club in Hopkins,
Minn.
In tradition,
golfers carry
seven clubs in honor of program founder
Chick Evans, who won the 1916 U.S. Open.
Hank Haney at the 2009 ESI
August 17
River Forest Country Club will host its
second annual Evans Scholarship Day in
Elmhurst, Ill.
August 20
The Mark Cushman Evans Scholars
Classic will be held at Stevens Point Country
Club in Stevens Point, Wis.
August 30
The Jeff Kallman Memorial Golf Outing
will be held at Rolling Green Country Club in
Arlington Heights, Ill.
September 14
Tuckaway Country Club will host its Evans
Scholars Day in Franklin, Wis.
September 20
The Hickory Stick Invitational will be
held at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in
Lake Orion, Mich. Golfers use hickory sticks
to play in the event.
September 21
The ninth annual North Carolina Evans
Open will be held at Briar Creek Country
Club in Raleigh, N.C. Last year’s event raised
a record $8,700 for the Foundation.
September 25
Ridge Country Club’s Evans Scholars Day
will be held in Chicago.
September 27
The Evans Cup of Oregon will be held at
Portland Golf Club. The Pacific Northwest
Golf Association helps host the 13th annual
fundraiser.
October 10
The Evans Cup will be
held at Lincoln Oaks Golf
Club in Crete, Ill.
October 11
The 19th annual Evans
Cup of Washington will
be held at Tacoma Country
and Golf Club in Tacoma. Proceeds fund
Evans Scholars who attend school in the
state of Washington.
October 18
Western Amateur Trophy
The Colorado Par Club Tournament, the
biggest day of the year for Colorado Evans
Scholars, will be held at Cherry Hills Country
Club in Englewood, Colo.
For a complete list of 2010 events,
visit www.wgaesf.com. Please look for
event coverage in the Winter Mac.
Event organizers, please send your
event summaries and pictures to
alumni@wgaesf.com.
September 6-12
The 2010 BMW Championship returns to Cog Hill Sept. 6-12.
The BMW Championship returns to
Cog Hill in Lemont, Ill., featuring 70 of the
world’s top players in the third PGA TOUR
playoff event for the FedExCup.
On Wednesday, Sept. 8, Alumni will caddie
in the Chick Evans Memorial Pro-Am,
which raises funds for the Evans Scholars.
September 10
The Hamilton Invitational will be held
at The Country Club of Muirfield Village in
Dublin, Ohio. Proceeds help maintain the
new OSU Evans Scholarship House.
3

SCHOLARSHIPSnews
New Features
The Web site will include a main WGA
site, new tournament sites for the
Western Junior and the Western Amateur
and individual sites for each of the 14
Evans Scholarship Chapters.
The new site will allow Alumni, Scholars
and WGA Directors to log in to a private
site to connect with each other. Other
features include a news section, media
kit, photo galleries, toolkit resources and
much more.
Alumni can create their own profiles,
update personal and professional
information, search for classmates, search
for and post job openings, make donations
and view their giving history.
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Scholars can network with Alumni,
sign up for events, search for jobs and
internships, and more.
Caddies can apply for the Evans
Scholarship online, view the new caddie
training video and find out more about the
Evans Program.
WGA Directors can view resource
toolkits, order their green coats online
and see their club’s giving history, list of
Par Club members, Scholars and Evans
Scholarship candidates.
The WGA is also working to provide video
from ESF events, like the Summer Outing,
and offer a way for everyone to view and
order photos from major events through
our Web site.
4 The Mac Report
0
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information TECHNOLOGY
Positioning the Western Golf Ass
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Beginning this fall, the WGA will unveil its new Web
111
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site at www.wgaesf.com. This project has been
11
nearly
11
two years in the making and will better
0
position our
0
organization to handle future
0
growth. The system
0
1
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1
July 2010
Begin using Raiser’s
Edge database
at WGA
Fall 2010
Launch new WGA
Web site and
tournament sites

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ociation for future growth
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will contain powerful new tools to allow our main
stakeholders — Alumni, Scholars and Directors — to get
the information they need online and to ultimately better
connect and network with each other.
Project FAQ
What’s the project’s purpose
There are four main goals — to increase
revenue from fund-raising, to strengthen
stakeholder relationships, to build awareness
and increase the reach of our message, and
to improve overall organization efficiency.
How did this project begin
The idea for a new Web site has been tossed
around for years; in early 2009, it was given
more serious consideration by the WGA’s IT
committee members, who realized the current
Web site was not meeting the needs of some
groups, such as WGA Directors.
After creating a proposal, the committee
selected and interviewed several top Web
design and database firms.
What company was chosen
WGA selected Blackbaud to handle both
the Web site and database portions of
the project. Based in Charleston, S.C., the
company has extensive experience and
leadership in nonprofit technology.
We are using three Blackbaud products —
The Raiser’s Edge database, Sphere for the
Web site and a custom connector that will
allow information to travel between the two.
Who will this project benefit
This project will serve Alumni, Directors,
Scholars, parents, media, Par Club members,
schools, caddie masters, and others.
How will I learn how to use it
Winter 2011
Launch 14
Scholarship House
microsites
Spring 2011
Install connector
between database
and Web site
WGA is working to make the transition as
simple and user-friendly as possible and
soon will offer training manuals and online
tutorials. Stay tuned for future updates!
Summer 2010
5

public relations
BMW produces
Scholar video
BMW is creating a 22-minute
documentary that showcases the
Evans Scholars Program. The piece
provides a behind-the-scenes look at the
candidates and the selection process.
The video crew began filming scenes at
the Evans Scholars selection meeting at
Evanston Golf Club in Skokie, Ill., on Feb.
18, when 17 outstanding finalists were
interviewed for the chance to earn an
Evans Scholarship.
From that meeting, three finalists who
received the Scholarship were chosen
to be profiled at their homes: Jonathan
Gonzalez, Robert Wietecki and Katherine
Reese. The home scenes, including
interviews with family, were shot in
May, as were golf and caddie scenes
at Riverside Golf Club in Riverside, Ill.,
and at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in
Lemont, Ill.
Jim Tunney (Ill. ’92), Katie Sargent
(Ill. ’02) and Megan Horsch (Pur. ’02)
appeared as golfers for the New
Scholars, who portrayed their caddies.
The video also features snapshots of
Scholar living. Scenes were shot at the
Northwestern Scholarship House in
April, when crew members interviewed
upperclassmen about their experiences.
“We believe this documentary will
raise awareness and exposure of the
Evans Scholars Program,” said Patrick
McKenna of BMW of North America.
“We are pleased that all proceeds from
the BMW Championship directly support
the Evans Scholars Foundation.”
The BMW film crew shoots Ryan
Parks (NU ’12) at the Northwestern
House (top), on April 6, and films
New Scholar Scott Smith (NIU ’14)
and golfer Megan Horsch (Pur. ’02)
at Cog Hill on May 23.
6 The Mac Report

capital campaign
Northwestern
renovation
nears completion
The Futures on Course campaign committee is
launching a final effort to reach a $6 million
goal to renovate and expand the Northwestern
University Evans Scholarship House before the end
of the year.
To date, the committee has raised more than
$5.2 million and secured 160 individual pledges.
But with an Alumni participation rate of only 26
percent, supporters say their work is not complete.
“Our results have been strong, but we still have a
ways to go before we reach our final goal,” said
campaign co-chairman Jim Reilly (NU ‘83). “Your
gift will help secure the legacy for future Evans
Scholars at our Alpha chapter, Northwestern.
Please consider making a donation today.”
The Oct. 10 dedication ceremony will feature
speeches and House tours. The renovated facility
will better accommodate co-ed living and have
expanded living space for eight additional Scholars.
Warren Lentz (NU ‘10) and Mike Baker (NU ‘12) study in their temporary home.
What: Northwestern Scholarship House Dedication
When: 11 a.m. Oct. 10
Where: 721 University Place, Evanston, Ill.
More info: Call WGA’s Jerry Dudek or Jim Moore at
(847) 724-4600 or visit www.wgaesf.com.
Securing a Legacy
at Northwestern
1930
1940
1980s
8/09
9/11/09
10/10/10
First two Evans
Scholars enroll
at Northwestern
First Scholarship
House opens at
Northwestern
Last time
the House is
updated
Construction
begins
Campaign kicks
off at BMW
Championship
Dedication
ceremony for
renovated House
Summer 2010
7

New faces at WGA
Annual Fund Manager
Amy Lillibridge
(Mia. ’02) is
focusing on Par
Club initiatives,
Scholar fund-raising
events and other
work within the
development department. Previously,
she worked for the U.S. Women’s Open.
Director of Development
Eric Schmidt is
working to create
relationships
with supporters
and potential
supporters and will
focus on Endowed
Named Scholarships. Previously, he
worked in development at Advocate
Health Care.
Tournament Manager
Marty Norris is
helping to conduct
the Western
Junior, Western
Amateur and BMW
Championship.
Previously, he was
a tournament operations intern for the
WGA in 2008 and 2009.
Development Associate
Fran Haas is
helping with
support work in the
development office.
She graduated
from Wake Forest
University in 2010
and moved to Chicago from Greenville,
South Carolina.
From left: Tony Saliba, WGA Chairman Roger Mohr, President/CEO John Kaczkowski and Indiana Chapter
President Chris Williams.
Saliba family honored for gift
Tony Saliba (Ind. ’77) and his family,
who made a $2 million donation to
the Evans Scholars Foundation, were
honored at a Feb. 5 ceremony at WGA
headquarters in Golf, Ill. It is the
largest gift ever made by an Alum.
“Tony’s leadership and foresight in
providing this generous gift hopefully
will influence other Alumni and
WGA Annual Meeting
The WGA Annual Meeting and Golf Outing
was held May 20 at Sunset Ridge Country
Club in Northfield, Ill.
Above, from left: Chairman Roger Mohr,
past Chairman Ed James and Directors
Wade Rademacher and Bob Roach.
Program friends to follow suit,” WGA
President/CEO John Kaczkowski said.
Saliba is one of the nation’s top options
traders. He and his family made their
pledge in 2008 for Chicago-area caddies
to attend Indiana University.
The Indiana House has been renamed in
honor of the Saliba family.
Illinois House update
Following an expensive cleanup
at the Illinois Scholarship House
after a construction accident,
WGA officials are using the
opportunity to increase House
capacity and make the building’s
lower level more functional.
Last summer, a construction
mishap during work by the city of
Champaign resulted in damage to
the first floor and lower level.
Officials hope to complete the
renovation before fall semester
begins. This is a potentially costly
project, and WGA is working with
insurance providers in hopes of
resolving payment issues.
8 The Mac Report

1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
Keeping Chick’s Dream Alive
$12 million
$10 million
Funding Evans Scholarships
Tuition costs continue to
escalate while contributions
decrease, creating a deficit
for the first time in 30 years
Let’s cut to the chase — it’s
harder than ever for the
Foundation to keep pace with
expenses. Tuition costs are
rising; contributions are
declining.
$8 million
$6 million
Historically, Par Club
revenues have
correlated with
tuition costs
In 2005, Par Club
giving levels increased
again to cover rising
tuition costs
The Annual Fund committee
is asking Alumni who have
never donated or contributed
sporadically in years past
to make a donation, in
whatever amount you can.
$4 million
$2 million
In the early ‘90s, Par Club
giving levels increased by
$50 to help cover rising
tuition costs
Tuition Costs
Par Club Contributions
The committee hopes
consistent givers consider
upgrading their Par Club
membership to the next level.
In 2010, we need the
support of all Alumni to send
deserving caddies to college.
annual fund
Alumni help tee it up for the next
generation of Evans Scholars
Evans Scholars Alumni have always been the first to step up for the
next generation of Scholars.
Last year, Alumni contributed $4.2 million to support Evans
Scholarships, providing the Foundation’s only source of revenue
growth in 2009. Nearly 45 percent of all Alumni are members of
the Par Club, donating at a level of $250 or more.
Cumulatively, Alumni have given more than $47.8 million since the
Evans Scholars Alumni Association was established in 1957. Thank
you for your consistent support!
Scholar tuition expenses have
risen by nearly 30 percent since
2007 to $10 million a year in 2009.
Par Club contributions, meanwhile,
declined 8.5 percent in 2009.
WGA wants to maintain the more
than 850 Scholars in school.
To make your donation to the
Annual Fund, please visit
www.wgaesf.com.
Summer 2010
9

ALUMNIevents
Minnesota supporters
host Founder’s Day
The 52nd annual Founder’s Day golf
and dinner, held May 24 at Hillcrest
Golf Club of St. Paul, raised several
thousand dollars for Evans Scholars.
Attended by 114 Alumni and Scholars,
the event is the Chapter’s biggest
fundraiser, says Minnesota Alumni
President Aaron Moniza (Minn. ’97).
More than 80 Minnesota Scholars
caddied at Hillcrest, making it the
perfect venue to hold Founder’s Day,
Moniza said. “We’re really trying
to focus on connecting different
generations of Alumni,” he said.
scholar fUNDRAISERS
Alumni enjoy 2010
Auto Show’s First Look
More than 100 Evans Alumni and
supporters strolled the Auto Show
floor at the Feb. 11 First Look for Charity
event at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
The black-tie event, which raised
$39,000 for the Evans Scholars
Foundation, takes place the night before
the Auto Show opens to the public,
allowing guests a chance to view the
display in a more intimate setting.
First Look is among the city’s biggest
single-day charity events, and Evans
Scholars is one of 14 participating
organizations that receives funds.
“This year was a great success,” said
Tom Ryan (Ill. ’85). “Being the event’s
second year, I feel it is starting to take
hold as a great fund raising and social
event for the Foundation. We hope to
continue building on this success.”
Top: Colleen (Ill. ’01) and Jim Lee (Ill.
’00). Middle: Tom Mallman (Wis. ’62),
center, with son Grant, left, and his
friend Bill Gunn. Bottom: Mary (OSU ’87)
and Rob O’Leary (MSU ’88).
Nora Cotter (NIU ’04) and Jennifer
(Chmela) Babbington (Marq. ’98)
hosted a Scholar hospitality room with
food and beverages.
Next year’s event will be held on
Thursday, Feb. 10, at McCormick Place.
SoCal Tournament
raises $3,000 for ESF
Evans Scholars Alumni and friends
raised more than $3,000 at the ninth
annual Southern California Evans
Scholars Alumni Golf Tournament.
The event, hosted by Ralph Butz (Mich.
’61), was held April 24 at Bella Collina
Towne & Golf Club in San Clemente,
Calif. More than 40 people took part.
The tournament MVP was Stan Joosse
(Mich. ’61), who also helped solicit
prizes for the event’s raffle and silent
auction. Tom Fitzgerald (Ind. ’73), Frank
Sekula (Ind. ’68), pictured above with
WGA’s Jim Moore, and Don Dominic
(Ill. ’63) were on the event committee.
10 The Mac Report

Evans Alumni
and other
donors at
WGA’s first
golf retreat at
Bandon Dunes
in May.
charity retreat
Inaugural Bandon Dunes
golf retreat a success
The WGA’s first charity golf retreat at Bandon
Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., helped
raise $220,000 for Evans
Scholarships.
From May 4-6, 52 donors,
including Evans Alumni,
WGA Directors and
friends of the Program,
enjoyed a two-night stay
at Bandon Dunes, a round
of golf on four world-class courses and a meeting
with the architects of the courses.
Each participant paid $8,000 for the trip, of which
$3,500 benefited Evans Scholars.
“Our Bandon Dunes trip
exceeded all expectations.”
-WGA’s John Kaczkowski
“Our Bandon Dunes golf trip exceeded everyone’s
expectations,” WGA President and CEO John
Kaczkowski said. “We owe a great debt
of gratitude to our WGA Director Mike
Keiser, whose generosity made the
trip possible, and to the donors who so
enthusiastically took part in support of
the Evans Scholars Foundation.”
The idea for the retreat began five years
ago with Bandon Dunes Golf Resort
founder Keiser, who donated tee times and room
accommodations. The event offers the Foundation
a unique way of raising money and reaching new
prospective donors. A second Bandon trip already is
planned for May 3-5, 2011.
Summer 2010
11

The Inaugural Evans Scholars Speakers Forum
New event replaces Alumni Luncheon
Tom Falk (Wis. ’80), the CEO of Kimberly-Clark, will be the
keynote speaker at the inaugural Evans Scholars Speakers
Forum to be held on Nov. 10 at the University Club of Chicago.
What: The Inaugural
Evans Scholars Speakers
Forum and Luncheon
When: Noon Nov. 10
Where: University Club of
Chicago, 76 E. Monroe St.
Featuring: Kimberly-Clark
CEO Tom Falk
The event will replace
the annual fall Alumni
Luncheon and be
expanded to include
WGA Directors, Par
Club members, Program
supporters and members
of the Chicago business
community.
“This forum will feature
our most prolific Evans
Scholar Alumni, who will
offer insight on their professional successes and how their
lives have been influenced by the Evans Scholarship,”
says John Kaczkowski, WGA President and CEO.
“Mr. Falk is the perfect choice for our first guest.
We believe this event will be a great way to raise
awareness about the Evans Scholars to an even
broader audience.”
About Tom Falk
A 27-year Kimberly-Clark veteran, Falk was elected CEO in 2002 and Chairman of
the Board in 2003. Under his leadership, his company has grown sales to $19.1
billion as of 2009.
His Dallas-based firm, which has nearly 56,000 employees worldwide and
operations in 35 countries, makes product brands like Kleenex, Andrex, Scott
and Huggies.
Falk caddied at Chenequa Country Club in Hartland, Wis., where he now is a
member. He earned a master’s degree from Stanford University in 1989. Before
joining Kimberly-Clark in 1983, Falk was with the accounting firm of Alexander Grant & Co.
He and his wife, Karen, have one son.
12 The Mac Report

CHAMPIONSHIPSnews
Amateurs to test
Skokie Country Club
western amateur
John Hahn, 2009 Western
Amateur champion
John Hahn, 2009 champion, will defend his title
at the 108th Western Amateur, presented by
Callaway, Aug. 2-7 at venerable Skokie Country
Club in Glencoe, Ill. The event is open to the
public. Tickets, available at the gate, are $10, with
children 16 and under admitted free.
A senior-to-be at Kent State in Ohio, Hahn
recently won his second consecutive Mid-American
Conference Player-of-the-Year award after leading
his team to the conference championship and
winning individual co-medalist honors.
Hahn was an Honorable Mention All-American
in 2009 and 2010 and finished sixth in the 2010
NCAA Championships.
“Winning the Western Amateur has been the
high point of my golf career and has helped me
gain wider recognition as a player,” Hahn said.
western Junior
Stanford recruit takes 2010 Junior title
Stanford recruit Patrick Rodgers, of Avon,
Ind., celebrated his 18th birthday five days
early on June 25, turning back a national
field of top junior golfers to win the 93rd
Western Junior Championship, presented
by Callaway, at Blue Mound Golf &
Country Club in Wauwatosa, Wis.
Starting the day four strokes back,
Rodgers turned in a 1-under 69 in the
morning’s third round then closed with
a 5-under 65 to claim a 3-stroke win
over Michael Kim.
Patrick Rodgers
Summer 2010
13

We’ll be there. Will you
BMW championship
Get your 2010 BMW Championship tickets today!
Day tickets: Any-day tickets are $45 each, good for grounds and clubhouse admission any one day,
Thursday through Sunday. Parking is free. Tickets are $50 if purchased on-site.
Weekly Badge: This $150 fan-favorite option provides admission to the clubhouse and grounds all
seven days of the tournament week.
Corporate Ticket Book: This new $165 weekly option consists of seven any-day tournament
tickets, one for each day of the tournament, Monday-Sunday (three total practice round tickets; four
total any-day tickets.) Ideal for businesses that like the convenience of distributing actual tickets to
multiple clients over the course of the week.
Family Foursome Pack: This pack includes four any-day tournament tickets, four ticket and
lanyard holders, one $10 meal concession voucher, a one-day VIP parking pass and a merchandise
discount coupon for $175 (a $245 value). Limited to the first 1,000 purchases.
2010 BMW Championship
What: Third event in the PGA
TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup
When: Cog Hill Golf and
Country Club in Lemont, Ill.
Where: Sept. 6-12
Featuring: The Top 70
TOUR players vying for the
final 30 spots in the TOUR
Championship and a chance to
win the FedExCup’s top prize of
$10 million.
To buy tickets, visit
www.bmwchampionshipusa.com
or call Nik Lapin at (847) 724-4600.
14 The Mac Report
Photos by Stan
Badz/PGA TOUR/
Getty Images

Blackhawks’ legend Stan Mikita tees off at the 2009 Shoot-Out.
BMW hospitality options
It’s about entertainment. It’s also about
contributing to the community.
Many companies use corporate
hospitality as a way to entertain top
clients, prospective customers and key
executives in a relaxed, exclusive and
highly entertaining setting.
Blackhawks Celebrity-Am on Sept. 6
Current and past Chicago Blackhawks
stars will trade their hockey sticks for
golf clubs to compete in the Blackhawks
Celebrity-Am, presented by
CDW, on Monday, Sept. 6,
the opening day of BMW
Championship week.
“With the PGA TOUR Playoffs
coming to Chicago, we thought
it would be exciting to bring
the city’s Stanley Cup winners out to Cog
Hill to showcase their competitive skills,”
said Vince Pellegrino, WGA’s vice
president of tournaments. “We look
forward to seeing how well their skills
transfer from the ice to Cog Hill’s
manicured fairways and slick
greens.”
Fans are invited to come
out and watch their favorite
Chicago hockey stars hit the
links. Ticket prices are $10 on
Monday, and children 16 and under
are free.
With the Evans Scholars Foundation
being the BMW Championship’s
sole charity, the WGA hopes Alumni
consider hospitality options as a way
to give back and benefit your business.
In partnering with the BMW
Championship, you’ll receive a once-ina-lifetime
experience of watching the
world’s greatest professional golfers,
while building your business and
supporting youth and education.
For more information, contact Sales
and Marketing Director Matt Starr at
(847) 724-4600 or starr@wgaesf.com.
Alums, Scholars donate tips in annual Pro-Am
Laura Kingsbury (NU ’10) at the 2009 Pro-Am dinner.
When the top 52 pros team up with
amateur golfers in the Sept. 8 Chick Evans
Memorial Pro-Am, more than 100 Alumni
and Scholars will walk the course with
them, caddying for the amateurs to raise
funds for the Evans Scholars Foundation.
This will mark the fifth consecutive year
Alumni and Scholars have caddied for the
Pro-Am players. In 2009, 125 Alumni and
Scholars raised nearly $17,000 for the
Evans Scholarships by donating caddie
fees and tips from their volunteer
loops. That was part of the total $1.2
million raised for Evans Scholars by
the 2009 Pro-Am.
“Having our Alumni and Scholars
walk side-by-side on the course
with the pros and amateurs not only
helps us raise additional funds in the
biggest Evans Scholars fundraiser
of the year, it also provides unique
opportunities to share their personal
Evans Scholars success stories with the
players, the media and our golf fans,” said
Vince Pellegrino, WGA’s vice president of
tournaments.
Summer 2010
15

ALUMNIprofiles
Joe Shields (NU ’08) in a school in Bihar,
one of India’s poorest states
On the Move
After a childhood of travel, a Northwestern graduate
learns the value of community
Joe Shields (NU ’08) doesn’t stay in one place for long. With his
mother in the army, he grew up moving from base to base across the
country. He has since gone to college at Northwestern, studied abroad
in Cairo, volunteered in India and now works in Washington, D.C.
In the shuffle of his fast-paced life, the Evans Scholars community has
remained a constant. His years in the Scholarship House were the first
time Shields felt he had a steady home, and it was there he learned the
value of community.
16 The Mac Report

Shields’ senior high school photo
Shields has always been
driven. At age 13, he began
caddying at Old Elm Club
in Highland Park, Ill. and
that year won Caddie of the
Year honors.
At Northwestern, he
served as Scholar chapter
president and vice president of the National
Committee and even won the Program’s
prestigious Leader of the Year Award in 2008.
He graduated with a triple major in industrial
engineering, economics and political science
and a job offer from McKinsey & Company,
one of the nation’s top consulting firms.
But instead of jumping straight into corporate
America, Shields chose to volunteer with MIT’s
Jameel Poverty Action Lab in India.
“I felt like I had a lot of really great
opportunities in my life, first and foremost the
Evans Scholarship,” Shields said. “I was in a
unique position to take a year after school to
do something meaningful, and this fit. I got to
get out of reading textbooks and actually be a
part of making things happen.”
In Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, Shields
helped evaluate the quality of education
programs for nine months, working with the
government
and poverty
alleviation
groups to
create new
policies
based on his
statistical
studies.
Among the
school system’s
problems:
electricity
was available
Shields’ mother, Carol, accepts his Leader of
the Year honors from WGA’s Jeff Harrison. four hours a
day, half the
schools had
no restrooms, children sat on the floor and
teachers showed up only 70 percent of the
time. “The experience was eye-opening,”
Shields said. “The level of poverty in India was
very different from anything I’d seen before.”
“Leadership
means recognizing
that
our actions
affect each
other. The
more times
we take the
opportunity to
help a friend
through tough
times or offer
a word of encouragement,
the better our
community
will be.”
After living with 40 Scholars for four years, he
felt lonely in a country where he knew almost
no one. He began to truly appreciate his
friendships from the Scholarship House.
But while life in Bihar was a world away from
Northwestern, the differences allowed Shields
to forge unique bonds with new people.
“There are a billion people in the country and
it’s chaotic on the streets, but once you’re into
someone’s home, they really embrace you,”
he said. “At the end of the day, you can find
great people anywhere and make that your
community. I think that’s a really amazing
thing about people in general.”
In his 2008 acceptance of the Leader of the
Year award, which he wrote from India,
Shields emphasized community.
“The more times we take that opportunity
to help a fellow Scholar through tough times
or offer a kind word of encouragement when
someone needs it, the better our community
will continue to be,” he said.
Those words took special meaning upon
Shields’ return to America in 2009. When
faced with the tragic death of his girlfriend in
a car accident, his Scholar friends provided
support and encouragement.
“To come back to the States and have that
support system, it was really important,” he
said. “I’m very glad to have had those friends
when things got tough.”
Now back in the land of Blackberry and
Bluetooth, Shields is working in Washington,
D.C. as a consultant at a firm that advises
the world’s leading businesses, governments
and institutions. Shields sees it as a chance to
learn from the best and figure out specifically
what he wants to do. His ultimate goal is to do
something that benefits the greater good.
“I’m so glad to have had all these experiences,”
he says, “to see where I fit into the larger
picture.”
by Nicole Thompson
summer 2010
17

18 The Mac Report
Mary Bitkowski Petrovich (Mich. ’85) relaxes at her home overlooking Pine Lake in West Bloomfield, Mich.

High
expectations
‘At the end of the day,’ says Mary Petrovich,
CEO of AxleTech, ‘winners get it done.’
Mary Bitkowski Petrovich (Mich. ’85) was never one
to be intimidated.
Not when she stepped into the role of secondary
mom at age 7, helping care for her seven siblings after her
father’s death.
Not when she walked a mile and half from her home at age
12 to ask the caddie master for a summer job — even though
they didn’t hire girl caddies.
And certainly not when she became CEO of AxleTech at
age 39, helping to transform an international company on
the verge of bankruptcy into the fastest-growing and most
profitable company in its industry.
There’s no room for intimidation when it’s about survival, and much of
Mary’s childhood was about just that. Her passion and determination to
overcome a rough beginning has driven her to excel at most everything in
life, from the golf course to the board room.
That success stems from a no-excuses approach to both life and work.
“There’s always excuses in life, reasons why things can’t get done,” she
says. Ultimately, finishing is what matters. “At the end of the day,” she told
Crain’s Detroit Business in 2007, “winners get it done.”
Mary grew up in suburban Detroit, the second oldest of eight children, all
born within nine years. When she was in first grade, her father died after
summer 2010
19

his appendix
ruptured. He
was 44.
Mary, the
oldest
daughter,
assumed
the role of
secondary
mom,
caring
for her
siblings,
three of
whom were still babies. “There was a lot of
responsibility at a young age,” she says, “so I
grew up fast.”
Money was tight. The eight children
squeezed into two bedrooms. Her mom,
a hairdresser, bought each child two new
outfits a year from K-Mart.
“Everyone in my family knew we were the
poorest kids in the neighborhood,” Mary
says. “There was some embarrassment.
When you’re wearing jeans with holes in
them, or maybe you’ve worn the same
outfit two or three times in a week, people
comment.”
Mary was shy and insecure, but she
excelled at school and sports, anything that
had “a scoreboard, a number or a grade
attached to it.” She earned nearly all A’s and
was always picked first on sports teams.
Those achievements gave her the positive
reinforcement she craved and an outlet from
her struggles at home. “School was fun for
me,” she says. “It was my escape.”
But school couldn’t buy necessities like
books and sporting equipment. Mary knew
she had to find a job. Her older brother
caddied at the nearby Franklin Hills Country
Club, but he tried to dissuade her when
she asked about working there. After all,
there were no girl caddies. But she was
determined. “You lose your shyness when it’s
about survival,” Mary says. “It was, ‘How am
I going to pay for my gym shoes, my baseball
mitt Caddying was a necessity.”
So one day, she walked the mile and a half
“You lose your
shyness when it’s
about survival. It
was ‘How am I
going to pay for
my gym shoes’
Caddying was a
necessity.”
IF YOU
KNEW SUZY
The relationship
between Franklin
Hills golfer Suzy
Rosin and her
faithful caddie,
Mary Bitkowski,
is explored in “If
You Knew Suzy: A
Mother, a Daughter,
a Reporter’s
Notebook,” a
memoir written by
Suzy’s daughter and
Wall Street Journal
reporter Katherine
Rosman.
The book details a
mother-daughter
relationship and
Suzy’s battle with
cancer. Available in
bookstores now.
to the exclusive club, past the tall stone
gates and into the world of expensive cars
and successful businessmen. She asked the
caddie master for a job; he said they didn’t
hire girls. She pleaded for a chance.
That year, she racked up 215 loops and was
named Rookie of the Year.
It wasn’t easy being the only girl among 200
boys. They’d rush the door while she was in
the bathroom and cross off her name from
the wait list for the best loops. That didn’t
discourage her. “It made me work that much
harder,” she says, “so I didn’t fail.”
One day, a club member named Suzy Rosin
spotted Mary from another hole and came
over to meet her. “She waved and said, ‘You
must be Ronnie’s sister,’” Mary recalls.
It was a turning point in her life. She couldn’t
believe someone like Suzy — someone
beautiful, classy and elegant whom everyone
loved — went out of her way to speak to her.
For the next seven summers, Mary caddied
regularly for Suzy. On the course, they
formed a unique bond.
“She had a lot of empathy,” Mary says. “She
knew I was the oldest daughter in a family
of eight; she knew that we were very poor.
But I was always upbeat, energetic, positive. I
think she appreciated that in me.”
Suzy helped Mary believe college could be a
reality. When Mary first spotted a poster for
the Evans Scholarship on the bulletin board,
she read it over six times, every word. Then
she brought it home and read it again.
Earning the Scholarship was “a life-changer,”
Mary says. At college, as she had before,
Mary stood out. She was one of the first
girls to live in the Michigan Scholarship
House and one of the few females in the
male-dominated industrial engineering
program. But she excelled at school, serving
on e-board in the Evans House and as team
captain of the school’s varsity softball team.
After college, Mary pursued an MBA at
Harvard. She worked at several companies
before taking over in 2002 as CEO of
AxleTech, a firm that makes drivetrain
20 The Mac Report

components for off-highway and specialty
vehicles.
Under her leadership, the company, based
in Troy, Mich., dramatically changed
its business strategy and attitude. “The
culture changed from one of entitlement
to ‘every day, you have to prove yourself ’,”
she says. “Sometimes you have to do things
differently, sometimes you have to turn it all
upside down.”
The business has become more aggressive.
Today, it sees revenues of almost $600
million, making it the fastest-growing and
most profitable business in its industry.
Mary’s achievements haven’t gone unnoticed.
In 2007, she was named one of
Detroit’s most influential women by Crain’s
Business. She was featured in a 2007
BusinessWeek cover story and honored as a
Crain’s Automotive News Top 100 Woman in
the Automotive Industry in 2000.
Her philosophy is simple. “Whatever you
do, you should aim to be the best,” she says.
“That’s how I live my life, whether it’s golf or
work. It’s that inner drive.”
For instance, Mary has won her country club
golf championship 15 times. “With all due
respect to competitors, when I compete, I
expect to come out on top,” she says. “That
creates a little of a pressure situation, but it’s
part of being a high performer.”
She pushes her workers just as hard. “She
is probably the most disciplined, focused
person I’ve ever met,” her former boss, John
A. Hatherly, president of Wynnchurch,
told BusinessWeek in 2007. “She’s very
demanding. You can’t hide from Mary. If
you’re not performing, she’ll find you.”
It’s a message she tries to pass along to
young women. “When I mentor girls, I
tell them not to think about it in terms of
being the best woman,” she says. “Just think
about being the best. Yeah, there may be
discrimination or intimidation, but if you’re
really good, people are going to grab you.”
Mary believes her success is directly due to
her upbringing, as well as from the kindness
At left: Mary Petrovich at home with her son, Kevin, and dog Rudy. Above: Mary returns to
Franklin Hills Country Club, where she caddied. Clockwise from left: Resting on the caddie bench,
holding the clipboard used to sign up for loops and sitting outside the former caddie entrance.
“Whatever
you do, you
should aim
to be the
best. That’s
how I live
my life,
whether
it’s golf or
work.”
of people like Suzy Rosin. In 2005, Suzy
passed away, but not before Mary had a
chance to write her a letter: “From the day I
met you as a shy, under-confident 12-yearold
girl, you melted me with your warmth
and kindness. You were the best of a big
sister and mother to me for seven years.”
“You helped give me the motivation to
make something of my life,” she wrote.
“You developed and nurtured me. You
helped make me what I am today in many
important ways: driven, passionate and
caring.”
There are times it’s still hard for Mary, who is
now a WGA Director, to believe how far she’s
come. Today, she lives with her husband,
Scott, and their two children, Kyle, 13, and
Kevin, 11, in a house overlooking Pine Lake
in West Bloomfield, Mich. “If someone had
written this all down for me when I was 12, I
would’ve laughed,” she says.
Now she’s figuring out what comes next, and
finding a balance in her life is tops on that
list. “I struggle with that a little. It’s always
been a climb up a hill to get to a mountain,”
she says. “Now, I am at the top of that
mountain.”
story by Amy Boerema
photos by Brad Ziegler
summer 2010
21

Caddies Justin Cruz and Matt D’Souza (Ill. ’13) with
WGA Director Kevin Buggy and his wife, Linda.
Raising the bar
Kenny Goodwin shares a laugh with D’Souza
and Cruz in the caddie yard.
With a passionate caddie master and strong support from
club members, the Park Ridge caddie program thrives
As a high school senior, Matt Bogusz (NU ’09) had
an ambitious dream — he wanted to be a state
representative by age 30.
Five years and one Evans Scholarship later, Bogusz is
Third Ward alderman for the city of Des Plaines, one of
the area’s youngest-ever elected officials, and on the path
to accomplishing his goal. And that path started at Park
Ridge Country Club in Park Ridge, Ill.
Bogusz is just one caddie success story from Park Ridge.
But there are plenty
“There’s no better feeling
than to see a kid grow up
and become successful.
That’s why I do what I do.”
-Kenny Goodwin
others. The club has more
currently enrolled Evans
Scholars than any other
WGA-member club, with
22 students attending
schools across the country
this fall. With nearly 100
Alumni, Park Ridge is
setting the bar as a model
Evans Scholars caddie program, supporters say.
Much of this success is due to caddie master Kenny
Goodwin, who has been at the club for a decade.
“Without Kenny’s help and support, I wouldn’t have had
the opportunity,” Bogusz said. “He was the one who made
it happen for me.”
Goodwin takes an active role by visiting high school
officials in search of potential caddies. “I look for kids
who are dedicated and eager to work, academically
talented and in financial need,” he said. “And someone
who doesn’t mind waking up at 6 a.m. every morning.”
It’s also critical to personally inform the parents, he says.
“I sit down with them and let them know what we have
to offer,” he said. “Their kids are caddying for people who
know what it takes to be successful. It’s a great experience.”
And one that extends beyond a summer job. Goodwin
keeps in touch with his caddies after they
leave. When they visit, he shows off the
commemorative plaque bearing their names
in the clubhouse’s central corridor (right).
“There’s no better feeling than to see a kid
grow up and become successful,” he said.
“That’s why I do what I do.”
Buy-in from the members is another critical component
of the program’s success. Before Goodwin, Park Ridge
members were ambivalent. Today, they embrace their
role as mentors, dishing out life and career advice during
loops, and proudly sporting Par Club caps. Every member
has donated to Evans Scholars since 1991. In August,
they’ll play golf with the caddies at “Caddie Day.”
“The members recognize it’s a great opportunity for these
kids to be successful and for the public at large,” said club
general manager Tom McHugh. “We value education.”
by Nicole Thompson
22 The Mac Report

In all
seriousness
The life lessons the
Evans Scholarship taught
a Miami graduate
Steve Caminiti (Mia. ’83) never planned on
becoming a comedian — until he became an
Evans Scholar.
The friendships he made at the Miami University
Scholarship House helped him realize a new dream,
one he has turned into a successful full-time career.
But at age 12, when he began caddying at Cincinnati’s
Western Hills Country Club, Caminiti wasn’t thinking
about comedy. “I was a skinny little dude,” he said. “I
got my lunch stolen almost daily by the older caddies.”
He grew and eventually earned an Evans Scholarship
in 1979. The Miami House became the birthplace
of his best memories, lifelong friendships and a
newfound passion for making people laugh.
“That’s where I realized I was funny and met a lot
of funny caddies like me,” he said. “Also the movie
Caddyshack came out and it seemed like it was about
us. I must have quoted it
thousands of times.”
“The best memories
I have are of the
friends I made and still
have today. That is
undeniably the best part
of the Scholarship.”
After graduation, Caminiti
got a job in marketing
but did comedy on the
side. On a night out with
Scholars, he performed for
the first time and won first
prize.
-Steve Caminiti
Soon after, he quit his job
to be a full-time comedian.
“I’ve never looked back and don't regret it,” he said.
“And it was all caused by my Evans Scholars friends.”
Steve Caminiti (Mia. ’83) is currently on the national
comedy circuit and a member of Country Club Comedians.
Since then, Caminiti has opened for Robin Williams,
Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, been featured on HBO
and Last Comic Standing, and was voted funniest
person in Ohio by Showtime.
He has used his comedic and marketing talents
to fundraise for charitable groups, performing
for soldiers on United Service Organization tours
throughout Europe and for American firefighters and
police. “It’s good karma,” he says. “I believe what goes
around comes around.”
Caminiti’s latest comedic venture brings him back
to the golf world. He helped found Country Club
Comedians, which provides corporate-style comedy
to country clubs. He hopes to donate some proceeds
from this effort to Evans Scholars.
“The best memories I have are of the friends I made
and still have today — lifelong friends connected and
brought together by the Evans Scholars Program,”
he says. “That is undeniably the best part of the
Scholarship.”
by Nicole Thompson
summer 2010
23

Photo (at left)
by Michael Eng,
The East County
Observer, Bradenton
Fla. Copyright 2009
by The Observer
Group Inc. Used
with permission.
Making a
Connection
A Florida doctor works to better the lives of his cancer patients
using the people skills he learned on the golf course
It was out on the golf course, on the second hole, around 10 a.m. on a Wednesday,
when Dwight Fitch (Mich. ’97) decided to start paying attention to people.
“It struck me that I’m out here actually working,” he recalls of his caddie days at
Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich. “This guy was out here
playing games. I liked what he was doing better. So I decided to figure out how he got
there.”
From that moment, he made it a priority to learn how to become successful, to study people’s
mannerisms, body language and character. And the golf course, with its colorful characters, was the
perfect place to start.
The skills he cultivated in those early years paid off. Fitch is now a radiation oncologist at 21st Century
Oncology in Bradenton, Fla., working tirelessly to better the lives of his patients, many of whom are on
24 The Mac Report

the verge of death. He helps some by using the
most advanced radiation techniques available
in the country; others are helped by simple
empathy and compassion.
Fitch’s own path to success began the day his
aunt picked him up from school and said she
was taking him to caddie training at the country
club. Fitch, who grew up in Detroit, had never
heard of such a thing. “I thought they had horses
there,” he says.
But it was that job, and ultimate exposure to
people who could afford to play golf in the
middle of the week, that taught Fitch some of his
most valuable life lessons.
“I started paying attention to people,” he says.
“I figured out how to talk to them, how to read
their body language and facial expressions. I
figured out who wanted to talk and who didn’t,
and when to stop talking. I figured out what
people wanted to hear. Those lessons followed
me to this day.”
Fitch earned the Evans Scholarship to the
University of Michigan and graduated with an
engineering degree. Then he decided to head to
medical school at Michigan. “I loved learning,”
he says. “That was the one thing no one could
ever take from me.”
During clinical rotations, he formed a close bond
with an older man who had advanced lymphoma.
“I was the
first person
to actually
explain things
to him in
terms he could
understand,”
he says. “That
feeling I got
working with
that patient is
what pushed
Fitch, his wife, Yakeitha, and their children live
in Bradenton, Fla.
me toward
oncology.”
These days,
Fitch is often a last resort for the most severe
cancer patients. He first must determine if radiation,
which uses high-energy X-rays to try to
shrink and kill the tumors, is the right treatment
for them. If so, he creates a plan, figuring out
“You
celebrate
the wins and
you carry
those who
have passed
away inside
your heart,
knowing you
did the best
you could at
the end of
each day.”
how much radiation is needed and how it should
be delivered. All the while, he’s paying attention
to each patient’s emotional needs. “I can get an
idea from their body language and expressions if
they are upset, nervous, anxious or comfortable,”
he says. “That makes it easier to give each patient
what they need to feel better.”
Though his field’s technology has improved dramatically
in the past decade, it can’t save everyone.
And one of the hardest parts of his job is telling
people that. “If they’re very sick, sometimes the
best treatment is no treatment,” he says. “That’s the
toughest part, telling someone I can’t do anything
for them.”
Unfortunately, it’s something he must do a few
times a week. But his job isn’t just to cure; it’s
also to try to provide the best life possible for the
time the patient has left. “Sometimes improving
quality of life is the goal,” he says. “Sometimes just
listening or helping someone to cope or accept the
inevitable is also helping.”
The keys to connecting with patients, according
to Fitch — he talks to them, not at or above them.
He’s empathetic and compassionate and treats
them not as a disease, but as a patient. “That is
conveyed in your eyes, your body language and
how you speak to them,” he says. And he takes the
time to explain things in a way they can understand,
“the one thing they appreciate the most.”
But it can be a challenge trying to maintain an
emotional balance. “You have to be compassionate
for Ms. Smith, and a little bit of you goes with
her when she dies,” he says. “But you have to have
enough emotional energy left to treat Ms. Jones.
That’s where I try to be. You celebrate the wins and
you carry those who have passed away inside your
heart, knowing you did the best you could at the
end of each day.”
Because of his job, Fitch sees each day as a gift.
“Everybody’s time is limited,” he says. “I live life as
best I can. I try to put out good energy.”
And every once in a great while, Fitch gets to enjoy
an escape from the heavy emotion of his job — in
the middle of the week. “There’s times I’ve been
out on the golf course, like when I’m on vacation,”
he says. “And I’ll play and say, ‘Yeah. This is good.’”
by Amy Boerema
summer 2010
25

Pitching for Success
I
n his twenties, Bill Conroy (Ind. ’83) was all about the
show. He gambled and drank and threw money away
on luxury cars. Then he turned 30 and realized, despite
the flash and dazzle, he was missing something important.
“A friend threw a birthday party for me, and none of the
guys I grew up with were invited,” he says. “They were all
married with kids. It made me realize I was pursuing things
that had no meaning.”
So Conroy, a diehard baseball fan, began volunteer
coaching a youth boys baseball team in Chicago’s Beverly
neighborhood. An opening arose to coach a girls’ fastpitch
team, which led to coaching several travel club teams, and
one winning nationals in 2001.
That turned into an opportunity to finance a professional
girls softball team in Chicago. Conroy, who owns his own
company, Hi-Tech Solutions, ended up financing the
entire league, becoming commissioner of the National Pro
Fastpitch League. “I don’t do much in moderation,” he says.
From 2004 to 2008, he owned the Chicago Bandits, which
clinched the championship behind the team’s most famous
player, Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch. For Conroy,
being owner/general manager of a pro sports team was
a goal he’d always had. “I didn’t think the team would be
women’s softball,” he says, “but it’s been a great experience.”
His role has provided him opportunities such as meeting
the president of Major League Baseball and White Sox
manager Ozzie Guillen, and throwing out the first pitch
at a Sox game. But the Bandit years were hectic, dealing
with sponsorships and team deals, all while trying to
attract fan support.
“Women’s sports is a tough business, and it hasn’t gotten
the support you hope it would,” Conroy says. Finch
helped pull in crowds, but nothing “earth-shattering.”
After winning the 2008 title, Conroy stepped down to
spend more time with his family. He still is owner and
president of the club team, the Beverly Bandits, giving
him the chance to return to coaching youth. Of the 147
girls in the club program, 140 have received a college
scholarship offer from a Division I school; the others
received scholarship offers from Division II schools.
Conroy takes every chance to tell his teams about the
Evans Scholarship and the opportunities it provided.
“I’d like to see them all give back in some way,” he says.
“My way is to do everything I can to give these kids
opportunities to play college ball.”
These days, Conroy feels he’s found the meaning he was
searching for years ago. And when he finally married at
age 40, his old boyhood friends were there, standing up.
Bill Conroy (Ind. ’83), fifth from left,
with the Chicago Bandits at Wrigley
Field in 2005.
26 The Mac Report

ALUMNIhonors
Renovation of the Year
Raymond Hearn (MSU ’83), president and founder
of Raymond Hearn
Golf Course Designs,
won GOLF Magazine’s
2009 Renovation of
the Year award for
his work at Flossmoor
Country Club in
Flossmoor, Ill.
“Hearn’s inspired
renovation has put the storied club back on the map,”
said Joe Passov, GOLF Magazine’s architecture and
course rankings editor, in GOLF Magazine.
Chairman of the Board
William Stasior (NU ’63) was elected chairman of the
board of the United Negro College Fund, the nation’s
largest and most effective minority
education organization.
Stasior is the Senior Chair of global
consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton
and served on the UNCF board for 15
years before his election to chairman.
He’ll serve on the board with other senior
executives from some of the nation’s largest companies.
Michigan’s Distinguished Alumni
Mary (Bitkowski) Petrovich (Mich. ’85) and
Shawn Ward (Mich. ’95) were acknowledged as
distinguished alumni
by the University
of Michigan’s
engineering school.
Petrovich is CEO
of AxleTech
International in Troy,
Mich., and Ward,
right in photo, is
president, CEO and co-founder of Detny Footwear
in New York, NY. They were two of five Michigan
University Alums to be recognized by the school.
Outstanding library stewardship
Michael Madden (Marq. ’60) former director of the
Schaumburg Township District Library,
was honored Dec. 4 as an Illinois
Library Luminary by the Illinois Library
Association. Madden was library
director in Schaumburg Township for
41 years before retiring in 2008.
“This award honors not only his
stewardship of the Schaumburg
Township District Library, but also his generous
mentoring of a generation of librarians and his
leadership in the Illinois public library community,”
new library leader Stephanie Sarnoff said.
-Daily Herald
Beverly’s service award
Tom Kearney (Ill. ’68)
was honored with a
special service award at a
brunch celebrating current
Evans Scholars and
their families by Beverly
Country Club on May 22.
Kearney, a former Beverly
caddie, became a WGA Director in 1989.
Since 2007, he has served as chairman of the WGA
scholarship committee, traveling across the country on
his own dime to attend Scholar selection meetings. He
currently serves as co-chairman.
Reaching new heights
Bill Maibusch (Ill. ’78) was featured
in Oregon’s Mail Tribune for his work
in Doha, Qatar as project director for
Turner Construction International.
Joining the team responsible for
constructing the world’s tallest building,
the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai,
Maibusch hopes to achieve his dream of building a
skyscraper. The firm is currently planning to build a
112-story tower, some 1,800 feet high. “For me, it has
always been about tall buildings,” Maibusch said. “The
higher the better.”
summer 2010
27

SCHOLARspotlight
WGA Chairman
Roger Mohr,
center, with
the 14 Chapter
presidents.
winter outing
Winter Outing celebrates Scholar success
The 58th annual Winter Outing was held Feb. 6 at
the Glen View Club in Golf, Ill., with about 200
Evans Scholars, Alumni, WGA Directors and other
program supporters attending.
Other highlights included updates by each of the
14 outgoing Scholars Chapter presidents, who
reviewed their academic, philanthropic and social
achievements in 2009.
For the second year in a row, the Northwestern New
Scholars won the New Scholar Academic Competition,
earning an outstanding 3.56 GPA.
The leaders also shared how the Scholarship has
impacted them and thanked WGA Directors and
Evans Alumni for their support.
New Chairman’s First Address
Roger Mohr (Marq. ’53) gave his first speech as
the new chairman of the WGA, honoring outgoing
Chairman John N. Fix for his two years of service.
He also shared a message with current Scholars.
“We all owe a great deal to the Evans Scholarship
program, and we take great pride in seeing the
accomplishments of the students and their fellow
Scholars at our 14 Scholarship Houses,” he said.
2010 Winter Outing Highlights
Northwestern wins Academic Trophy; nine
New Scholar classes earn above a 3.0.
Illinois women beat Michigan in the
basketball tournament, clinching their
second straight championship.
Last year’s men’s winners, Miami, beat
Wisconsin to win four times in the past
five years.
The 58th annual Golf Ball was held at the
Hyatt Regency in Chicago.
28 The Mac Report

Scholars pitch in for
crime prevention
Ohio State University Evans
Scholars raised $3,500 for
University Crime Stoppers at
their annual Hummer Memorial
Tournament on May 15 at Royal
American Links in Galena, Ohio.
Don Denny with the Ohio State Evans Scholars at his retirement party.
advisor news
Ohio State faculty
advisor retires
Don Denny retired after 20 years as
the faculty advisor for The Ohio State
University Evans Scholars Chapter.
Denny has won the school’s Outstanding
Student Organization Advisor award four
times, the last being in 2008.
He played an integral role in the campaign
to build the Hamilton House, which was
dedicated in 2009.
Taking over in his position is Mike Neblo
(NU ‘91), an assistant political science
professor at OSU.“I am tremendously
honored to be the new faculty advisor,
and even more
humbled to be
following Don
Denny in that role,”
he says.
“Don was known
as the ‘dean’ of the
faculty advisors
because of his long
tenure, but I admire him most for the
wisdom and commitment he brought
to those many years of service to the
Scholarship and the Scholars,” he says.
Mike Neblo
Inaugural Beverly Evans Family Brunch honors Scholars
Beverly Scholars
and WGA
Directors at the
inaugural brunch
on May 22.
Sixty-eight golfers took part in the
event, held in honor of Scholar
Stephanie Hummer, who was
murdered in 1994.
Ohio State Evans Scholars at their
annual Hummer Memorial Tournament.
Proceeds have gone to providing
blue safety phones for the campus
and building and maintaining the
Stephanie Hummer Memorial
Recreation Park in Columbus.
Hummer’s parents attend the event
each year. “The tournament was
very successful,” OSU Chapter Vice
President Ryan Pedro said. “It was
one of the nicest days we had, so
we were thankful for that.”
Illinois Polar Plunge
Beverly Country Club’s first Evans
Scholars Family Brunch was held May
22 to honor current Beverly Scholars
and their families.
Organizers hope to make the brunch an
annual event. Evans Alumni Tom Kearney,
Collins Fitzpatrick, Joe Haffner,
John Murphy and Tim McVady were
among the ceremony’s speakers, sharing
life lessons with current Scholars.
“This event helped us to show the parents
what we are about at Beverly and,
to a greater degree, how proud we are of
our Scholars and their accomplishments
both inside and outside the classroom,”
said Alum organizer Jack Crisham.
Thirteen Illinois Scholars jumped into
a freezing lake for their first-ever Polar
Plunge on March 8. They raised more
than $1,200 for Special Olympics.
summer 2010
29

WGA hosts first
blood drive
scholar service
Going bald for a cause
In March, nineteen Marquette Scholars —
including one female, Ellen Kingsbury —
shaved their heads to benefit St. Baldrick’s
Foundation, a group dedicated to raising
funds to fight childhood cancer. Scholars
Purdue Evans Scholars lend a hand to Habitat
Purdue Scholars raised
awareness for Habitat for
Humanity by building a
house out of a cardboard
box on the Purdue Memorial
Mall lawn.
raised about $9,000 for the group.
“It’s going to be the beginning of a
great new Marquette Evans Scholars
tradition,” said chapter President
Kevin Scott.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation funds more
in childhood cancer research grants
than any organization except the U.S.
government. In 2010, nearly 37,000
have shaved their heads for the cause.
WGA staff Erin Indovina (Pur. ’08) and Mike
Maher (Marq. ’07) in Golf, Ill.
For the ninth straight year, the Evans
Scholar chapters hosted a spring
campus blood drive, collecting several
hundred pints of blood.
The Annual Blood Drive began in 2002
by the Evans Scholars National Committee
in response to Sept. 11, 2001.
It continues to be a success in helping
meet the critical shortage of blood.
In addition, WGA headquarters for the
first time held a blood drive in Golf,
Illinois, with staff and neighbors donating
18 pints.
Scholars also raised $500
and worked for a day to
rebuild a local Indiana
family’s home.
Alex Steenman (Pur. ’11) at the Purdue drive
Indy Scholars in Little 500
The Indiana Evans Scholars cycling
team, who qualified to participate in
the 2010 Little 500 race on the Indiana
University campus, finished 22nd out of
33 teams after several injuries.
The annual event, held April 24, is
patterned after the Indy 500 and is the
largest collegiate bike race in the
U.S. Proceeds go toward working
student scholarships at Indiana.
The Scholar team included Chris
Williams (Ind. ’11), Mike Jaklic
(Ind. ’11), Dan McCarthy (Ind.
’12) and David Osborn (Ind. ’12).
Jesse Burroughs (Ind. ’08) volunteered
as team coach.
30 The Mac Report

The 2010 National Committee
The Evans Scholars National Committee was established in
1960 for Scholars to share ideas across chapters in an effort to
improve the overall Program.
The committee is composed of a president and an e-board
representative from each of the Foundation’s 14 chapters.
They hold events throughout the year, including leadership
workshops and roundtable meetings to discuss ideas.
National Committee elected officers, from left: Missouri’s
Zach Kratofil, OSU’s Mike Ernst, Illinois’ George Witchek
and MSU’s Nick Janicke.
scholar HONORS
Miami’s Siegel Award
Tyler Petersen (Mia.
‘13) won the chapter’s Gil
Siegel Award for earning
the most points of all
New Scholars. Gil Siegel,
right, with Petersen, is a
past faculty advisor.
Minnesota’s Fritz Corrigan Award
Aaron Dahlke (Minn. ’10) won
the Fritz Corrigan Award as an
outstanding Evans Scholar from
Minnesota. He held several
chapter leadership positions and
currently works at Towers Watson.
“Being an Evans Scholar
means making the most of the
tremendous opportunities that I have
been given,” he says.
Missouri Phi Beta Kappa Society induction
In May, John
Wuennenberg (Mo. ’10)
was initiated into Phi Beta
Kappa, the oldest and most
prestigious academic honor
society in the United States,
founded on Dec. 5, 1776.
Michigan Standish Awards
The winners of the 2010 James
D. Standish, Jr., Awards as outstanding
Scholars from the state
of Michigan were Philip Eklem
(Mich. ’10), right, and Kevin
DeStefanis (MSU ’10), below.
Eklem served as AVP for his
chapter and now is GRA of the
Michigan Scholar House while he
finishes his engineering degree.
He plans to go to law school.
DeStefanis served as president of
the Michigan State Scholars and now works as a
financial advisor at Edward Jones.
Marquette College of Business
Corbin Weyer
(Marq. ’10),
Yadi Leon
(Marq. ’10)
and Kevin
Scott (Marq.
’10), from
left in photo,
were three of 30 seniors in Marquette’s College of
Business who received achievement awards.
Weyer received the Wall Street Journal Award,
Finance; Leon received the International Business
Service and Leadership Award; and Scott received
the Economics Faculty Award.
summer 2010
31

The nine
finalists from
the Oregon
selection
meeting;
below,
finalist
Katherine
Reese from
Chicago.
new Scholars
This fall, 215 new Evans Scholars will begin
school at 18 universities nationwide. There will be
more than 850 Evans Scholars in school.
“The Evans
Scholarship
means the
world to me,
and I am
very appreciative
to be
a recipient.”
- Jerrick Gumila
Reflections from an incoming Scholar
New Scholar and pre-med major Jerrick Gumila (Ill. ’14) wrote a
thank-you note to Joe Haffner (Marq. ’87):
“I remember the day my father told me I had to start working at
Medinah Country Club. I was in 8th grade. I asked Dad why I had
to be a caddie boy, why I had to get up at 5 a.m. in the summer
instead of sleeping in like my friends. His response was, ‘Son, you
will understand someday.’ That was almost five years ago. Now, I
am ready to begin another adventure in my life.
I want to thank you for all your help the past five years. Your guidance and support led me
in the right path to be awarded the Evans Scholarship. None of it would have been possible
without you, and I greatly appreciate your hard work.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this Scholarship. It means the world to me, and I
am very appreciative to be a 2010 recipient. Someday, I would like to be a part of the Evans
Scholars Alumni family and continue the legacy in making a difference.”
32 The Mac Report

The Michigan Evans Scholar seniors.
new graduates
In May, 180 Evans Scholars received their
diploma. In doing so, they joined a network of
9,000 Evans Alumni across the country.
Reflections from an Evans graduate
In August, Kevin Scott (Marq. ’10) will begin a full-time job at Accenture in
Hartford, Conn. Moving to a new town by himself is a little nerve-wracking,
he says, but mostly exciting. And it won’t be the first time he’ll face a big
life change alone.
“When I moved to Marquette, I didn’t know anyone at the school or in the
state of Wisconsin,” he says. “I think orientation at work will be a little
like New Scholar weekend, only at the next level.”
From the Scholarship, Scott says he learned maturity and leadership
skills. But finding a job in a tough economy wasn’t easy. Scott, who will work in the group
systems integration area, has an Alum to thank in part for that.
Accenture manager Dave Banik (Marq. ’03) helped him restructure his resume, gave him
interview tips and put in a good word with the higher-ups. In June, Scott got the official job
offer. “I’m very excited to start working and become more independent,” he says. “I’m ready to
move on to that next stage of my life.”
“I’m excited
to become
more independent.
I’m ready
to move on
to the next
stage.”
- Kevin Scott
summer 2010
33