Seven people will be honored during Homecoming 2003 with university awards for their extensive devotion and service.
Beverly Romney Cutler, ’63, of Provo, and Mark J. Howard, ’67, of Las Vegas, will receive Distinguished Service Awards, which are extended to BYU alumni who have given outstanding service to their professions, community, nation, or church.
Service to Family Awards, given to BYU alumni for outstanding service in a home environment, will be presented to Ronald D. Rex, ’62, and Anna Marie Ward Rex, ’62, of Brigham City, Utah, and Albert H. “Sandy” Perkins III, ’63, and Sharon Perkins of Carlsbad, Calif.
Honorary Alumni Awards, which acknowledge significant service rendered to the university by people who did not attend BYU, will be given to Stanley M. and Mary Ellen W. Smoot of North Salt Lake City, Utah.
Beverly Cutler
Among the first to serve a humanitarian mission for the Church in Romania, Cutler was responsible for assessing the needs of orphanages on local and national levels and tailoring special programs to meet those needs. When the Church received permission to proselyte, she learned Romanian and taught the gospel. She also served a mission in Vietnam, where she began an English teaching program for government officials, doctors, and graduate students. Her efforts helped establish positive relationships between BYU and many influential leaders in Vietnam. Cutler volunteers for BYU in China as an administrator of a student-teaching program. Prior to her current service, she was a professor and associate dean in the David O. McKay School of Education. She received a master’s degree from BYU before earning a PhD from Stanford University, all while raising her five children alone.
Mark Howard
Howard was voted one of the most respected CEOs in Nevada in 2002. The president and CEO of MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas, he has received numerous awards, including the Humanitarian of the Year Award, Las Vegas Citizen of the Month, and Nurse’s Choice Award as the administrator who had done more for nursing than any other individual. He has served as chair of the Utah Hospital Association and was appointed to chair the American College of Healthcare Executives. Known for his mentoring, Howard has helped hundreds of students enter graduate programs in healthcare administration.
Ronald and Anna Marie Rex
At age 14 Anna Marie Ward Rex, the oldest of nine children, began raising her siblings and taking care of the family farm when her mother contracted an illness that would last many years. This same dedication to family has helped Anna Marie and Ronald, whom she met at BYU, to raise their own nine children. Ronald, the oldest of 11 siblings, has been active in the lives of his children in various ways, including serving as PTA president for Box Elder County. Both showed their dedication to their parents until their passing, taking care of them and helping on Ronald’s father’s ranch. Active in researching their heritage, the Rexes have published parts of their family history and have traveled to several states and countries to compile the records.
Sandy and Sharon Perkins
Sandy Perkins’ dedication to his aging parents was obvious. Every night at 10, he drove to their home and prepared them for bed, then attended to their needs at any hour of the night. His children remember family vacations being only weekend getaways because there were few people with whom Sandy could leave his parents. During five of those years Sandy served as bishop and was often found fixing cars and washing machines and painting ward members’ houses. During his service, Sharon has been a dedicated mother and homemaker, putting the needs of her children before her own. Even during financial hardship and physical ailment, the children were unaware of their parents’ struggles, due largely to their mother’s diligent support and love.
Stanley and Mary Ellen Smoot
Stanley M. and Mary Ellen Smoot have a long resume of service to the Church and BYU. A great-grandson of Abraham O. Smoot, the first president of BYU’s board of trustees, Stanley is an executive committee member for the scholarship fund bearing Abraham’s name. Mary Ellen, while serving as general president of the Relief Society, was a member of the BYU Board of Trustees and initiated the Women’s Conference service project at BYU, which has produced tens of thousands of quilts and hygiene kits for worldwide distribution. She was presented with the Marriage Marathon Award by the BYU Department of Marriage and Family Relations and received BYU’s Exemplary Woman Award. Stanley has been director of Church Hosting and served as a mission president. He is a regional welfare agent and is on the board of directors of Zion Securities.
Info: For information about nominations for the 2004 Homecoming awards, contact Nancy Carson at 801-422-6748 or 1-800-437-4663.