Date:
9/19/2012
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 575.562.2253
PORTALES–The Alumni Association at Eastern New Mexico University will present its Outstanding Alumni Awards at the 37th Annual ENMU Foundation Breakfast on Saturday, Sept. 29, in the Campus Union Ballroom during homecoming activities at ENMU-Portales.
Receiving awards this year are Tommy Gonzalez, Paul A. Mapes, Richard T. Price and David F. Gregory. They represent the fields of city management, law, business and medicine, respectively.
Tommy Gonzalez
Twenty-seven Homecomings ago in 1985, Tommy Gonzalez led the Greyhounds to an overtime victory on a fourth and goal pass to Alvin Harges against Texas Lutheran College. On that day, he threw for 243 yards, completing 20-38 passes. On the field, he showcased the leadership that has come to define his professional career today.
Off the field, Gonzalez demonstrates his managerial skills as city manager of Irving, Texas. Additionally, he served for 22 years in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Former city manager Rick Menchaca says, "Tommy is a trailblazer in the field of city management, known for his business-like approach to public management and commitment to getting the job done."
Gonzalez oversaw the first successful implementation of Lean Six Sigma, a theory for cutting excess and optimizing resources in the workplace. Under Lean Six Sigma, the city of Irving has saved more than $38 million.
More important than his professional success is family success. Gonzalez is a devoted husband to his wife, Sandy, and an engaged father to his sons, Sagen and Sager.
Paul A. Mapes
Paul A. Mapes competed on ENMU's debate team from 1965-1968 and served as a reporter and editor for The Chase. In 1968,he won ENMU's Junior Year Abroad Scholarship and studied at Schiller College in Heidelburg, Germany.
Upon his return, Mapes' classmates elected him to the Student Senate; he was instrumental in writing the new student body constitution.
In 1969, Mapes received the Root-Tilden Scholarship to New York University School of Law, a prestigious public service scholarship. From 1972-1975, he served as a Judge Advocate Corps (JAG) lawyer in Washington, D.C. Here, he received the National Defense Service Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal.
After serving as a JAG, Mapes worked as a federal antitrust prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. A large part of this job entailed evaluating proposed mergers.
In 1991, he relocated to San Francisco to undertake an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) post with the U.S. Department of Labor. Currently, Mapes lives with his wife, Maureen, in Walnut Creek, Calif.
Richard T. Price
Richard T. Price transferred to ENMU for his sophomore year in 1979, after attending New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) his freshman year. He golfed for the Greyhounds, joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and served on the Inter- Fraternal Council while a student.
From 1982-89, Price served as general manager of National Video in Montgomery, Ala. In the early 1990s, he returned home to Artesia, N.M., where he was president of Take 2 Video. Price sold the successful chain, and in 1996 the Artesia Chamber of Commerce selected him as executive director, a post he held until becoming executive director of the Chase Foundation in 2006.
At the Chase Foundation, Price administers a scholarship program that has funded 700 Artesia High School graduates and committed $7.5 million dollars. In addition to providing scholarships to Artesia students, the foundation funds local non-profit organizations that help "good people do great things."
He and his wife, Cody, have six children: Taylor, Brian, Kevin, Connor, Caleb and Callie.
David F. Gregory
A co-valedictorian of Portales High School's class of 1959, David F. Gregory, M.D., enrolled at Eastern New Mexico University the same year. He says, "I wouldn't trade my ENMU degree for anyone else's."
He was president of Chi Sigma Alpha, a charter member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity (previously First Star and Crescent), and co-writer of ENMU's new student-body constitution.
After ENMU, Dr. Gregory established himself as an expert in infectious diseases, building on this reputation through his work in the Indian Health Service (HIS). His work at the Santa Fe Indian Hospital focused on infectious and non-infectious diseases. At varying points, Dr. Gregory left the Indian Health Service only to return to it.
In 2006, Dr. Gregory won the IHS National Council of Clinical Directors Physician Dedicated Service Award. Many of his patients remember his Pueblo Village house calls while his colleagues revere his dedication to service and admire his intelligence.
He lives in Santa Fe, N.M., with his wife, Allison.
For more information about the Outstanding Alumni Awards, call 575.562.2125.