Alumni Awards Luncheon

The Alumni Leadership Council (ALC) invites you to the 2025 Alumni Awards Luncheon on October 18 on the James Graham Brown Campus Center Patio. The College presents the highest alum awards annually during this event. Attendance is free; however, registration is highly recommended and can be found on the Homecoming registration form.  

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
  • Noon to 12:45 p.m.: Lunch
  • 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Alumni Award Presentations
REGISTRATION

Registration will be available in the Summer of 2025 and close on October 10.

Nominate

Do you know an alum whose story deserves to be celebrated? Now is your chance to help us honor their legacy by nominating them for the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest recognition Hanover College awards. This accolade celebrates alumni who embody excellence through outstanding career accomplishments, community service, or dedication to the College.

Submitting a nomination is a powerful way to acknowledge the inspiring work of your peers. If you know an alum whose dedication and success warrant recognition, we invite you to share their story. Please submit your nominations by November 15th. All nominations are valid for two years; those submitted by this deadline will be eligible for the following year's selection process.

Take a moment to make an impact—visit the Alumni Achievement Award Nomination Page to nominate an inspiring alum today!
 

 
2024 ALUMNI AWARDS WINNERS

The awards were presented at the Alumni Awards Luncheon on October 5, 2024, during Homecoming Weekend.

JOHN STANLEY '72
Alumni Achievement Award

Stanley's extensive career has spanned over 50 years, with ventures into banking, business consulting, education, and athletics.

He worked in the banking industry from 1975-2007, including roles as president of Old National Bank and regional chief executive officer of Old National Bancorp. He also worked as Southern Region's president and chief executive officer, president of Old National Bank-Evansville, executive vice-president at Old National Bank, and regional chief credit officer at Old National Bancorp.

Stanley served as athletic director at the University of Evansville from 2007-14. He was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference's executive committee and committees for media negotiations and sportsmanship. In 2013, he was honored as the Under Armour I-AAA athletic director of the year by the National Association of College Athletic Directors.

He continues to operate Stanley Consulting Services, LLC, which he started in 2014. He also serves as president of the Evansville Otters baseball club (since 2017) and former president of the team's independent Frontier League (2019-20).

A former member of Hanover's Board of Trustees, Stanley's history of community service is vast. He has contributed as president of numerous organizations, including St. Mary's Foundation, Rehabilitation Center, United Way of Southwestern Indiana, Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority, and Purple Aces Club. He has also served on the boards of the Red Cross, Roberts Stadium Foundation, Operation City Beautiful, Evansville Sports Corporation, and Reference Services, Inc., among many others.

Stanley holds a degree from the University of Delaware's Stonier Graduate School of Banking and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Evansville.

He resides in Evansville, Ind., with his wife, Ede.

 

pete corrao '76

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

A founding member of Neace Lukens, Inc./Assured Partners, Corrao has worked for the company since 1991 and currently serves as senior vice president. For over a decade, he provided oversight for the property and casualty division and, later, led the employee benefits division in Indiana and Kentucky for ten years.

Before launching Neace Lukens, Inc., he served from 1987-91 as sales manager at Bunzl, Inc., an international packaging distributor, in their St. Louis and Louisville, Ky., offices.

Corrao, a 2002 inductee into Hanover’s athletic hall of fame, was an all-American lineman for the College’s football team in the 1970s. He followed his playing career with over 35 years as an assistant coach at the high school and intercollegiate levels.

He was a volunteer assistant coach for Hanover’s football squad from 2012-14. He previously held football coaching positions at Eastern Kentucky University, College of the Holy Cross, University of Dayton, and Decatur Central (Ind.) High School.

Corrao’s volunteer activities extend into his local communities and alma mater. He has been chair of Leadership Southern Indiana and president of the Ivy Tech Development Council and Clark County Youth Shelter Board. He has also contributed to the leadership boards for Bridgepointe Services, Goodwill Industries, and Providence (Ind.) High School.

His service to Hanover includes over five years as chair of the Louisville-area golf outing. He oversees the annual Bruce Harbeson Memorial Scholarship Golf Outing, which has raised over $100,000.

Corrao, who holds a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Dayton, lives in New Albany, Ind., with his wife, Suzanne Spencer Corrao '78.

JENN WILLIAMS '10

DISTINGUISHED YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

Williams is director of community engagement and partnerships at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is a founding member of the not-for-profit organization, which convenes and connects artists and resources in a reimagined 117-year-old power plant.

Williams earned a Master of Arts in art therapy, education, and community engagement from New York University in 2012. She followed with eight years as founder, artist, and designer at ArtJAW Designs.

She has earned numerous awards in the New York art scene, including the Municipal Art Society's MASTerworks Award (2023), Open House New York's Open City Award (2023), American Institute of Architects New York State's award for Adaptive Reuse/Historic Preservation (2023), New York Foundation for the Arts's Emerging Leader Award (2019) and the Center for Urban Pedagogy's National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award (2015). Williams serves as a volunteer with Hanover's COACH Mentoring Program and is an activist/mentor with IntegrateNYC, a youth-led organization for integration and equity in New York City Schools. She is also a member of the New York Department of Education Technology and Design Commission, NYC Arts and Education Roundtable, and Urban Assembly Maker Academy Career and Technical Education board.

She resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her partner, Grover Seestedt.

CASSI BINKLEY FRIDAY '11

DISTINGUISHED YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

Friday is the director of research programs and grants for Cure HHT, a nonprofit foundation that supports awareness, education, and research for this genetic blood vessel disorder. She previously served the organization as a consultant and, in 2021, was named Cure HHT's Trish Linke volunteer of the year.

Friday earned a master's degree in medical science and a doctoral degree in philosophy from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. She was a graduate research assistant and earned the McCullers Scholar and her department's Brian Harding Award. Her dissertation, "The Influence of APOE Genotype on Lipid Droplet Dynamics," contributed to the study of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.

Friday, the wife of a soldier, has been active in military spouse advocacy. While residing in South Korea, she was the Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Professional Network director. She served on a task force to advise military leaders on spouse employment issues and received volunteer-of-the-year recognition. Her impact resulted in implementing an expedited hiring program for military spouses that originated in South Korea, which was later adopted as the U.S. Department of Defense's overseas policy.

She resides in Maine., with her husband, Anthony, and their three children.

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