ALMA — The Alma College Advancement Office this month announced winners of the 2024 Alumni Awards in five areas, spanning multiple generations of Alma Scots.

Gary Peters, Hugh Brenneman, Dean Havelka, Katie Meloche, and Pat and Maurie Luetkemeier will be honored as part of the college’s annual Homecoming, Sept. 27-29.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Gary Peters ’80

This is the highest honor presented to alumni. It recognizes those who have brought distinction to the college through their professions, set strong examples for others, and served their communities through personal accomplishments that enhance the prestige of the college.

Gary Peters has served the state of Michigan in the United States Senate since 2015. He is the current chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — the Senate’s top oversight committee — as well as the Armed Services Committee and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. He is considered one of the most effective and bipartisan U.S. senators, having been named the “No. 1 most-effective senator” by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.

During his time at Alma College, Peters was on the student council and elected as president of the junior class. A resident assistant and a member of the Zeta Sigma fraternity, as well as the Interfraternity Council (IFC), Peters also DJ’ed a radio show on WABM.

“An Alma education provides individuals with the network, the knowledge, and the critical skills necessary to devise common-sense solutions to the most difficult challenges facing our society,” Peters said. “I’ve stayed connected to Alma to do my part to help strengthen that mission and support future classes of Scots who feel a similar sense of civic duty.”

Hebert Award

Hugh Brenneman ’67

This award is presented to alumni for their loyalty and service to Alma College and the college’s Alumni Association. It is named in memory of George Hebert, a 1920 alumnus whose love of Alma College and work on behalf of the institution was an inspiration to all alumni.

Hugh Brenneman came to Alma College looking for “a challenging and well-regarded liberal arts college” that would allow him to participate in a wide variety of activities. He did just that; joining the Delta Sigma Phi (Zeta Sigma) fraternity, cross-country team, Alma College and Michigan College Republicans, Interfraternity Council, The Almanian and Model UN.

Brenneman has remained involved with the college through various pre-law outreach programs, attending alumni functions, recruiting high school students to attend Alma College and serving on the Alumni Board for the past six years. He retired from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan after 35 years as a magistrate judge. Prior to that experience, Brenneman was a federal prosecutor and private practice attorney in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Brenneman advises current students to be diligent during their time in college: “Read the books, write the papers, do the research, practice the arts and participate in extracurricular activities.”

Smith Distinguished Service Award

Dean Havelka ’79

This award is presented to a graduate who believes in Alma College and has assisted with student recruitment, provided career steps to students or served on a college council or board. It is named in honor of Art ’38 and Carra (Jones) ’42 Smith.

Dean Havelka originally came to Alma College to play football, before an injury cut down his dreams of gridiron stardom. However, he built new relationships with professors that gave him new purpose and formed the foundation for a long and rewarding career as a public school administrator.

Havelka’s career took him all over the mid-Michigan area; starting out as a community and adult education director in Springport Public Schools before moving onto Meridian Public Schools, near Sanford. He worked at schools in St. Louis and Ithaca before moving to Breckenridge, where he served for seven years as a high school principal. He retired as superintendent of Hesperia Community Schools. Following retirement, he has served as an interim superintendent for various school districts and a supervisor of student teachers for Alma College.

Havelka’s advice to current students is to “Take full advantage of the opportunities Alma provides, both academically and socially, as they will help ensure success throughout your life.”

Young Alumni Award

Katie Meloche ’13

The award recognizes alumni of the past five to 15 years who are following through on the values of Alma College while attaining a high level of professional accomplishment and volunteer service.

Since graduating from Alma College, Katie Meloche has recruited her fellow graduates into the information and communication sciences program at Ball State (Ind.) University — then mentoring them through the program, as they start to navigate their careers.

Meloche is a senior sales engineer at UiPath, a software company, having previously held positions at IBM and Adobe. At Adobe, she led the Women at Adobe remote resource group, spoke at the Women in Tech World Series conference in Edinburgh, Scotland and engaged in three pro-bono projects with the Cambodian Children’s Fund and Women in Tech Uganda. She also owns her own breathwork business, helping people transform their lives through somatic practice.

At Alma College, Meloche was involved with the Center for Responsible Leadership, tennis team and Spanish Club. She said, “the ability to be heavily involved in activities at Alma expands your capacity to learn, create and grow in impact.”

Grand Marshals

Pat and Maurie Luetkemeier

The parade grand marshal for Alma College Homecoming represents the essence of Alma College.

The Luetkemeiers are well-known to multiple generations of Scots for their activity in the campus community and their love for all Scots. Maurie Luetkemeier retired as a professor of nutrition, physiology and exercise physiology in the Integrative Physiology and Health Science (IPHS) department. He also served as the department’s chair, advisor for the IPHS Honorary and international student advisor. He participated in several trips with students as part of the Center for Responsible Leadership and organized many Spring Term bicycle trips. He was a recipient of the Barlow Award for Faculty Excellence and outstanding faculty of the year in the natural sciences.

Pat Luetkemeier retired as a nurse practitioner at a private GYN practice in Mount Pleasant. She taught in the Alma College nursing program, lectured in physiology courses and accompanied her husband on bicycle trips with students. Pat received the Student Advocacy Award in 2022 for her work helping the college navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, she accompanied nursing students to Belize for their global nursing experience and continues to teach part-time in the nursing program.