When your slate of honorees is so distinguished, and when your attendees bring such a spirited sensibility to the sold out show, it's to be expected that the 2010 Awards Dinner was, quite simply, our best ever.

The Houston Omni was decked head to toe in red and white, as heartfelt speeches wet every eye in the room, thunderous applause nearly blasted open the ballroom doors, and the voice of Barbara Padilla turned our alma mater into an angelic aria. It was one heck of a way to celebrate the Alumni Association's 70th anniversary.

If you missed the event, instead of scolding you (though we certainly do pity you), we'll show you what you missed with plenty of photos.

We also encourage everyone to watch (or rewatch!) our honoree profile videos:

Katie Kalenda Daggett ('99, MA '03) – Rising Star Award
Jim Parsons ('96) – Rising Star Award
Patty Godfrey (89) – Outstanding Volunteer Award
Bruce Williams – Chair's Award
Tommy ('80) and Elaine ('82) Ebner – Distinguished Service Award
George Leroy Hall ('56, '77) – Distinguished Service Award
Robert Planck ('71) – Distinguished Service Award
Richard Coselli ('55, JD '58) – Distinguished Alumni Award
Elizabeth Ghrist (MEd '67) – Distinguished Alumni Award
Jim Perdue ('61, JD '62) – Distinguished Alumni Award

Nominate Someone for 2011!

There are lots of great Cougars out there who are more than worthy of gracing our Awards Dinner stage. Take a look at our impressive list of past honorees just to get a sense of it. Think you know the perfect person to nominate for an award? Then do it!

Distinguished Alumni Award
…recognizes and honors alumni who have made significant contributions to society and whose careers have brought credit to the university and Alumni Association.

Distinguished Service Award
…recognizes the exceptional loyalty and leadership of alumni volunteers and their efforts to further the goals of the university and Alumni Association.

Chair's Award
…recognizes non-alumni who have constantly and voluntarily offered extraordinary support to the university and Alumni Association.

Rising Star Award
…recognizes alumni age 37 or younger who demonstrated either service or achievement above and beyond that of their peers.