LIVING THE MISSION with and served as an officer for numerous committees for local, statewide, and national professional and civic organizations. He received the Distinguished Lasallian Educator Award at Saint Mary’s University on Founders’ Day in 2013. For his service and dedication, he received affiliated De La Salle Christian Brother honors in 2014. Affiliation is the highest and rarest honor bestowed by the De La Salle Christian Brothers.
Tim Butler M’08
Saint Paul Fire Chief, Instructor, 2014 Fire Officer of the Year Hometown: Maplewood, Minn. Major: M.A. in Public Safety Administration In 2007, Tim Butler was appointed fire chief of the Saint Paul Fire Department. Butler’s day-to-day duties place him in charge of the operations and administration of the 475-person fire department. Butler spends a good amount of his time teaching—sometimes with the young firefighters in his department and sometimes as an adjunct at Saint Mary’s for the same program from which he graduated. In 2014, he was named Fire Officer of the Year by his fellow state fire chiefs. He was cited for his commitment to safety programs and training, including a home smoke-alarm program and EMS training opportunities for minorities. Butler helped create Project Safe Haven, which sends firefighters to St. Paul homes to check smoke and carbonmonoxide alarms and help create a family escape plan. He also assisted St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, city departments, and outside organizations to create the EMS Academy, a tuition-free training program designed to serve low-income and minority residents. The training qualifies participants in CPR and firstresponder certification. Upon completion of the program, participants are eligible for EMT certification and nine college credits. “America needs the values that we stand for, and that goes back to Saint Mary’s Lasallian principles, too,” he said.
William Jones M’13
Champion of Education, Community Developer Hometown: Kensee Hollow, Ky. Major: M.A. in Philanthropy William “Will” Jones grew up poor in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. Now the vice president for external relations at LaGrange College in Georgia, Jones says that education changes lives and he’s living proof. His parents, both eighth-grade dropouts who struggled harder than most to provide for their family, instilled in William as a young boy that he would go to college. After receiving his degree in political science, he began a community development program in his hometown called “Food for Thought.” Through the program, homegrown vegetables are given to seniors in exchange for sharing their histories. The project drew attention from national publications. He also worked to construct homeless shelters, homes for families that needed housing, and a home for homeless teens in the Appalachian region before he began working with “Call to Renewal” in Washington, D.C. “Call to Renewal” is a national faith-based movement to overcome poverty and racism. As the managing director and national coordinator, Jones oversaw 24,000 individual members, 2,000 local partner organizations, and more than a dozen national partners. Jones then returned to his alma mater, Berea College, and headed the Berea Fund, a $4 million fund for unrestricted financial aid, a cause that is dear to Jones’ heart. For Jones, education not only changed his life, it gave him a life.
† deceased
Michael “Mike” Gostomski ’62
Local Entrepreneur, Generous Supporter and Benefactor Hometown: Winona, Minn. Major: Mathematics A life-long Winonan, Mike Gostomski was 12 years old when he started working at Winona Heating and Ventilating, sweeping floors. Today he serves as president and chief executive officer of WHV, a heating, ventilating, airconditioning, and roofing business with a primary focus on commercial customers and industrial applications. He was one of Fastenal’s founders and has served as a director of the leading fastener distributor in North America since 1973. Gostomski’s generosity through gifts of time, talent, and treasure knows no bounds, as he and his wife, Joette, have supported numerous Winona initiatives, particularly with his alma maters Saint Mary’s University and Cotter High School, and the Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka. Gostomski has served on the university’s board of trustees for 18 years. Because of his involvement and philanthropy, Mike and Joette were awarded the Saint Mary’s Heritage Award at the university’s Centennial Gala in 2013. The Gostomski family has supported three major projects at Saint Mary’s: the Gostomski Fieldhouse; the first-generation student initiative; and scholarships for Polish exchange students through a partnership with the Wasie Foundation.
Matt Bubala ’94
Radio Syndicator, Host Hometown: Munster, Ind. Major: English Literature and Media Matt Bubala’s love for radio started in college. Shortly after his graduation from Saint Mary’s in 1994, Bubala started a career in radio. Bubala’s name is recognizable to many longtime WGNAM fans in Chicago. For 10 years (19972007), he was a producer at WGN Radio, most famously for John Williams’ popular show, where he was often heard on the air. Prior to his time in Chicago radio, he was a producer at a radio station in Los Angeles, and again in Detroit. There he worked with former Chicago radio star Danny Bonaduce. After leaving “The John Williams Show” and WGN-AM in 2007, he formed Black Dog Radio Productions, Inc., an independent Chicago-based radio syndication company that creates and distributes quality niche radio programming. He serves as president of the company, which syndicates three radio shows including “Good Parenting Radio,” which is hosted by Bubala himself. As a father of four (including triplets), Bubala knows a bit about parenting. He currently can be heard on WGN-AM’s aptly named “The Matt Bubala Show.”
Paul J. Meyer ’64, J.D.
Successful Businessman, Lawyer, Generous Financial Supporter Hometown: Chicago, Ill. Major: History Paul Meyer’s successful career in law and business can’t easily be summarized. Upon graduation from the University of Notre Dame in 1967, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Law Review, he served as a law clerk to Justice Walter V. Schaefer of the Supreme Court of Illinois. A year later, he served as the senior law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren of the U.S. Supreme Court. For more than 20 years he served as managing partner of the Meyer, Hendricks & Bivens smumn.edu/magazine
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