2010 Alumni Awards

The following alumni will be honored at the 59th annual Alumni Awards Banquet to be held Friday, November 5, 2010, Homecoming Weekend.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Kirk Cordill, '92

Kirk Cordill is the managing director and CEO of BMW Group Financial Services China.  China is currently the fourth largest market globally for the BMW Group and continues to produce remarkable growth.  Self-professed as "car crazy," Cordill has combined his passion for cars and natural financial skills into a profession.  He is a results-oriented senior executive with extensive international experience (North America, Europe and Asia) gained at the retailer, national market and corporate headquarter levels.

Prior to his current position, he was instrumental in developing and implementing BMW's remarketing and used car strategy as the Head of International Remarketing and Used Cars based in Munich, Germany.  BMW has implemented a strategy that has set the industry standard for managing lease portfolios and residual values, including the Certified Pre-Owned program.  On account of this strategy, BMW has won numerous industry awards as a brand for value retention.

Cordill graduated from Hillsdale in 1992 with a major in business administration/finance and a minor in philosophy.  During his time at Hillsdale, he was president of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and participated in the Oxford University study-abroad program.  He joined Serra Automotive immediately upon graduation and worked with their management group.  He then obtained his MBA, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 1996.  He has been with BMW for 14 years and is currently the youngest CEO in the BMW Group. 

Distinguished Alumni Award

Brad Delp, '84

Brad Delp is an independent wealth manager for The Delp Company, a family business founded in 1958 by his father that is now run by he and his brother, Cleves.  Brad majored in business at Hillsdale.  He also played on the football team, belonged to Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, and participated in the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program.  He bagan working at The Delp Company as a chartered financial consultant immediately after his graduation.

The Delp Company boasts over $1 billion in assets and specializes in investment advisory services for the wealthy.  The firm also manages assets for various non-profit endowments and organizations.  In 2007, the Delp brothers were ranked second in the Registered Representative's Top 100 Independent Advisors in America and 20th in Barron's Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors in America.  Brad and Cleves have spoken nationally to groups about life insurance, development of multi-generational tax-free retirements plans, and zero based estate tax planning.  Additionally, they published a book, Wealth Enhancement and Preservation.

Brad and the Delp family provided a leadership gift for the construction of Delp Hall in 2000, named after his late father, as well as a scholarship for students who are affiliated with closely held or family businesses.

Brad and his wife, Kathie, are the parents of twins.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Cleves Delp, '86

Along with his brother Brad, Cleves Delp is a principal of The Delp Company, a family-owned wealth management firm located in Maumee, Ohio.  Cleves majored in political economy at Hillsdale, played on the baseball team, belonged to Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, and participated in the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program.  He began working for the family business immediately after graduation from Hillsdale.

Under the leadership of Cleves and Brad Delp, The Delp Company has been nationally recognized for its innovative practices in wealth management.  In 2007, the Delp brothers were ranked second in Registered Representative's Top 100 Independent Advisors in America and 20th in Barron's Top 100 Independent Financial Advisors in America.  In addition to working with individuals and family businesses and providing employee benefits consulting to companies, the Delps have also helped non-profit organizations, including their high school alma mater, Toledo Catholic Central, where they created resources for debt reduction and building funds.  At Hillsdale College, they provided a leadership gift toward the construction of John J. Delp Hall — a faculty office building named in memory of their father — and established the John J. Delp Endowed Heritage Scholarship for students affiliated with closely held or family businesses.

Cleves and his wife, Kathy, have five children.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Marcia Watkins Kazurinsky, '71

Marcia Watkins Kazurinsky followed in her father's (Don Watkins, '44) and uncle's (Red Farquharson, '37) footsteps to Hillsdale College.  She planned on becoming a music teacher.  But after graduation, she visited a friend in New York who dragged her to an audition.  She was cast in the National Touring Company of No, No Nanette with June Allyson.  In 18 months she went from the chorus to a featured role to playing "Nanette."

With her foot in the door, she followed up with four Broadway shows:  Good News, with Alice Faye, Stubby Kaye, and John Payne; Doctor Jazz with Lola Falana; On Your Toes, directed by the legendary George Abbott; and A Chorus Line, playing the role of Maggie for four years on Broadway—and in Japan for Emperor Akihito.

In 1981, Kazurinsky performed at the White House for President Ronald Reagan's first State Dinner, and the following year she was part of the annual Kennedy Center Honors saluting Lillian Gish, Benny Goodman, and Gene Kelly.

Kazurinsky married Saturday Night Live actor/screenwriter Tim Kazurinsky in 1984 and moved to Chicago.  While raising their children, Zoe and Pete, she has taught dance, choreographed musicals, and served on the board of Escola de Samba, a Brazilian percussion group that works with underprivileged children.

Now that her children are grown, Kazurinsky is hitting the boards again.  She recently played the Alexis Smith role in Stephen Sondheim's Follies for the Actors Theatre Company in Chicago.

Graduate of the Last Decade Award

William Kehoe, '96

Bill Kehoe is chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Beanstalk, an Omnicom Group agency.  Based in New York City, Kehoe is responsible for all aspects of Beanstalk's global operations including corporate consolidations and reporting, M&A, treasury management, tax compliance, business planning, financial analysis, legal, contract administration, human resources and information technology.  In his time at Beanstalk, Kehoe has focused on reporting processes and systems that provide clients with best-in-class financial information and analysis to help grow their licensing programs around the world.  He leads other initiatives within Beanstalk including strategy, internal staff development, and training initiatives and implements global best practices across the agency.

Prior to joining Beanstalk, Kehoe worked at Plante & Moran, an accounting and management consulting firm based in Southfield, Michigan, where he earned his CPA certification.

Kehoe holds a bachelor of science in accounting from Hillsdale and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.  Both of his younger brothers, Brian and Mark, also earned degrees from Hillsdale.  He and his wife, Allison File Kehoe, '98, have two young sons.

Graduate of the Last Decade Award

Joel Schellhammer, '01

Joel Schellhammer is an engagement manager in the marketing and sales practice of McKinsey & Company, the world's preeminent management consulting firm.  In this capacity, he advises Fortune 500 companies, national governments and leading non-profits on a variety of strategy, marketing and sales topics.  Schellhammer joined McKinsey as an associate in 2007 after receiving his J.D. from Harvard Law School.  At Harvard, he was elected editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, the official journal of the Federalist Society and the country's leading conservative law journal.  Prior to Harvard, he received an M.Phil. in Oriental Studies from Clare Hall, Cambridge University, where he served as secretary of the graduate student body.  At Hillsdale, he was a member of the Honors Proram, a national champion in debate, and graduated summa cum laude as the first East Asian Studies major in the College's history.  He is most proud, however, of convincing his wife, Allie Burum, '03, to marry him and of co-authoring the last truly funny back page in Collegian history.  Schellhammer lives in Atlanta with his wife, Allie, and daughters, Catherine and Caroline.

Tower Award

Parke Hayes, '67

A lifelong resident of Hillsdale, Parke Hayes has been active in a variety of roles on campus and in the community since his college days.  As a student, he worked part time at WCSR radio in Hillsdale while earning a degree in political science with minors in history and English.  Following graduate work in broadcasting at Michigan State University, Hayes began working full time at WCSR in 1969 and remained there until 2002, serving as news director, sales director, and a disk jockey.

Since 1976, Hayes has taught broadcasting classes at Hillsdale College.  He has worked closely with Charger athletics over the years, doing play-by-play of Charger basketball games from 1977 to 2002, and serving as the announcer at Charger football games since 1982.  For his service to the Athletic Department, he received the Charger Award in 1980 and was inducted into the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.  He received the first GLIAC Media Service Award in 2002.

Hayes has devoted much of his time to civic service.  He has served as Hillsdale city clerk since 2002 and Hillsdale County first district commissioner since 2003.  Since 1980, he has served as president of the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District.  He is a member of the Exchange Club of Hillsdale, vice chairman of the Hillsdale County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, vice chairman of the board of trustees at Hillsdale Community Health Center, and has also served on the boards or committees of the Salvation Army, Hillsdale County Senior Services Center, the Region II Agency on Aging, and the Hillsdale County Republican Party.  Hayes has received Outstanding Citizen awards from the Elks, American Legion and Salvation Army, and in 2000, he received the Marvin Howell Economic Development Award from the Hillsdale County Industrial Development Commission.

Hayes and his wife, Vicky, have been married for 37 years.  He boasts many Hillsdale College alumni in his family, including his mother, Doris, brother Larry, sister-in-law Sue, and nephew Britt.

Honorary Alumni Award

Donald L. Tocco

Donald L. Tocco of Bloomfield Hills is the founder of Tocco & Associates, Inc., a national marketing company specializing in the heavy industrial construction industry since 1974.  The corporation has opened the doors for its clients in over 400 manufacturing facilities across America, Mexico, and Canada.  Sales exceed $100 million annually.

Tocco was an assistant instructor for the Dale Carnegie Leadership Courses for nine years and a graduate of the Management and Sales Courses.   Since 1987, he has keynoted every World Leadership Congress for Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership (HOBY), bringing together young leaders from every state and 70 countries.  He has spoken on the campuses of some of America's major colleges and universities and has helped to raise over one million dollars for HOBY.

In 1988, Tocco founded the Youth Enrichment Series (YES) that was recognized and sponsored by the then General Motors EDS Corporation.  He has presented YES, a program of real world tools, to fourth-grade students in over 20 elementary schools in Michigan.

A member of The President's Club, Tocco visits campus frequently and has given generously of his time to Hillsdale students.  This December, he will sponsor the eighth annual Tocco Sports Challenge in which he competes with representatives of each fraternity and sorority in four sports and then makes a donation to the College.  He has also served for many years as a judge for Hillsdale's annual Edward Everett Prize in Oratory competition, was a member of the president's Advisory Board, and has provided leadership training to countless student organizations, Hillsdale Academy groups, and athletic teams.

Additionally, Tocco is a sculptor, having completed bronze busts of corporate leaders and entrepreneurs.  He also plays the trumpet, has a book of poetry being published, and enjoys photography.