AMHERST, N.Y. – Five accomplished Daemen College graduates were honored at the 33^rd annual Distinguished Alumni Awards dinner held on Oct. 25.

“We are pleased to pay tribute to the outstanding achievements of these exemplary alumni and commend them for their exceptional leadership and service,” said Daemen President Gary Olson. “These award recipients serve as outstanding examples to our students of the success that is possible because of a Daemen education.”

This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor bestowed to a graduate, was presented to Dr. Robert Huddler, Jr. ’92, ’04 of Westminster, Md. The award recognizes a graduate who has achieved distinction in his or her career and in the community and has shown outstanding dedication to the college.

An experienced physical therapist and prosthetist, Huddler serves as president of Advantage Prosthetics & Orthotics, where he developed the Comprehensive Amputee Management Program (CAMP) to help facilitate an individual’s transition from surgery to daily living.

Other 2019 honorees, who were chosen by the college’s National Alumni Board of Governors, are:

• Advancement in Career – Dr. Michael Geraci, Jr. ’79 of Buffalo, owner of Geraci Spine and Sports Medicine, who has devoted more than 30 years to the study and treatment of spine and joint problems.
• Dedication to the College – Sandra Armstrong Thomson ’66 of Phoenix and a Kenmore native, whose law career included positions with the Arizona State Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the largest circuit in the country.
• Service to the Community – Nekia Kemp ’05 of Buffalo, executive director of the Buffalo Police Athletic League, who serves on the board of the New York State Network for Youth Success and is active on several boards in the Western New York community.
• Graduate of the Last Decade – Beatrice Laurey (’05) ’09 of Akron and a native of Ansonia, Conn., creative and digital director of the award-winning mental health publications bp Magazine and esperanza.

Past Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, family, friends, students, and other members of the Daemen community were in attendance at the celebration to honor this year’s award recipients.