Sun Devil supporters to receive honors at 2021 Homecoming

The ASU Alumni Association will honor leaders who exemplify the ASU Charter at halftime during the Oct. 30 Homecoming game against the Washington State Cougars.

The Alumni Association will recognize William Sheaffer, a man who has led the charge in making Arizona a leader in alternative-fuel and electric transportation, with the Alumni Appreciation Award. And in celebration of the upcoming 40th anniversary of the Hispanic Business Alumni Chapter, past chapter leaders will be recognized with the Alumni Service Award.

Alumni Appreciation Award: William Sheaffer

Sheaffer began as an Air Force fighter pilot and then spent the majority of his career serving in executive positions for major corporations focused on the development and marketing of environmentally responsible products. Recently retired, his most notable career highlight was serving as the executive director of the Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition (VSCCC) for 11 years. He is being honored for his contributions to ASU’s students, faculty, staff, research and programs.

In 1993, the U.S. Department of Energy created the Clean Cities Coalition with a mission to advance affordable, domestic transportation fuels, energy-efficient mobility systems and other fuel-saving technologies and practices.

Under Sheaffer’s leadership, the VSCCC surpassed all other coalitions in cutting petroleum use and was ranked No. 1 in the last DOE annual metrics report for displacing an equivalent of over 81 million gallons of petroleum fuel. This was more than the results of the second coalition, Southern California (44 million), and third coalition, Chicago (26 million), combined. In 2019, Sheaffer was inducted into the U.S. Department of Energy Hall of Fame for his work with VSCCC.

Sheaffer has dedicated himself to ASU in countless ways for the past two decades as he recognizes that the younger generations will need to continue the work he has started. Within the ASU community, he helps professors with their research, has been involved in multiple special projects and guest-lectures on a regular basis at the W. P. Carey School of Business, the College of Global Futures' School of Sustainability, the American Indian studies program, the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Alumni Service Award: 40th anniversary of the Hispanic Business Alumni Chapter

The Hispanic Business Alumni Chapter has raised over $1 million in scholarships, with 100% of the funds going directly to the undergraduate Hispanic scholars.

Almost 40 years ago, a group of Hispanic ASU graduates joined together to create an alumni chapter with a mission to empower W. P. Carey School of Business students to excel academically by providing financial support through scholarships. Since the inception of the Hispanic Business Alumni Chapter, the group has raised over $1 million in scholarships, with 100% of the funds going directly to the undergraduate Hispanic scholars.

The chapter has a strong group of more than 3,000 active members who share the organization’s core values of education and empowerment for the Hispanic community as a whole. Community members come together each year to raise scholarship funds during the two signature fundraising events — the annual Bud Shootout Charity Golf Tournament in the fall and Noche de Loteria, which highlights Latino heritage and the emerging art community in Phoenix.

Hispanic Business Alumni Chapter presidents from over the years will receive the Alumni Service Award. They are David Adame ’86 BS, Israel Barajas ’05 BA, Marisa Calderon ’02 BA, John Camargo ’87 BS, David Carrera ’85 BS, Deanna Carrera ’83 BS, Alberto Chamberlain ’72 BS, Milton Dellossier ’01 BS, Gema Duarte Luna ’84 BS, Geneva Escobedo ’78 BS (chapter founder), Jaime Hernandez ’95 BA, Rita Hernandez ’96 BS, Rodie Hernandez ’93 BS, Monica Limón-Wynn ’84 BS, ’98 JD, Raul Martinez ’11 BS, Sergio Media ’08 BSIS, Caleb Navarro '05 BS, Tristen Ochoa ’18 BS (current chapter president), Victor Ortiz ’79 BS, Alberto Pino ’06 BA, Rudy Pino ’97 BS, Marco Antonio Posada ’72 BS, Susan Posada, John Ramirez ’75 BS, Roger Silva ’83 BS, Mario Solorzano ’13 BA and Michelle Vallarta ’10 BS.

For reflections from Escobedo on the group's early years, click here.

Past Presidents’ Awards

Chris Hill, ’86 BS, served as chair of the ASU Alumni Association Board of Directors and the National Alumni Council during the 2020–21 fiscal year and will serve as the past chairWhen a board member becomes the chair, the following year they transition to "past chair" and serve as a guide/mentor for the new chair. for the remainder of this fiscal year. During his term, he formed a committee of volunteer leaders to support the ASU Alumni Chapter led Tillman Honor Runs around the country.

Hill has served in numerous roles since joining the board in 2015 including being a part of the ASU Alumni Veterans Chapter and participating in the selection of scholarship award recipients and ASU Leadership Institute participants. He is a distinguished military graduate from ASU’s nationally ranked ROTC program and served in the Army as a medical service corps officer for 20 years. Hill subsequently served as CEO for several large health care organizations and is currently the senior managing director of Treadstone Management. 

Rick Dircks, ’82 BS, served as chair of the ASU Alumni Association Board of Directors and the National Alumni Council during the 2019–20 fiscal year and then moved on to serve as the past chair for the 2020–21 fiscal year. During his term, he led the Founders’ Day Committee and significantly expanded the financial support and sponsorship commitments, increased attendance and overall visibility of the event.

Dircks is the executive vice president of Dircks Moving and Logistics and has more than three decades of experience in the moving industry, working in various sales and management positions throughout the Western United States. He is very involved in the community and, in addition to sitting on numerous boards, was named the Small Business Person of the Year by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and is a recipient of ASU’s Arizona Business Leadership Award. As a passionate Sun Devil, Dircks has been a longtime member of the ASU President’s Club and sponsor of Sun Devil Athletics.

For additional information about the ASU Alumni Association’s celebration of Homecoming week, visit homecoming.asu.edu.