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George and Mary Hood Award

The George and Mary Hood Award is given in honor of Dr. George Hood, former dean of students, professor and director of the Counseling Center, and his wife, the late Mar y Turner Hood, longtime assistant to President and Chancellor J. Ollie Edmunds. It is presented annually to a member or friend of the Stetson University community in recognition of his/her passion for, and commitment and contributions to, Stetson University and its core values.

2012

William Clay Henderson '77

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William Clay Henderson, BA '77 (History and Political Science), of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., has served as a member of Stetson's Arts and Sciences Advisory Board since 2009. He was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000 for his outstanding professional achievement, which had a major impact on Florida's environmental policy and brought distinction to the university. He received his juris doctor from Cumberland Law School in 1980. In 2006, the Florida Bar honored Clay with the Bill Sadowski Memorial Award for public service in environmental law.

As senior counsel at the national law firm Holland & Knight, Clay practices in the public policy section in the areas of environmental law, land use and Smart Growth, and represents public agencies, large private landowners and conservation organizations. His extensive experience includes conservation land acquisition and sustainable development. He has negotiated the acquisition of more than 300,000 acres of lands now part of national and state parks and preserves.

He has long been associated with environmental policy in Florida, launching Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever, the nation's premier conservation programs in 2000. As a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, he sponsored most of the environmental provisions in the Florida Constitution. He served as President of Florida Audubon Society, one of the nation's oldest conservation organizations, and has worked for The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land.

Committed to helping the community, Clay serves on the board of directors of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation and the St. Johns River Alliance. He is the recipient of the national public service award from The Nature Conservancy, and has been recognized by the Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and the League of Women Voters. In 2008, he was named Champion of Sustainability by the Central Florida Community Partnership. His book The Floridas chronicles Florida's diverse environment and efforts to protect it. He was elected to two terms on the Volusia County Council, and served one year as chairman. He has received gubernatorial appointments as chair of the Florida Greenways Commission, chair of the Florida Pollution Prevention Council and served on the Florida Communities Trust, Property Rights Study Commission, Administrative Procedure Act Review Commission, Save the Manatee Committee and Constitution Revision Commission.

 

2011

Mark Clayton Hollis* '56, Hon. '89
& Lynn Darracott Hollis

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Mark Hollis '56, Hon. '89 (Business), of Lakeland, FL serves as past president and member of the board of Publix Super Markets, Inc., and president of the William M. and Nina B. Hollis Foundation.  A 1956 graduate of Stetson, Mark currently serves as chairman of Stetson's Board of Trustees.  

An inspirational leader, he has received Stetson's most prestigious awards: the Distinguished Alumni Award; the Doyle E. Carlton Award for outstanding community service and contributions to higher education; the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service to the University; and an honorary doctorate degree. He joined the Board of Trustees in 1979, served as chair from 1993-94 and again from 1996 – 98 and was named Trustee Emeritus in May 2009 after 30 years of board service. In addition, he was named a Champion of Higher Independent Education in Florida by the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. 

Lynn Hollis is an active volunteer for the Lakeside Baptist Church and is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Lakeland.  She also is a member of the Board of Directors of the Polk Public Museum, the Volunteers in Service to the Elderly, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Imperial Symphony Orchestra.

Three generations of the Hollis family have been integrally involved in the life of Stetson University:  Dr. Hollis' parents, the late Bill and Nina Hollis; Mark and Lynn Hollis; and Mark and Lynn's son, Dean, also a Stetson graduate. Thus, it is no surprise that the Hollis name is well known on the Stetson campus.  Mark and Lynn established the innovative Hollis Leadership Development Program, preparing Stetson students to lead meaningful lives of service in their communities.  The Hollises contributed the leadership gift to construct the Hollis Center, a health and wellness facility that has served as the center of the University's large intramural sports program.  In addition, they participate in the Trustee Challenge Gift Scholarship Program.

2010

Max Cleland '64

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Max Cleland, BA '64 (History), of Atlanta, Ga., was born in Atlanta on August 24, 1942 and grew up in Lithonia, GA.   In high school, he earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball and tennis.  During his student days at Stetson, he was active in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, the ROTC, and graduated with a BA degree in History in 1964.  He went on to earn a master's degree in American Studies from Emory University in 1968.

In 1965, after spending the summer in Washington, DC as an intern for U.S. Rep. James Mackay, he entered the Army and attained the rank of captain.  As a Signal Corps officer, he volunteered for a tour in Vietnam.  A hand grenade accident on April 8, 1968, had left him a triple amputee.  Mr. Cleland spent several months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, recuperating from his injuries.

In 1970, he was elected to the Georgia Senate where he served two terms.  President Jimmy Carter appointed Mr. Cleland to head the Veterans Administration in 1976, and in 1982 he was elected as Georgia's secretary of state where he served for 13 years.  Mr. Cleland was elected to the United States Senate in 1996 and served until 2003.

 
* Now Deceased