ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan boasts thousands of alumni. Of them, only a few revamp U-M alumni clubs, create new scholarships and spend a portion of their lives encouraging and helping students to attend their alma mater. For this exceptional service, the U-M Alumni Association awarded five recipients this year with its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, for outstanding alumni volunteer service.

A five-member committee, chaired by the president of the Alumni Association, selects honorees from a list of names submitted by members of the U-M community. The annual award was created in 1947.

The award recipients are listed by hometowns:

Thomas A. Goss, ’68, of Detroit, Mich. Goss received the 1994 Kinesiology Alumni Achievement award. Goss is a past president of the U-M Club of Greater Detroit and served on the Alumni Association’s board of directors and the U-M President’s Advisory Committee. He was a member of the California U-M alumni club and served on an advisory committee to the Big Ten Athletic Conference for 15 years. Goss is the chairman of an auto insurance business and lives in Detroit with his wife; they have three daughters.

Craig Ruff, ’73, of Lansing, Mich. Ruff is a member of the U-M Club of Greater Lansing. In ’93 he helped create the Wolverine Caucus, giving U-M experts a chance to meet state legislators and policy makers. Ruff is now president and chief executive officer of Public Sector Consultants in Lansing, a private corporation specializing in policy research, opinion polling, issue analysis and strategic planning.

Martha Koenig Bindeman, ’69, of Bethesda, Md. Bindeman served on the board of the Alumni Club of Washington, D.C., for three years and on the Visiting Committee for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts for four years. Bindeman also coordinates the D.C. Club’s silent auction at the annual Congressional Breakfast. In addition to alumni work, she opens her home twice a year to admitted high school seniors, encouraging them to attend the U-M. An attorney, Bindeman works as a professional events planner.

Robert M. Ginn, ’48, of Cleveland, Ohio. Ginn is the past president of the Cleveland U-M club and a member of the Cleveland Major Gifts Committee. In 1998 Ginn chaired his Emeritus Class Reunion, bringing 100 graduates to campus as part of their 50 year reunion. He led the class in establishing an undergraduate scholarship, first awarded in 1999. Ginn is a retired CEO of Centerior Energy Corporation.

Henry Smithies, ’50, of Hockessin, Del. Smithies played an instrumental role in reactivating the U-M Club of Delaware and served as its president for several years. His work led to the creation of two scholarship awards. Smithies’ work with the alumni club helped it earn the title of “Outstanding Club of the Year” in ’97 and ’99.

Alumni AssociationCraig RuffAlumni Club of WashingtonRobert M. Ginn