Saint Viator Announces Distinguished Alumni Honorees
The Saint Viator and Sacred Heart of Mary Alumni Association has announced this year's Distinguished Alumni honorees. In addition to two alumni who will be recognized with its highest honor, the Alumni Association will also recognize a young alumnus for the first time.
Receiving the Distinguished Alumni recognition will be Jane Broeren Lambesis (Sacred Heart of Mary '79) and Dr. John Tracy, O.D. (Saint Viator '77) who will be honored posthumously. Marcus Lannie (Saint Viator '19) is the first recipient of the Striving Under 30 award.
The selections were made from among a number of nominations put forth by alumni, friends, family members, and others. A dedicated committee spent several months this past summer reviewing and discussing all of the nominees before selecting these recipients.
“It is a great privilege to bestow this level of recognition on Jane, the late Dr. Tracy, and Marcus,” said Saint Viator High School President Fr. Dan Lydon. “The purpose of the Distinguished Alumni program is to hold select graduates up as an example to current and future students of not only what our graduates achieve in their personal and professional lives, but to provide living examples of what it means to live out the Viatorian mission.”
Lambesis has achieved exceptional success in the financial industry, breaking in and thriving in a period when women had very limited opportunities in a male-dominated profession. She recently completed her 36th year with Federated Hermes where she now serves as Senior Vice President of Sales. She was recently named one the first Federated Securities Rich B. Fisher Award recipients, a significant honor within the firm. Lambesis has been a Member of the Board of Trustees of John Carroll University for the last five years as well as serving multiple terms on the Saint Viator Board of Trustees. She has been an active volunteer and parishioner at St. Raymond School and Parish. Jane and her husband, Peter, have raised three children, who are all Saint Viator graduates.
“I'm honored to represent the Sacred Heart of Mary alumni as well as the entire Saint Viator community in accepting this recognition,” Lambesis said. “This community has been a significant part of my extended family for many years and it has instilled in us values and behaviors that have been instrumental in my personal and professional journeys.”
For over 33 years, Dr. John Tracy served as a respected Doctor of Optometry in Santa Rosa, California. Dr. Tracy had always been known in the Santa Rosa medical community as a professional colleague who demonstrated integrity, compassion, highest standards of care, strong work ethic, and a long-held commitment to giving back to his community. For 16 years, John would temporarily close his practice and join fellow doctors on a service trip to Mexico to provide eye exams, eye treatments, patient instruction, correction, and eyeglasses for families living in poverty in rural and urban areas in Mexico. At home, every year Tracy provided eye exams, treatment, correction, and eyeglasses at no charge for 50 children who were living in poverty in the Santa Rosa area. Dr. Tracy passed away in September of this year.
“The thing that stands out about Jane and John are that while both reached significant levels of achievement in their chosen professions, neither lost sight or the Viatorian mission of providing for those perceived to be of less importance,” said Saint Viator High School Alumni Relations Manager Krystal Harris. “The individuals selected as Distinguished Alumni are those who can be held up as examples to our students for all they have accomplished and these two individuals are quite worthy of that recognition.”
New to the program this year is the Striving Under 30 designation, a means of recognizing young alumni (those in the most recent 10 graduating classes) for their inspiring work. Marcus Lannie is already well-known within the Saint Viator community for his academic achievements, energetic approach to everything he takes on, and his social media presence. As an undergrad at Purdue University, Lannie became only the third Purdue Engineer to be named ASME's (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) #1 Global Student Leader in its 103-year history. He is currently continuing his studies as a Fung Scholar at the University of California Berkely. While at Purdue, Lannie launched Marcus' Morning Minute (MMM), a daily video series that ran for over 500 consecutive days sharing an idea of optimism and perspective that helps people make the most of their day.
“Marcus is truly deserving to be the first of our Striving Under 30 honorees,” said Harris. “His academic success coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm should inspire all of our students.”
Each of the recipients will be honored at a separate school event this year. Lambesis and Lannie will speak with students in various groups and Dr. Tracy's classmate Tim Shevlin will speak on Tracy's behalf.
To see a full list of previous honorees or to nominate someone for consideration next year, visit https://www.saintviator.com/alumni/recognition/distinguished-alumni.