The Bell Ringer Award is presented each year at Reunions to a member of the Hamilton family in recognition of contributions made to the College, its alumni and the community. This year Milton P. Kayle '43 and Donald O. Pollock '51 had the honor bestowed upon them at the annual meeting of the Alumni Council. The text of their citations follows:
Bell Ringer Citation for Milt Kayle '43
A native of nearby Utica, you excelled in public speaking and were active in student government at Hamilton. After leaving the Hill with a Phi Beta Kappa key, you went to Washington and participated in a pioneering government internship program, which was established by Hamilton Professor Frederick M. Davenport at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The experience inspired you to seek a career in the law.
After three years in the U.S. Army during World War II, you earned your degree from Harvard Law School. In 1948, you returned to Washington to spend four fruitful years in government service, culminating in your appointment as a special assistant to President Harry S. Truman in the White House. Thereafter you held various corporate positions in the entertainment field, and later engaged in the practice of law in New York City. Throughout those years, you took a lively interest in community affairs, whether in New Rochelle or in Old Forge, where you long maintained a summer place. And you have also, with great enthusiasm and dedicated commitment, helped honor President Truman's legacy by serving on the board of the Truman Library Institute.
In the meantime, you have sustained a warm affection for Hamilton, which has been tangibly demonstrated in multiple beneficent ways. Besides serving on the Alumni Council and assisting with Annual Fund and capital campaigns, you chaired Hamilton's first planned giving committee. In addition, you served as an alumni trustee from 1978 to 1982, and you and your wife Dorothy have generously benefited Hamilton's students with scholarship and prize funds.
You once commented that, "I can trace my career to the educational opportunity Hamilton afforded me," and that, "in sum, Hamilton was there when I needed her." We, in turn, can say, with abundant appreciation, that you have ever faithfully been there to respond to Hamilton's needs as well, and any debt you have owed to the College has been more than recompensed by your loyalty and faith.
Melissa Joyce-Rosen '86
President, Alumni Association
June 3, 2006
Bell Ringer Citation for Don Pollock '51
You arrived on College Hill from the Garden State of New Jersey, took up residence in the upper reaches of the Chapel, and helped cover your college expenses with a job soon to become obsolete — ringing the Chapel bell. While pursuing your premedical course of study, you found time to serve on the Chapel Board, run cross-country and manage the basketball team. And, with your reputed talent as a "high-pressure salesman," you were also an effective collector for the Campus Fund.
Following your graduation Phi Beta Kappa, you went on to Harvard Medical School, where you earned your M.D. degree in 1955. After an internship and residency at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, you served for eight years in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. In 1967, you returned to Bassett and began a medical career of great distinction that would extend through 32 years until your retirement in 1999. Besides serving as chief of the hospital's General Services Department and of its Division of General Medicine, you were medical director of the county's nursing home for 29 years.
In addition, when not golfing or gardening, or following the fortunes of the Red Sox as a rabid fan, you have been active in your church and on advisory committees and boards of trustees, including Hamilton's. An alumni trustee from 1978 to 1982, you have also been a member of the Alumni Council and faithfully assisted the College in its fund-raising activities over many years. In short, few alumni have been more ardently devoted and committed to Hamilton and its well-being than you.
You once observed of your Hamilton education that, "Most of the facts I learned have long been forgotten, but the values I learned and the vistas that were opened have enriched my life beyond measure." Through your manifold contributions to your alma mater, you have generously repaid her for that enriching experience, and you have earned her profound gratitude as well as ours.
Melissa Joyce-Rosen '86
President, Alumni Association
June 3, 2006
