Park University Announces Alumni Association 2025 Honorees and Gault Service Award

September 8, 2025 — The Park University Alumni Association has announced the 2025 honorees of its annual awards. A ceremony recognizing the recipients, along with the University’s 2025 Athletics Wall of Honor awardees (announced in June) and the Paul H. Gault Service Award, will be held as part of Park’s Homecoming Weekend festivities on Friday, Sept. 26, starting at 3 p.m. in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the University’s flagship Parkville Campus.

Following the awards ceremony at 4:15 p.m., plaques recognizing the Athletics Wall of Honor recipients will be unveiled in the hallway adjacent to the University’s 6th Street entrance to the Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground, followed immediately by a reception in honor of all the awardees. Both events are open to the public.

The 2025 Park University Alumni Association awards honorees:

Distinguished Alumna Award
This award, which recognizes Park alumni who have distinguished themselves through career service or community achievements, will be presented to Hannah NeSmith, 2009 graduate (Bachelor of Arts degree in legal studies) and a resident of Arab, Ala. (attended Rehobeth [Ala.] High School). NeSmith is the founder and chief executive officer of Matlock Realty Group, a company she founded in 2016 in Arab. NeSmith is active in the Arab community, having helped revitalize the downtown area through the restoration of historic properties and the development of community spaces. NeSmith is also a former board member of the Huntsville (Ala.) Area Association of Realtors.

Torchlighter Award
This award is given to honor individuals who have made significant, long-standing contributions and commitment to Park University, whether alumni, faculty or friend. The recipient of this year’s award is Brian Hoffman, Ph.D. Hoffman, a resident of Kansas City, Mo., is a 1986 Park graduate (Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and mathematics) and serves as professor of biology within the University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Hoffman has been on the faculty at Park since 1995. He earned his doctorate degree in cell and molecular biology from St. Louis University. He was honored by the University in 2024 as the recipient of the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence (for full-time faculty) in 2024, which recognizes faculty members who exemplify excellence in teaching, as nominated by peers, students and staff.

Marlowe Sherwood Memorial Service Award
This award is presented to Park University alumni in recognition of volunteer service to community and/or civic organizations. The award is named in honor of Marlowe Sherwood, 1963 graduate, who exemplified the school motto of fides et labor (faith and labor). This year’s recipient is Kimberlee Ried, a resident of Kansas City, Mo., and a 2016 graduate of Park University (Master of Arts degree in communication and leadership). Ried has been employed by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration for the past 22 years, and currently serves as a management and program analyst within the Office of Government Information Services. Ried and her family serve as international military officer sponsors at Fort Leavenworth (Kan.) through People to People International. In addition, she has served as a commissioner on the Kansas City, Mo., Municipal Arts Commission, as a member of the Park Hill (Mo.) School District Board of Education (serving as president in 2020-21), as a member of the Junior League of Kansas City, Mo. (serving as president in 2021-22), and will serve as co-chair for C3KC, the League’s signature fundraiser, and the Lyric Opera Ball, both in 2026.

Park Promising Young Professional Award
This award recognizes a Park University alumnus/a who graduated from Park within the last 10 years, is under the age of 40 and shows exceptional leadership promise in his or her profession and community. This year’s recipient is Madisyn Pettit, a 2018 graduate (Bachelor of Arts degree in political science/American politics. Pettit, a resident of Pasadena, Texas (attended Deer Park [Texas] South High School), has been the director of operations for Patriot Grassroots since January 2024. Patriot Grassroots is an organization dedicated to preserving the American dream through advanced grassroots field operations. Previously, Pettit was the director of operations at Stampede America for five years.

Philanthropic Leadership Award
This award celebrates individuals or couples whose generosity and leadership have transformed Park University through significant financial support and advocacy, and inspire others to give. This year’s recipient is Elizabeth (Weese) Muncal, Scottsdale, Ariz. A 2005 Park graduate (Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts/journalism and public relations), Muncal has served as the chief development officer for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale since May 2024. Previously, she spent nearly six years at the Arizona State University Foundation, most recently as its senior director of development. She has also held development and fundraising roles at the American Cancer Society – Phoenix, HonorHealth in Scottsdale, A.T. Still University – Mesa (Ariz.), and ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Barrett, The Honors College. Muncal, who attended Benton High School in St. Joseph, Mo., was the recipient of Park’s Tipton Award in 2024, given to honor an outstanding service contribution to the University by a Park alumnus/alumna. She is also a past member of the University’s Alumni Council.

Park Proud Business Leadership Award
This award honors businesses that reflect Park University’s values through leadership, innovation and community impact. The business must have a minimum of five years in operation, be led by or partnered with Park alumni and demonstrate mentorship, service and/or philanthropy. The inaugural winner of the award is Enterprise Mobility, an active partner in the University’s career success programming for students.

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During the ceremony, Park University’s Office of Academic Affairs will also honor Jennifer Ehrlich as the recipient of the 2025 Paul H. Gault Service Award. The award is presented annually to a retired Park University faculty or staff member who provided a minimum of 15 years of distinguished service to the University, with special consideration given to individuals who held volunteer leadership positions within the University or in the community as a University representative. This award is named Gault, ’65, MPA ’88, whose dedicated service to Park spanned more than five decades.

Ehrlich, a resident of Dumfries, Va., served the University from 1998-2022, first as a director of Park’s campuses in the Washington, D.C., area before being promoted to the role of regional director to oversee 13 campuses in the University’s network across the country.