Beavers Celebrate Scholarships and More at Beaver Ball
Alumni and friends devoted to entrepreneurship, medicine, education, and national security to be honored at gala in Des Moines
Buena Vista University celebrates its alumni and friends during the Second Annual Beaver Ball at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines on Saturday, Feb. 22.
The gala dinner, awards ceremony, and dance follows-up on the success of the inaugural Beaver Ball last February in which 300 students, alumni, staff, and friends of BVU came together to honor award recipients while reconnecting and raising funds for scholarships. Chairs for the 2025 Beaver Ball are Bradley ’94 and Tammie Schroeder, of Adel.
The 2025 awards for alumni and friends, as chosen by the BVU Alumni Association Board of Directors, include: Dr. Scott Radke ’12, Christie (Shuster) Hochstein ’02, Keith Kerkhoff ’77, John and Ann Collier, and Don and Charlene Lamberti.
“In addition to honoring those who continue to generously keep BVU top-of-mind with their gifts of time, talent, and treasure, we wish to celebrate all that makes Buena Vista University such a special family.”
-Sarah Johnson, BVU Director of Alumni Engagement
Dr. Scott Radke ’12, the Keith G. Briscoe Award recipient, is a Veterinary Toxicologist and Clinical Associate Professor at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, having combined his interests in veterinary medicine, toxicology and diagnostics. Scott, who resides in Boone with his wife, Kirsten (Brown) ’12, also a BVU graduate, and their son, Raymond, became the youngest board-certified Veterinary Toxicologist in the US in 2021. As a member of the Beaver football team and a student leader in the biology department, Scott conducted a research project on badgers and set up a motion-detector camera on a badger den. By coincidence, he captured the image of a badger with a tornado descending in the background.
Christie Hochstein ’02, the John A. Fisher Award winner, serves as Directorate of Capabilities Chief Operations Officer for the National Security Agency, and resides in Maryland, after having spent several years of her career working in England. A past member of BVU’s President’s Advisory Council, Christie participated in band and soccer during her time as an undergraduate. She worked as a student at 2FIX, and spent one summer gaining valuable hands-on, paid experience in helping BVU transition in becoming the first totally wireless campus in the country.
Keith Kerkhoff ’77 has earned the Henry Olson Award. Keith farms full-time near his home between Manning and Manilla. The Manning native is also an auctioneer and continues to promote the brand he helped cofound, Templeton Rye whiskey at Templeton. Keith, a BVU Hall-of-Famer for his All-American performance on the football field, is a member of the Hershberger Gridiron Golf Classic Committee and participates on the steering committee directing BVU’s Building Champions campaign to upgrade athletics facilities.
Ann and John Collier, of Mukilteo, Wash., are recipients of the Wendell Q. Halverson Award, designated for friends of BVU. The Colliers have been instrumental in developing programming, student scholarships, facilities, and the School of Liberal Arts through their numerous gifts to BVU. The University remains close to the Colliers as Ann’s family, the Mack family of Storm Lake, has played a vital role in the growth and success of BVU through its involvement dating back to Buena Vista’s founding in July 1891.
Donald and Charlene Lamberti, of Ankeny, have also been selected to receive the Wendell Q. Halverson Award for friends of BVU. Don, a Sir John Marks Templeton Life Trustee at BVU, is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Casey’s. The Donald F. and Charlene K. Lamberti Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and The Lamberti Recreation Center are but two endeavors whose formation and success can be traced to the philanthropy of the Lambertis. During Don’s time as Trustee Chair, BVU identified a new science center as a critical need. The Lambertis helped lead the effort among major donors to see the $18-million Estelle Siebens Science Center through to its dedication in 2004.
BVU seniors Eman Alaniz and Mia Norton will share the story of their academic and co-curricular journey as Beavers present band together to raise awareness and funding for scholarships that play a vital role in student success and achievement, enabling BVU’s enrollment, reach, and programming to grow while being recognized consistently as a Best Value Schools Among Regional Universities in the Midwest by US News & World Report.
“We are so excited to build upon the success of the inaugural Beaver Ball by having a huge crowd of BVU students, alumni, staff, faculty, and friends join us in February,” says BVU Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Johnson. “In addition to honoring those who continue to generously keep BVU top-of-mind with their gifts of time, talent, and treasure, we wish to celebrate all that makes Buena Vista University such a special family. Please come and reconnect with your friends, meet others who hold BVU close to their heart, and help us make a difference in the lives of those students who will soon go on to strengthen and serve so many others.”
For information about the Second Annual Beaver Ball, go to bvu.edu/beaverball. Registrations are being accepted now. The social begins at 5:30 p.m. with a dinner and program to start at 7 p.m. The dance is slated to start at 8:30 p.m., all to be held at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. Please contact johnsons2@bvu.edu or call 712.749.2647 for additional information.