Edmonds CC Foundation names 2009 Distinguished Alumni
11/06/2009
Alan Howard, a senior engineer at Huntron, Inc, in Mill Creek, and Jeff Smoot, an attorney at Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson law firm in Seattle, are the recipients of Edmonds College’s 2009 Distinguished Alumni Awards, which recognize educational accomplishment and excellence in service to the community.
They will be honored 6 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 3 at a champagne reception followed by an awards ceremony in the theater lobby in Mukilteo Hall. To attend the ceremony, call 425.640.1274 or email kristyl.drew@edmonds.edu by Tues., Nov. 24.
Howard has worked at Huntron, a supplier of tools for engineers and technicians who test, diagnose, and troubleshoot printed circuit assemblies, for 27 years since earning the college’s two-year degree in electronics in 1982. He started at the company as an electronic technician in production, completed his bachelor of science from City University of Seattle in Computer Information Systems, and now works as a senior engineer in charge of software and hardware products. He has also run his own business, ADH Consulting, for the past 17 years providing programming services, websites and system design.
Howard is chair of the college’s Computer, Electronics, and Networks advisory board. Serving on the board for the past 15 years, he has helped develop the college’s curriculum by providing instructors with practical, but technologically up to date information from the electronics and testing industries. In addition, Huntron has made numerous donations of parts and equipment to the college’s classrooms, which help provide hands-on learning experiences for students. Howard has also served on the advisory committees for the electronics programs at Mariner and Kamiak high schools for the Mukilteo School District.
Smoot completed his two-year paralegal degree at Edmonds College in 1987 and worked for 20 years as a paralegal before becoming an attorney. He completed his bachelor of science in General Studies at City University of Seattle in 2002 with a focus on legal administration and criminal justice. He then entered the Washington State Bar Association Rule 6 Law Clerk Program, a four-year program that allows participants to take the state bar examination as an alternative to traditional law school. Smoot both completed the program and passed the bar exam in 2007.
He is now a practicing attorney with the law firm of Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson in Seattle and serves as a board member for the Rule 6 program. An avid wilderness adventurer, Smoot has written several guidebooks about hiking, rock climbing, and mountaineering in Washington state and the Cascade Range.
Last year's Distinguished Alumni Award recipients were: Autumn Martin, at the time head chocolatier at Seattle’s Theo Chocolate; Ismail Mohammad, a small business owner and then a student in the Executive Master’s in Public Administration program at the University of Washington; and Ron Woolery, a press operator who volunteers at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe and serves on the college’s vocational advisory-board.
Since established in 1991, the college’s Distinguished Alumni award has been given to 45 people notable for academic success, professional achievement, and community service. They include outstanding community leaders who are artists, attorneys, fire chiefs, musicians, educators, therapists, business owners, and engineers.
Nominations for Edmonds College’s Distinguished Alumni Award are accepted year-round. Submit nominations for the 2010 award online at www.edmonds.edu/foundation.
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The Edmonds College Foundation supports access, success, and excellence for students, faculty, and staff at Edmonds College.