Community Spirit Award given to Mow

Pamela Mow receives the Community Spirit Award from Adedayo Adeniyi, representing Human Resources. The presentation was made at the start of the October joint APSAC-CSSAC meeting in Lawson Computer Science Building. (Purdue University photo/Rebecca Wilcox) Download image

Pamela Mow, administrative assistant in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, recently received the 2018 Community Spirit Award from APSAC and CSSAC during a joint meeting of the two committees.

The award recognizes significant contributions of Purdue staff employees to the life and welfare of the local community and its people. It is presented in recognition of outstanding service to the local community, society and humanity. The award, initiated in 2011 and being given for the seventh time, is a joint effort by the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee and the Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Committee. The presentation was made by Adedayo Adeniyi, director of the Leadership and Organizational Development area of Human Resources.

Mow, who is known to many as a tireless volunteer, has contributed much effort in recent years to American Gold Star Mothers. The term Gold Star Mother refers to any mother who has lost a child in the service of our country.

At the award presentation Oct. 9, Mow said, "I am a Gold Star Mother. That's an honor no one wants to have, but I decided I needed to honor his service rather than thinking only of his loss." Mow lost a son in combat in 2007.

Mow also volunteers in the Honor Flight program, which has given more than 180,000 veterans, especially World War II veterans, a free one-day trip to Washington, D.C., to see military memorials. Honor Flight formed in 2005, the year after the World War II Memorial was dedicated. In 2011, Mow co-founded Greater Lafayette Honor Flight to uphold the memory of her son and the son of fellow Gold Star Mother Dana Vann. The program made its final flight just days ago. This was the 22nd honor flight from the Purdue University Airport. The program ended on flight 22 because the sons of Mow and Vann both died at age 22. As with every such flight, upon returning home, the veterans were greeted by a cheering crowd.

Other meeting news

The job family structure occupied much of the joint meeting. Morgan Burke, strategic project manager in the Office of the Treasurer and former director of athletics, led a presentation. Assisting with information and answers to questions were William E. Sullivan, treasurer and chief financial officer, and Amy Boyle, senior director in Human Resources. The presentation and additional information about the job family structure is here. Questions can be sent to jobfamilystructure@purdue.edu.

Much time was given questions by CSSAC and APSAC members, who often were conveying questions from employees in their areas of representation.