The highest honor of the Dartmouth

The highest honor of the Dartmouth Alumni Council, the Dartmouth Alumni Award, was conferred on G. Warren (Bud)French '30 (r) at the annual Alumni Fund Dinner in New York City on April 8. Howland Sargeant '32 (1), president of the Council, made the presentation and read the following citation:

Bud, "from the ground up" often characterizes a successful business career. But you, lest your nickname provoke unwarranted nepotistic complaints in the family apple business, went to the western orchards and "from the underground up" you nurtured the seeds through bud and blossom to early fruition, yourself bounding up the "apples and pears" to become the youngest president ever of the International Apple Association. Not satisfied with this accomplishment you went on to show that you were more than an ordinary fruit fly and were elected president of your company, an international fresh fruit distributing, exporting and importing concern - the first time in sixty years that a non-British citizen has headed the firm. Your College is proud to have had a very small stake in these accomplishments.

While touring the world fruit markets as an apprentice Johnny Appleseed, you must have been inspired by the Judgment of Paris because you awarded Celie, a some-time student at the Sorbonne, the Golden Apple, then wooed, won, wed, and whisked her from Woonsocket to Wenatchee. No Trojan War resulted. On the contrary, the College gained a true ally and subsequently two students, one of whom pitched some pretty hot apples for the ball team.

During your busy life you have made substantial contributions to the work of your church as Elder and President of the Board of Trustees, to the Red Cross, and to the Mountainside Hospital as co-chairman of the General Fund Campaign. You have been a member of the Psi Upsilon Alumni Association board of governors and a trustee of the Psi U Foundation.

Few have held such important positions in class activities for so many years. As Head Agent for three years, you won the Green Derby in 1940 and after eleven years of consecutive tours as Class Secretary and Memorial Fund Chairman, you became Head Agent again. To prove that your Green Derby victory was no accident, you posted two successive years of fine increases without benefit of special programs and were awarded the 1967 Joshua A. Davis Trophy for the most improvement in a single campaign.

In lasting appreciation of these achievements and in grateful recognition of your loyalty to the College, we give you the Dartmouth Alumni Award.