Sullivan Award Bestowed at Commencement

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2010) − A Habitat for Humanity activist who died in an August 2006 airplane crash and a student who has volunteered both locally and in Latin America are the recipients of the University of Kentucky's 2010 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallions for outstanding community service. The awards were presented at UK's 143rd Commencement at Rupp Arena.

Patrick H. Smith of Lexington, who died on board Comair Flight 5191 when it crashed on takeoff at Bluegrass Airport Aug. 27, 2006, was chosen for his many years of involvement in Habitat for Humanity, in which he helped build houses for the poor in Lexington, west Africa, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Gulfport, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He served on the board of Lexington's Habitat for Humanity as well as Habitat's International Board of Directors. He also served on Christ the King's school board. Smith had been a UK employee from 1971 to1981. His widow, Jean Smith, accepted the award on his behalf.

Rebecca Elizabeth Linares of Louisville was selected as 2010's graduating senior to receive the recognition. Linares, majoring in international studies and Spanish in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, was nominated for her various volunteer efforts. She has served as a tutor in an after-school program at Cassidy Elementary School for newly arrived refugee children and she has volunteered as a teaching assistant in the English as a Second Language program at Morton Middle School in Lexington. She also served in internships with Kentucky Refugee Ministries in Lexington and with Kentucky Jobs for Justice in Louisville. She traveled to Honduras, where she worked in a daycare center, and to Peru, where she worked with indigenous people.

Linares plans to pursue graduate study at Indiana University's Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program.

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, presented to one or two graduating seniors and a non-student, recognizes individuals whose commitment to community service shows characteristics of heart, mind, and conduct as evince a spirit of love for and helpfulness to other men and women. The awards are presented annually at UK's Commencement.

The award was established by the New York Southern Society in 1925 in memory of Algernon Sydney Sullivan, a southerner who became a prominent lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist in New York in the late 19th century. The University of Kentucky is one of several southern universities that present the Sullivan award which is sponsored by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation.