The Late Tony Sadberry Named Distinguished Alumnus
Jackson, MS - The late Tony Sadberry, former Phi Theta Kappa National Officer,
Foundation Trustree, and former member of the Board of Directors, was named
the Society's 2009 Distinguished Alumnus during the recent Convention
held in Grapevine, Texas, April 16-18. Sadberry, an attorney, was serving
as Director of the Texas Lottery Commission at the time of his death on October
28, 2008. His daughter, Andrea Sadberry-Flood, accepted the award on his
behalf.
Sadberry became a member of Phi Theta Kappa at Navarro
College in Corsicana, Texas, in 1969. Later that year he became the first
African-American member to be elected a Phi Theta Kappa National Officer.
His
invitation to membership in Phi Theta Kappa made "the American Dream a possibility
for me," Sadberry said in an interview many years later. "Suddenly I was
part of a whole group of people who believed that the only limitations were
those you set for yourself."
He served as a representative on
the Phi Theta Kappa Board of Directors from 1990-1996, and was appointed
as a Trustee to the newly established Phi Theta Kappa Foundation in 2007.
Sadberry
spoke at Phi Theta Kappa's 1986 Honors Institute, and also was a frequent
speaker at Texas Region events. He was master of ceremonies for A Celebration
of Leadership, the program honoring Phi Theta Kappa's first Executive
Director, Margaret Mosal, upon her retirement, and recognizing Rod A.
Risley, her successor as Executive Director.
A graduate of
the University of Texas and Georgetown University Law School, Sadberry
had also served on the state Attorney General's staff.
In accepting
the award Sadberry's daughter, Andrea Sadberry Flood, was escorted to
the stage by his friend and former college roommate, Mike Heiskell, also
a Phi Theta Kappa alumnus.
"Whatever Phi Theta Kappa gave to
Tony, he gave back to us many times, by promoting scholarships and opportunities,
through his professional success and his service to Phi Theta Kappa - he
left a great legacy," said Phi Theta Kappa's Executive Director Rod Risley
in presenting the award to Sadberry's daughter. "Tony was someone we counted
on to help us achieve great things in the future, and he is truly gone too soon."
Phi Theta Kappa began formally recognizing its Most Distinguished
Alumni in 1970. When appropriate, the Society has selected a recipient
who has, through his or her professional or personal endeavors, provided
substantive contributions toward improving the quality of life on national
or international levels. Phi Theta Kappa has bestowed this honor on only
35 individuals. Past recipients have included journalist Jim Lehrer of
the McNeil-Lehrer Newshour, former United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick,
The 700 Club co-host Ben Kinchlow, country music entertainers Rudy Gatlin
and Trisha Yearwood, industrialist H. Ross Perot, oceanographer Dr. Sylvia
Earle, musical conductor Gerald Steichen, figure skater Michael Weiss,
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mirta Ojito, Florida Congresswoman
Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, and Phi Theta Kappa's Executive Director Rod A.
Risley.
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson,
Mississippi, is the largest honor society in American higher education
with 1,250 chapters on college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada,
Germany, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the
Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United
Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than two million
students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately
100,000 students inducted annually.
