Homecoming Celebration Honors Alumni
A proud Truman homecoming tradition is the recognition of alumni and friends who have made their mark on campus and in the world.
This year’s Alumna of the Year is Dawn (Wellington) Tartaglione (’90). She is first female osteopathic physician to become a neurosurgeon and is currently medical director of neurosurgery and Department of Surgery chair at Bayhealth in Dover, Delaware. Tartaglione is the former president of Truman’s Foundation Board of Directors. The opportunity to serve on Truman’s Foundation Board, including in leadership, has been one of the most fulfilling activities of her life.
Ellie (Glenn) Harmon is this year’s Young Alumna of the Year. She graduated from Truman in 2007 with a degree in political science and received a Master of Public Affairs degree with an emphasis in public policy analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2011. Harmon is currently the director of government relations for St. Louis Children’s Hospital. In this role, she advocates for children’s health care issues on behalf of the hospital, their providers and staff, and their patients and families in Washington, D.C., and in the Missouri and Illinois legislatures. In 2022, she was honored with Truman’s Echo 25 award.
This year’s Distinguished Service Award goes to Rod Cooper (’88)and Natalie Gerhart (’07). Cooper has had a successful career in
business, holding titles such as president/owner, entrepreneur, managing director, board chairman, vice president of sales and vice president of operations. He retired in 2015 at the age of 49. Upon retirement, he dedicates his time to expanding his and his wife Kathy’s real estate portfolio, as well as traveling and assisting others in achieving their own life aspirations.
After graduation, Gerhart hiked the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. As an alumna, she has stayed connected with the University in a variety of ways. From the beginning, she has maintained engagement with Bullets Rugby, which lead to her helping to establish The Bullets Rugby Alumni Scholarship. Over time, engagement grew to regional connections with the Mid-MO Alumni Chapter, Dallas Alumni
Chapter and the Omaha Alumni Club.
This year’s Homecoming Parade Grand Marshals is Pat Williams (’80, ’84, ’90). He had a long and successful career in a variety of roles in education, working as a special education teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal and superintendent of the Kirksville Public School System. In 2014, he retired after 33 years in public education.
Nick Ponche (’17) is this year’s Denise L. Smith Volunteer of the Year. Ponche serves as the president of the Truman St. Louis Alumni Chapter, working alongside fellow volunteers to plan events and engage the St. Louis area alumni community. Since joining the chapter in 2019, he has worked to engage a diverse and growing array of Truman graduates through online and in-person social gatherings, pop-up events at Truman athletic contests in the St. Louis area and local initiatives through volunteer opportunities with community partners.
