CITATION OF MERIT

John S. Wold
Class of 1934

GEOLOGIST, VETERAN, EXPLORER, CONGRESSMAN, DREAMER, YOU ARE A HUMBLE MAN WHO SERVED OTHERS AND STRIVED TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER THAN IT WAS BEFORE YOU ENTERED IT. GROWING UP A “CAMPUS KID” AT UNION COLLEGE, YOU DEVELOPED AN INTELLECTUAL AND SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY THAT GUIDED YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE. WITH FAMILY VALUES OF INTEGRITY AND HONESTY, YOU SET OFF TO THE TAFT SCHOOL WHERE YOU LEARNED TO COMMUNICATE ARTICULATELY AS A MEMBER OF ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DEBATING TEAMS IN TAFT’S HISTORY. GRADUATING CUM LAUDE, YOU RETURNED HOME TO UNION AS A STUDENT WHO WAS CHOSEN AS THE ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY, SCOTLAND, EXCHANGE SCHOLAR. YOU WERE ELECTED TO SIGMA XI, THE RESEARCH HONOR SOCIETY AND PLAYED ON UNION’S VARSITY HOCKEY TEAM. GRADUATING WITH A DEGREE IN GEOLOGY, YOU EARNED A MASTER OF SCIENCE AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY, BEFORE HEADING TO THE OIL FIELDS OF OUR AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WHILE ON LEAVE FROM SOCONY VACUUM COMPANY, YOU WERE SOLICITED BY THE NAVY BUREAU OF ORDNANCE AS A CONSULTANT WORKING ON DEFENSES AGAINST GERMAN MAGNETIC MINES. LATER, YOU ENLISTED IN THE NAVY AND BECAME A GUNNERY AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER ON A DESTROYER ESCORT IN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC THEATERS. RETURNING HOME AFTER THE WAR, YOU MOVED TO WYOMING WHERE YOU EXPLORED MINERAL BUSINESS VENTURES. WITH A COMMITMENT TO SERVICE, YOU EMBRACED THE AMERICAN POLITICAL PROCESS AS A VEHICLE OF CHANGE. YOU SERVED TWO TERMS IN THE WYOMING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND IN THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL GEOLOGIST TO SERVE IN CONGRESS. YOUR VISION FOR AND COMMITMENT TO THE STATE OF WYOMING HELPED CREATE AN ECONOMIC CLIMATE FOR SUCCESS. YOU HAD A ROLE IN ALL FACETS OF WYOMING’S INDUSTRY. YOU WERE ELECTED “WYOMING’S OIL/GAS AND MINERAL MAN OF THE 2OTH CENTURY” BY THE AMERICAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING. YOUR LOVE OF SCIENCE AND COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION HAS MOTIVATED YOU TO GENEROUS SUPPORT OF UNION COLLEGE, CASPER COLLEGE, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING. YOU HAVE SAID THAT A DREAMER HAS TO HAVE A BACKGROUND ON WHICH TO DRAW IN ORDER TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE. YOUR DEVOTED WIFE, JANE, YOUR LOVE OF FAMILY, YOUR EDUCATION, AND STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE HAVE MADE THOSE DREAMS A REALITY, FULFILLING TAFT SCHOOL’S GUIDING PRINCIPLE: NON UT SIBI MINISTRETUR SED UT MINISTET. MAY, 2008

Citation of Merit Awards