Columbus Academy alumni, friends and over 60 members of this year’s senior class gathered to honor 2024 Distinguished Alumnus David Hamlar Jr. MD DDS ’73 and Alumni Service Award recipient Lloyd Cicetti at the school’s annual Holiday Luncheon on December 20.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is our school’s highest honor and is given to an alumnus/a in recognition of outstanding achievement in community or profession and loyalty to Columbus Academy. This year’s recipient has an exemplary career intertwining dentistry, medical training, reconstructive surgery, public health and military service. David currently is a team physician for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and medical consultant for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
In his introduction, faculty member John Exline ’64 stated that David was the first African-American student in Academy’s Middle School when he entered the fifth grade in 1965.
“John, thank you for being one of my wing men all these years,” David said to his former teacher during his acceptance speech. “Your friendship, your guidance, has meant the world to me and to all of us. For those who do not know it, on the heels of our 50th reunion, our Class of 1973 is coming together to fund a school’s endowment for tuition assistance in honor of John. Our gifts will ensure that a Columbus Academy education is within reach for smart, talented and deserving students whose presence and engagement in the school enrich the entire Academy community.”
WATCH DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS PRESENTATION
The Alumni Service Award honors faculty and staff members who have made lasting contributions to the school through their service and leadership.
“The children made it special,” stated Lloyd while sharing the top five reasons why Columbus Academy is a special place for him. “My students were bright, engaging, creative and considerate of one another. They really made my job easy as an art teacher.”
Lloyd retired in 2023 following a 49-year career, including the last 32 teaching art in our Lower School. He was joined at the ceremony by his wife Barbara and their three children who all graduated from Academy: Michael ’01, David ’03 and Robert ’07.
WATCH ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD PRESENTATION
The event began with a toast by Head of School Melissa Soderberg to the members of the school’s Legacy Society “for playing the long game, for reinvesting in a place and people, for paying back and paying it forward. We are thankful for your sense of appreciation, loyalty and responsibility. We want everyone to know that there’s a piece of you, always, with the school.”
In addition to mingling with fellow alumni and former faculty members, attendees enjoyed encore deliveries of junior speeches by Lynn Yoon and Chaz Moore.
To learn more about Columbus Academy’s alumni awards, including lists of past recipients and how to submit nominations, please click here.