Congratulations to 2009’s Man & Woman of the Year and Founders Award recipient
With local press on hand, the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce surprised the 2009 Man and Woman of the Year and Founders Awards recipients with the good news!

The surprises were bestowed on Bruce Dusenberry as the Man of the Year, Cindy Parseghian as the Woman of the Year and Dr. John Schaefer as the Founders Award recipient.  The trio was notified in person Thursday, December 31, and will be honored at the annual luncheon February 9 at the Westin La Paloma Resort. For information and to reserve your seat, visit our website www.tucsonchamber.org or contact Kerri Wilson at 792-2250, ext. 176.

Bruce Dusenberry, 2009 Man of the Year
Bruce Dusenberry, a graduate of UCLA School of Law, was nominated for his “deep commitment to the betterment of the community over many years and for his recognized statewide leadership. He is the best sort of leader: one who exemplifies his values through service, not self promotion.” Bruce, CEO of Horizon Moving Systems since 1994, had numerous endorsements from the Tucson community including many supporters of Davis Monthan Air Force Base and the military in our community, citing his instrumental efforts in furthering the relationships between community groups and the Air Force base. His community service includes the American Heart Association, Tucson Airport Authority member, Southern Arizona Leadership Council member, Saguaro Rotary Club president, Pima County Juvenile Court Center Community Advisory Board member, Success By 6 Children’s Campaign member, YMCA Metropolitan Tucson board of directors, YMCA Lohse Family Branch president, ArtsReach Native American Educational Programs board of directors, Arizona Community Legal Assistance board of directors, Mayor’s Good Business Partnership Advisory Committee, Arizona Town Hall to name a few.

His current and past involvement in professional organizations include Executives Association of Tucson, member and past president, The Breakfast Club (Tucson leadership organization) member, National Association of Corporate Directors member, The Arizona Bar Foundation, Board of Governors State Bar of Arizona, Pima County Bar Association, Judge Pro Tempore, Pima County Superior Court, and the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council.

Bruce is married to Lynne O. Wood, Attorney and has two children, Brett (age 20) and Courtney (age 17).  His special interests include flying a Cessna T-210, traveling with his family, and attending University of Arizona athletic events and other sporting events.

Cindy Parseghian, Woman of the Year
Cindy Parseghian is “a role model for all women in this community; as a mother and family member, as an advocate for children and for medical research, and as a fundraiser for causes that reach far beyond the Tucson community”.

In 1994 just months after learning that three of their four children had a fatal disease, Cindy founded the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation with help from her father-in-law, Ara Parseghian, the legendary Notre Dame football coach, and has dedicated her life to directing the foundation with the hope of saving the lives of children and young adults around the world afflicted by Niemann-Pick Type C (NP-C) disease. This rare genetic disorder took the lives of Cindy and Mike’s three children, Michael, Marcia and Christa. Through her own loss, Cindy’s passion and commitment are stronger than ever to raise the funds necessary to find a treatment and cure for all children living with this fatal disease.

Through Cindy’s extensive efforts, the Foundation has raised over $35,000,000, providing hope for hundreds of families throughout the world. Her service as a volunteer to local non-profits has included the March of Dimes, St. Thomas the Apostle Preschool, the Steele Memorial Children’s Research Center, Pima County Medical Society, Angel Charity for Children, the Catalina Foothills School District Foundation and the National Nieman Pick Disease Foundation.

Cindy currently chairs the San Miguel High School Board of Trustees, The Critical Path Institute Advisory Board, the Wells Fargo Community Advisory Board, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Translational Genomics Research Institute board of directors and University of Notre Dame Science Council.

Cindy and Michael Parseghian have one child, Ara (age 23), a graduate of Princeton University and student at Tufts Medical School.

Dr. John Schaefer
“Vision is a quality of leadership often lauded but rarely executed so effectively that it transforms whole institutions. Evidence of one man’s vision is sprinkled all over Tucson.”  Richard Ducote, AZ Daily Star 1.23.05

Dr. John Schaefer was nominated for being “an extraordinary leader who has made generous and life changing contributions to Arizona in science, education, photography and social services”. John has made an incredible difference to the successes of so many in the Tucson community, from being the youngest President of the University of Arizona and assembling the astrophysics foundation to his expertise in photography, including:

• His visionary efforts to assemble the funding and scientific team to build the most effective mirror lab in the world … the Multiple Mirror Telescope,
• His vision that the University of Arizona should and would be a part of the PAC 10, to the joy of millions of sports fans, and
• His interest and friendship with Ansel Adams that led to the University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography.

Over the past forty years his professional positions and memberships, internationally and nationally, include:  President of Research Corporation and Chairman of Research Corporation Technologies, United States-Israeli Binational Science Foundation, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Olin Corporation board of directors, Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, The Magellan Group, Planetary Design Corporation, Large Binocular Telescope Corporation, Arizona Town Hall, Arizona Astronomy Board, and Grand Canyon Trust to name a few.

 John’s current community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson Symphony, and several University of Arizona advisory committees, Tucson Airport Authority, and the Tucson Museum of Art.

Dr. Schaefer is a regular contributor to Westways and Arizona Highways, as well as many professional photographic journals and has also contributed to more than forty publications in the area of mechanistic, synthetic and structural aspects of organic chemistry. His photographic exhibitions include the Loggia Rucellai Gallery in Florence, Italy, Photography Southwest Gallery in Scottsdale and the Tucson Museum of Art.

John and Helen Schaefer have two children, Ann Marie and Susan Margaret.