- Posted 09/27/2000
Contact: Andrew Svec, 218-281-8435
UMC Names Outstanding Alumni
for 2000
The University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) Alumni Association has named two “Outstanding Alumni” for the year 2000. This honor recognizes UMC alumni who have displayed exemplary commitment and service to community, church, education, family and their occupational field.
This year’s honorees are Jean (Fischer) Whalen (’80) of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Richard (Dick) LeCocq (’69) of Mora, Minnesota. Whalen and LeCocq will be honored at a special ceremony during halftime of the UMC Homecoming Football Game on Saturday, September 30, at Ed Widseth Field on the UMC campus. The two will join an elite group of 96 other UMC Outstanding Alumni who have been named since the honor was first awarded in 1980.
Jean Whalen
Jean
(Fischer) Whalen graduated from UMC in 1980 with a degree in court and
conference reporting, and she has been working in the court reporting
industry for the past 20 years. Whalen
is currently president of Whalen Realtime Reporting, Inc., a freelance
court reporting business in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Whalen has made significant contributions to the field of court reporting in Minnesota. She is a board member of the Minnesota Freelance Court Reporters Association and has held the office of treasurer for 2 terms. She served as vice president for the Minnesota Association of Verbatim Reporters and Captioners (MAVRC) for 2 terms and as chairperson of the MAVRC’s Government Relations Committee, which successfully introduced and passed legislation in Minnesota to curb unprofessional practices in the court reporting industry during her tenure.
Whalen has had articles published in Minnesota’s State Court Reporter’s Newsletter as well as the National Court Reporter’s publication, The Journal of Court Reporting. She has earned nearly every certification available from the National Court Reporters Association including Registered Professional Reporter, Registered Merit Reporter, and Registered Diplomat Reporter, which is the highest certification available. She also holds the designation of Certified Realtime Reporter. Less than one-half of one percent of all court reporters in the nation achieve realtime certification status. Whalen is one of very few court reporters in the region who practices realtime reporting, a new technology that attorneys heavily rely upon.
Whalen is also an active community volunteer, delivering meals for the Meals on Wheels Program and serving on that organization’s advisory board. She is also a youth hockey sponsor. She and her husband, Mike, live in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and have two children: Sarah, 14, and Greg, 12.
Richard LeCocq
Richard
"Dick" LeCocq has the distinction of being a member of UMC’s first
incoming class back in 1966. He
graduated in 1969 with a degree in animal science.
Immediately after graduating, LeCocq worked for two years as a
field man for Land O’ Lakes before he became a full-time farmer and
rancher. LeCocq and his
wife, Paula, own and operate the 365-acre Lazy L. Ranch north of Mora,
Minnesota, and they own about 235 head of beef cattle.
LeCocq has always been active in community, state, and national organizations. He is currently president of the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association, an organization with 1500 members. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. He has been a member of the Isle Lions Club, holding the office of President; has served as president of the Snake River Cattlemen’s Association; has worked with the East Central Forage and Grasslands Council as its president; and has served on the Minnesota Forage and Grasslands Council. LeCocq has also been active in the Minnesota Farm Bureau and the DNR Timberwolf Round Table. His involvement in a variety of organizations has allowed him to meet many state and national industry and political leaders.
LeCocq has received several honors including Outstanding Conservation Farmer in 1989 and Outstanding Forage Producer for Kanabec County in 1987. His family was named the Kanabec County Farm Family of the Year in 1998.
LeCocq and his wife, Paula, have raised two children: Alison Carda, 24, who is a teacher, and Rick LeCocq, 21, who is currently a student.
View the list of other UMC Outstanding Alumni