Created in 2015 to honor the school’s 175th Anniversary, this award is presented to an alumnus/a who has made significant achievements and contributions to his/her profession and/or community, shown a commitment to professional growth, or is recognized for leadership in his/her field. The contributions do not need to be publicly renowned but should represent important creative effort or accomplishment with professional, societal or educational value.
Richard Brown came to Williston Northampton for the final two trimesters of his senior year in 1972 as part of an English-Speaking Union exchange program. Although here for a short time, those two terms left a lasting mark on Richard and many of his classmates with whom he has remained close to after all these years. In fact, Richard has returned to celebrate every Reunion, but one, for the last 45 years. As Richard himself has said, his time at Williston was, “…one of the most formative periods of his life and what he gained from the experience (and associated travel across the U.S.) has been immeasurable.”
After attending the University of Bristol, Richard’s career as a chartered civil engineer kept him in the UK until 1997 when the opportunity came to use his expertise to aid in post-conflict recovery. His work has brought him to Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan, among other countries, where he has led projects to rebuild and reopen railway networks, and repair and restore power and water infrastructure to communities. He was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service for his work in Bosnia-Herzegovina and again for his work in Afghanistan. In 2005, he received the United States’ Bronze Star Medal for his work in Iraq.
Richard retired from British Army Reserves after 40 years and is currently working on a major railway construction project in Tanzania.
It is my great honor to present The Williston Northampton Award to Richard Brown, class of 1972.
The Williston Northampton Award presented by Bob Hill to Richard H. Brown ‘72. Award accepted by Richard Brown.
