MSUM to Honor Alumni for Professional, Community Contributions

Three alumni will be honored for significant contributions to their professions and communities by the Minnesota State University Moorhead Foundation during Homecoming festivities on campus Oct. 4-9.

Honored with the Distinguished Alumni Awards are Stacy Broman ’85 and Gary Johnson ’88. Anna Knutson ’13 will receive the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

Broman is a partner at Meagher & Geer PLLP, a law firm where she represents insurers in complex litigation and bad faith matters nationally. Her work has placed her on several “best lawyer” lists. As a student, she studied economics and participated in speech.

“At MSUM, I learned the value of hard work and giving back,” she says. “There are so many who are less fortunate and there is such a need for good legal work.”

Johnson serves as CEO and general manager at Paul Bunyan Communications in Bemidji. The state's largest broadband cooperative strives to bring internet access to rural Minnesota, opening opportunities for economic development and services. He studied computer science at MSUM.

“The technology we’re offering is changing peoples’ lives,” he says. “Going forward, there’s so much potential.”

Knutson has had an impressive marketing career since graduation and is currently the marketing director at Lucy & Co., a digitally native pet products brand. She speaks regionally and nationally about trends in digital marketing, leadership and team-building.  She majored in advertising and women and gender studies.

“MSUM felt like home,” she says. “My education set me up to be somebody who was able to go after the things I wanted.”

These distinguished alumni will be honored at the Night of Distinction on Oct. 6. Robert Narveson '84 and Craig Weiss ‘83 have also been chosen as Distinguished Alumni, but are unable to attend the event and will be honored at a future date. Essentia Health and Thomas Von Bahr will also be honored for their contributions and support to the MSUM and the community.