INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference has named Francis G. Slay as the recipient of the 2016 Dr. Charles Bertram Alumni Award of Distinction, it was announced by the Conference office on Friday. A former men’s soccer player at Quincy University and current mayor of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, Slay will be recognized by the GLVC at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car/Spring Awards Banquet in St. Louis on Tuesday, May 24.
The Bertram Alumni Award of Distinction is an honor that extends beyond one’s collegiate career. It is presented to an individual(s) that displays academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership, while serving their institutions with personal distinction since their graduation, and making postgraduate public or community service and/or contributions to athletics at any level.
Slay was nominated by Quincy and recommended as this year’s honoree by the GLVC Awards Committee, based post-graduation service to his community. The GLVC Awards Committee recommendation was formally ratified earlier this week by the league’s Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR).
Slay played four seasons from 1973-76 on the Hawks men’s soccer team, which recorded a 69-11-4 record in that span.
Slay entered law practice in 1981 and was elected to the St. Louis Board of Alderman in 1985 before being elected President of Alderman in 1995. He was then reelected four years later in 1999. Shortly thereafter, Slay won the election for Mayor of the City of St. Louis and took office in April 2001.
Since his appointment, Slay has become the first mayor in the city’s history to be elected to the office four times and is also the longest-serving mayor in the city annals. In 2007, the Hawk alum won the Preserve America Presidential Award for the city’s revitalization and additionally negotiated deals to keep the Cardinals in downtown St. Louis and also helped bring “Ballpark Village” to the area.
While at Quincy, Slay was a District 20 Scholar-Athlete and active in the United Nations prior to his graduation in 1977. Athletically, he joined the men’s soccer team as a walk-on student-athlete before working his way to earning a scholarship and starting role in his last two seasons. His junior year was the most successful, as he recorded five goals and eight assists for 18 points while the Hawks went 19-1-1 to go along with an NAIA National Championship title. Slay was also part of two other national championship teams in 1973 and 1974, while Quincy finished in third place during his senior campaign in 1976 with an overall record of 19-3-1. The 1973 team was 14-5-1, and the team in 1974 went 17-2-1.
Additionally, Quincy honored the 45th Mayor of St. Louis in 2002 with an honorary doctorate degree of public service.
The GLVC’s Alumni Award of Distinction is named in remembrance of Dr. Charles Bertram. Dr. Bertram served as a professor and faculty athletic representative at USI and is a former president of the GLVC. He contributed a great deal of time, energy and effort to the league’s success and was instrumental in conference operations for many years.
Past recipients of the Dr. Charles Bertram Alumni of Distinction Award include Julie (Thoman) Perry, Jim Thordsen, Keith Bailey, Deb DiMatteo, Dr. Alex Lentsch, Dr. Sandra Magnus, Pat White, Dennis Reinbold, Dr. David Porta, Dr. Steven Giles, Julie Fruendt, Dr. Jane Weaver, Jim Vargo, LuAnn Humphrey, Dr. Michael Bernier, Lois Taurman, Larry Tucker, Ron Romain and John Gibson.