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Betty D. Montgomery to receive Distinguished Alumnus Award BOWLING GREEN, O. -- Betty D. Montgomery, newly elected auditor of the state of Ohio and the first woman to hold that office,
has been chosen to receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Bowling Green State University Alumni Association.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the highest honor bestowed by the University's Alumni Association and recognizes BGSU graduates
for professional achievements in their chosen fields. Previous winners of the award include journalist John Durniak, actors
Tim Conway and Eva Marie Saint, and retired Toledo Public School Superintendent Crystal Ellis.
The Alumni Association will honor Montgomery when she is on campus March 18 to give the keynote address for the University's
Women's History Month activities.
Montgomery will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (March 18) in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Her
address, which is open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Alumni Association, the Women's Center and the Women's Studies
Program.
A 1970 graduate of Bowling Green, Montgomery earned a law degree at the University of Toledo in 1976. She has since embarked
on a distinguished career in public service that is marked by a number of firsts.
She began her law career as a criminal clerk in the Lucas County Common Pleas Court, then served as an assistant prosecuting
attorney in Wood County and as Perrysburg City Prosecutor. She was elected in 1980 as Wood County's first female prosecutor,
serving in that capacity from 1981-88.
In November of 1988, voters in State Senate District 2 chose the Wood County Republican to represent them in Columbus. As
a state senator from 1989-94, Montgomery served as chair of the criminal justice subcommittee and vice chair of both the Senate
Judiciary Committee and the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission. Her work included drafting Ohio's first living will law,
its first brownfield legislation and its Victims' Rights Law.
Montgomery's success in the state Senate was followed by success in her first run for statewide office. She was sworn in as
Ohio's first female attorney general in January of 1995. While in office, she increased state support for local law enforcement,
upgraded the state crime labs, and emphasized protection of the young, the old and victims of crime.
Her work did not go unnoticed. She received four national awards for innovations in a background check program used by law
enforcement; the national 2002 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award for her office's outstanding pro bono service
program; and the annual Consumer Agency Achievement Award from the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators,
which recognized her office's Consumer Protection Section as the best in the nation.
Now in the first weeks of her first term as state auditor, Montgomery serves as the watchdog of public funds in Ohio. She
continues to be a role a model for women and a strong supporter of BGSU. In addition to returning to speak on campus periodically
over the years, she has supported arts activities at BGSU and scholarships for women students who are returning to college.
(Posted March 18, 2003 )
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