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BSC honors Alumnus of the Year

Published: Apr 20 2018
BSC honors Alumnus of the Year - Photo
Bismarck State College will honor several alumni during its annual recognition event May 10 on campus.
 
The BSC National Alumni Association Board of Directors has chosen Mike Bullinger (’70) as Alumnus of the Year, and Jon Hunke ('94) as BSC’s Rising Star. The association chose the Harley and Margaret Swenson family as this year’s Legacy Family award recipients.
 
All recipients will be honored at a campus dinner for friends, colleagues, family and the public May 10 at 6 p.m. in the Bavendick Stateroom, BSC National Energy Center of Excellence.
 
Bullinger found both his inspiration and his career his senior year of high school when he met his future wife, Peggy, and enrolled in a bookkeeping course at Mandan High School. He completed his two-year degree at BSC, went on to UND and became a CPA. Today, he owns Western Products, a home improvement company in Fargo. The Bullinger family has made philanthropy a core tenet of their lives, through scholarships at BSC and UND for business and accounting students, as well as generous support through the FM Area Foundation, Dakota Medical Foundation and the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. Mike and Peggy were named Philanthropists of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2016. They live in Fargo.
 
Hunke believes that those willing to give back can truly make a difference. As the BSC Rising Star Award winner, he's being recognized for that very attribute. An accounting major, Hunke paid for college as he went, earning degrees at BSC, NDSU and University of Mary. He worked full time while earning his master's degree. After NDSU, he worked at a regional accounting firm, before coming home to Bismarck where he first went to work for MDU Construction Services Group. He currently serves as Vice President of Accounting, Finance and Information Technology. Hunke and his wife, Sommer, are members of the BSC Alumni Association 1939 Society. He also serves on the BSC Foundation Student Housing Board and the BSC Business and Management Advisory Board.
 
The Swenson Family has not only attended BSC, Harley Swenson spent years getting his hands dirty making BSC the beautiful campus it is today. After graduating from BJC (now BSC), Harley went to UND where he met his wife, Margaret. They returned to Bismarck and established Swenson, Hagen & Company a civil engineering and land surveying firm in 1967. Over the years, Harley and his company worked on a number of BSC campus improvement projects from parking lots to planting trees. All three Swenson children, a son-in-law and a grandson have attended BSC. Members of the BSC Alumni Association 1939 Society, Harley and Margaret established a Swenson family scholarship for pre-engineering students at BSC in 2013. Harley was named BSC Outstanding Alumnus in 1995, and received the Presidential Merit Award from the BSC National Alumni Association in 1984.
 
Dinner reservations will be accepted until May 4. Tickets are $25 per person. Make checks payable to the BSC Alumni Association and mail to the alumni office, P.O. Box 5587, Bismarck, N.D. 58506-5587. For more information or about credit card orders, contact Rita Nodland at 701-224-5692, 800-272-2586, or Rita.Nodland@bismarckstate.edu.