Honor and Tradition

The Distinguished Alumnus Medal Honors Excellence

Northwood’s Distinguished Alumnus Medal recognizes those alumni who have contributed to our School and our world in meaningful and courageous ways. It is awarded to an alumnus or alumna who typifies the Northwood School tradition of excellence and has brought credit to the School through personal accomplishments, professional achievements, or humanitarian service. This is the highest honor to be bestowed upon a Northwood School graduate.

BERNIE CURRY ’71

2022 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS MEDAL RECIPIENT

Only the luckiest people and schools will make a lifelong friend like Bernie Curry. Bernie’s classmate and longtime friend, Don Mellor, knows what that means on a personal level. Don tells the story of his daughter’s severe injury on the ski slopes. At the hospital in Burlington, he called Bernie to tell him of Elise’s condition. Bernie was on the Mass Pike moving toward Boston; a quick u-turn and back to 91 heading north, he was the first of many visitors to support parents and daughter.

For Bernie, many of the friendships made here on the football and lacrosse field, on the ski slopes, even occasionally in the classrooms, with teammates, teachers, and coaches like Bruce Colon, have lasted a lifetime. Not everything he and they did was always wise or even within the rules; Bernie can recount with a blended laugh and sigh nowadays the memorable trip into town with Don and Chip Bissell in life jackets over Mirror Lake’s late April ice. There is also no shortage of memories from the undefeated football season (6-0) in which Northwood outscored the opposition 266-26. Such memories make for happy, nostalgic alumni, for sure. But not all gratitude translates into generosity. The school in recent years has had to make some big investments in new programs and facilities. Without initiatives like the Hub or the new turf field, Northwood’s future might be precarious. Bernie Curry stepped up to support a sport he didn’t play here and curriculum elements we didn’t have in his time. Northwood was another friend who could use some help. Bernie is the man who answers a call from an old classmate at four in the morning, because that is what a friend does.

In the end what makes a distinguished alumnus? It is all about character, loyalty, and heart. Bernie is a busy man, running a substantial and successful business. He was recently nominated for TIME 2019 Dealer of the Year Award, selected out of a universe of 16,000 automobile dealers across the country for a longstanding record of business success and commitment to community service and honored in San Francisco this January during the National Automobile Dealers Association Show. Somehow, he always makes time for his friends. And never grudgingly, but always with the amazing upbeat energy that allows him to fill each day with an extra couple of hours, of work, of fun, of kindness. We prize his friendship and are pleased to honor him as a distinguished alumnus.

ROBERT “BOB” VALENTINE ’57 2023 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS MEDAL RECIPIENT

Bob received his BA from UCLA, and JD from Loyola University, Los Angeles, where he served as a Teaching Fellow. He has been in private practice with an emphasis on estate planning, trust and probate; personal injury; real estate; domestic partnershipformation and dissolution; business formation and litigation; and criminal defense. He is admitted to practice in California, the District of Columbia, and New York State. Bob is an annual recipient of the Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating, which is the highest possible rating for an attorney for both ethical standards and legal ability.

Although Bob has been practicing law for over 55 years, perhaps his greatest passion has been for the Beacon House Association of San Pedro, a residential recovery program that assists men addicted to alcohol and drugs with treatment, housing, and other supports for lives free of addiction. He shares, “I joined the Board of Beacon House in 1982, the beginning of my 3rd year in sobriety. I retired from the Board approximately 33 years later, the last 25 of which I was Board President.”

Beacon House was established in 1974 with a single house providing accommodations for 16 residents. Through Bob’s tenure, the organization has expanded to six residential facilities housing over 100 residents. Importantly, Beacon House has provided the foundation for recovery for many thousands of men. Bob says, “Beacon House is one of the most important things in my life. It’s worthwhile if you save just one life.”