Foundation: Award of Distinction

Hurd-Knief, Weitzel Recognized for Outstanding Service

Alan Weitzel

Pam Hurd -Knief

THE ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM FOUNDATION RECOGNIZED PAM HURD-KNIEF AND ALAN WEITZEL WITH THE ROBERT WERTHEIM AWARD

OF DISTINCTION.

This year’s recipients have both been dedicated members of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation board and have helped move the organization forward. Weitzel, who worked as an engineer in New Mexico for more than 35 years, served on the Foundation’s board from 2012 to 2018, and as board President in 2016-17. His commitment always exceeded expectations, and he has continued to serve as a valuable ambassador for the organization. HurdKnief worked in fundraising throughout her career, including a nearly 20-year stint on staff at the University of New Mexico. She served on the Foundation’s board from 2014-20; led the creation of the organization’s planned giving program, the aM Society; and regularly advises the Foundation’s development team.

The award honors an individual who has served the Albuquerque Museum and/ or the Albuquerque Museum Foundation in an outstanding leadership capacity. It is only given when there is a worthy recipient, and not necessarily on an annual basis. The criteria for the award includes time commitment, fundraising facilitation, advocacy for the Museum and Foundation, and being a community ambassador for the Museum and/or the Foundation. Past recipients include Betty Sabo, Thelma Domenici, Tom Keleher, Dr. Deborah Good, and Beverly Bendicksen, among many others.

The award, which was started in 1990, was named for Robert Wertheim after his passing in 2013. Wertheim was the founder of Charter Bank, a recipient of the Ethics in Business award, and a community leader with a deep love for New Mexico. His daughter, Helen Wertheim, recounts that Wertheim was part of a generation of business leaders who were committed to working closely together to improve the state. “My father loved New Mexico, and wanted to make our state the best it could be," says Helen. Wertheim served on the Albuquerque Museum Foundation Board from 2008 until his death. As a member of the fundraising committee for Only in Albuquerque, Wertheim inspired fellow committee members to raise twice the money of the original goal. “It was the interactive map (in Only in Albuquerque) that excited him,” Helen says. “He had a vision of kids on their hands and knees pointing to places in Albuquerque they know. He wanted to see it through.” Even though Wertheim battled cancer in the last years of his life, he never missed a committee meeting. As Helen tells it, just one day before he went into the hospital for the last time, he was still making phone calls to raise money for the exhibition. “That made an enormous impact on me,” she says.

Wertheim served on many boards, including Accion New Mexico, the University of New Mexico Anderson School Alumni Council, and Presbyterian Healthcare Services. He grew up in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and graduated from UNM with a business degree.