July 11, 2011
RENO, Nev. -- -
Dixie May was honored as the recipient of the University of Nevada's prestigious Jake Lawlor Award Friday night at the 43rd annual Governor's Dinner at the Governor's Mansion in Carson City.
The Jake Lawlor Award, named after the former Wolf Pack coach, is given annually to an individual who has demonstrated substantial and exemplary support of Nevada's intercollegiate athletics program over an extended period of time.
May's support of Wolf Pack Athletics dates back to the early 1990s and has included unprecedented gifts to the scholarship fund supporting women's athletics and a major gift for the Marguerite Wattis Petersen Athletic Academic Center. May was also one of the first donors to commit to Nevada's Moving to the Mountain campaign.
An inaugural member of the Center Court steering committee (supporting women's basketball), May has been a member of the AAUN Board of Directors since 2010 and is a Wolf Pack season ticketholder.
She spent her early years in Illinois, Nevada, California and Switzerland before settling in Grass Valley, Calif., where she lived for nearly 13 years as a rancher on her 1,060-acre Double Diamond Ranch. She returned to Reno in 1994, and her generosity has extended to Wolf Pack Athletics as well as many other interests in the Reno community and beyond.
Nevada Director of Athletics Cary Groth presented May with the Jake Lawlor Award at Friday night's sold-out event that featured over 650 guests.
"Dixie May's support for University of Nevada athletics is critical to our success now and in the future," Groth said. "Dixie is passionately committed to young people, especially our female student-athletes, and without her leadership and generosity, we would not have been able to build our quality facilities or provide the support our student-athletes need to succeed. She has lived an extraordinary life but remains modest and generous. Dixie is a special member of the Wolf Pack family and we are so grateful for her commitment and support."
