Congratulations Cretin Alumni Award Recipients

Reprinted from Traditions, Winter 2016-2017
January 2, 2017

St. DeLaSalle Award

The Saint De La Salle award is presented annually in memory of the Christian Brothers in recognition of outstanding service to the community and beyond, exemplifying the highest and best traditions of Cretin High School.

Mike grew up “below the hill” as one of the West 7th Street Boys, where he attended Saint Francis de Sales School. It was in this neighborhood where nurtured by his parents, he developed a strong work ethic, a sense of justice, and compassion for others that is manifested in his life today. As a student at Cretin, Mike played football and baseball, and again in college at St. Thomas.

Mike earned a BA in Sociology and an MA in Education from the University of St. Thomas where he also served as an admissions and personnel counselor. In 1972 he began working for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in a number of different roles including Special Agent with assignments focusing on narcotics, child sexual exploitation and homicide investigations. In 1989 he served as Assistant Superintendent of the BCA where he was second in command and responsible for statewide criminal investigative activity. From 2000 to 2004 he served as the Superintendent of the BCA.

In 2014, Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Mike Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. He was responsible for a $450 million dollar budget and a staff of 2,000 employees operating in program areas including law enforcement, crime victims’ assistance, homeland security and emergency management. From 2011 to 2014, Mike served as the Director of Global Security and Investigations, Moneygram International.

Mike is currently serving as Assistant Director of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He is also a volunteer with his brother, Tom, in the Safe Summer Nights program which brings law enforcement agencies and diverse communities together in the Twin Cities area serving thousands of meals and creating opportunities to increase community/police relations. Mike is married to Kathryn Bulmer, a 1966 Archbishop Murray graduate. They have three children and ten grandchildren.

Bishop Joseph Cretin Award

The Bishop Joseph Cretin Award is given annually to a distinguished Cretin Alumnus in recognition of his outstanding service to his community and to Cretin high School and for his achievements in his profession, exemplifying the highest and best traditions of Cretin High School.

As Commander of the US Central Command, Joe Votel, ’76, is responsible for all military operations in the Mid East. He continues to lead with honor, much like his days at Cretin. He grew up on the West Side and worshiped at St. Matthew’s. While at Cretin, he was a member of the National Honor Society and the Student Council, played football and basketball, and earned the cadet rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Even in high school, Joe was recognized and respected by his friends as a “quiet leader” both in and out of the classroom.

Upon graduation, Joe went to West Point and earned a commission as an Infantry Officer in 1980. His initial assignments to the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany included Rifle Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, Battalion Adjutant and Rifle Company Commander. Following this he served as an Instructor in the Infantry School before joining the 75th Ranger Regiment with whom he participated in Operation JUST CAUSE. He was next posted to the 1st Ranger Battalion as the Battalion Liaison Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer.

Joe was then assigned to Allied Forces Southern Europe and the NATO Peace Implementation Force (IFOR) in Sarajevo. While commanding the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry at Fort Drum, he was selected to command the 1st Ranger Battalion. After completing the War College, He commanded the 75th Ranger Regiment leading his troops in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq.

As a general officer, Joe directed Pentagon efforts to defeat IEDs before serving as the Deputy Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division back in Afghanistan. He was then assigned as the Deputy and later Commanding General of the Joint Special Operations Command. He most recently served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Special Operations Command before becoming the Commanding General of U.S. Central Command responsible for all us military operations in the Middle East.

Joe is married to Michele Belair, who he met during high school while working at Little Sisters of the Poor. They are the proud parents of Scott (Moria) and Nicholas.

Athletic Hall of Fame

Mike grew up on the playgrounds of Rice Street on the East Side of St. Paul where he developed his athletic skills, particularly in football and baseball. Although he grew up close to Washington High School, Mike chose to attend Cretin and clearly made a name for himself.

Mike was named to the All- American Catholic High School Football Team by the Chicago Tribune Sports Writers in 1951. This prompted a series of letters sent to him by Santa Clara, Washington State, St. Thomas, Mankato and Notre Dame. In addition, he also received letters from the Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers for tryouts in baseball. They all requested game films, but Cretin never took films; therefore, he didn’t have any to send.

Mike decided to attend the University of Minnesota and worked at 3M while going to school. The Korean War was going on and within two years he would be drafted and trained as a demolition expert. His athleticism did not go unnoticed even during the war. At Mike’s first post he played Regimental Baseball, Football, and Basketball, in which most of the teams were made up of college or professional players.

After his discharge from the Army, Mike enrolled at the College of St. Thomas, graduated in 1959, worked full-time, married, had two children.

In his early career, he spent the next six years with IBM as a sales/systems engineer. In 1965 he received a call from a recruiter at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and was invited to Dallas, Texas, where he spent four hours visiting with Ross Perot who told Mike about his future plans to be a multi-billion dollar corporation and to buy IBM. At the time there were 30 people in the company and Mike would become the 31st. Mike looked at the opportunities and decided to head for Texas, with his wife, four kids and a fifth on the way. After 28 years with EDS, Mike retired in 1993.

Athletic Hall of Fame

While a student at Cretin High School, Bill was a three-sport athlete, excelling in cross-country, basketball, and track. Bill attended the University of St. Thomas and played on several successful Tommie basketball teams, winning four conference titles and holding a long-standing MIAC pole vaulting record for over 20 years. He also started his very successful coaching career as an offensive coordinator at UST, winning 6 out of 7 MIAC conference championships and competing four times in the National Tournament. He was also head coach at Cretin-Derham Hall, Blaine, Anoka Ramsey Community College and Mounds View High School, where he coached his daughter Alison for three years.

Bill’s final six years were spent as the women’s coach at Augsburg College where he broke many records including most victories in a single season. In his coaching career, nearly every team he coached had a winning record. In 2005, Bill was inducted into the Mancini’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Bill earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology, both from the University of St. Thomas. He worked for the Ramsey County Corrections Department for 35 years.

Friend and classmate Mark Gautschi ’70 said, “Bill is the best man I have ever known. He was hard-working, devoted to his family and his God. As a coach, I never learned as much as I did with Bill. His knowledge of the game was phenomenal.”

For those who knew Bill, his love of God, and his devotion to his wife Andrea, and their children Annie, Phil, and Allison were paramount. One of his goals prior to his passing was installing a ramp at his cabin in order to make this place of relaxation more accessible for Annie. Clearly, Bill left an indelible mark on all he came in contact with and represents the best of the values instilled in him by his family, the church, and Cretin High School.

This article and more are featured in the Winter 2016-2017 issue of the CDH Magazine, Traditions.