Carolyn “Kay” Cromb Brada and Ray D. Evans are this year’s recipients of the Fred Ellsworth Medallion, bestowed by the Kansas University Alumni Association for extraordinary service to KU.

The Alumni Association announced the two winners Friday and will honor them Sept. 11 during the fall meeting of the association’s national board of directors.

Kay Brada

Brada, of Lawrence, earned her bachelor’s degree from KU in liberal arts in 1961 and has since made many contributions, including coordinating Kansas Honors Program events for high school seniors, advocating in the Legislature with Jayhawks for Higher Education, serving on the 4-Wichita Advancement Board to expand the medical’s school’s curriculum to four years and serving on the Alumni Association’s national board. Brada also has served on advisory boards for multiple KU Endowment efforts.

“The Alumni Association and many other areas of KU have benefited from Kay’s straightforward advice and keen insight through the years,” Heath Peterson, the Alumni Association’s interim president, said in the news release.

Ray Evans

Evans, of Leawood, earned bachelor’s and masters degrees in business in 1982 and 1984 and is now managing partner of Pegasus Capital Management in Overland Park.

Evans, a former KU football player, was part of committees to hire athletics director Sheahon Zenger and football coach David Beaty. Evans is a former member of the School of Business advisory board, was national chair of the Alumni Association from 2012 to 2013, has been president of the Kansas City Alumni Network and served on the steering committee for the Rock Chalk Ball. He also has worked on the Edwards Campus advisory board and helped raise money to support the KU Cancer Center and its National Cancer Institute designation.

“(Evans) is a trusted adviser to the university on many important issues and has provided top-shelf leadership as a volunteer,” Peterson said.

Since 1975, the Alumni Association has given this award to volunteers who have continued the tradition of service established by Fred Ellsworth, a 1922 KU graduate who was the association’s chief executive for 39 years.