ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today that Nancy L. Stefani, CFRE -- long-time women's basketball official scorer at Drake University and the MVC Women's Basketball Tournament -- has been selected as the 2013 recipient of the Paul Morrison Award.

      Part of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, the Morrison Award is presented to honor those individuals who have made significant contributions to their respective league-member institutions, The Valley or collegiate athletics, in general.

      The presentation of the award will take place during the Presidents Hall of Fame Brunch at Peabody Opera House in downtown St. Louis on Friday, March 8, that begins at 8 a.m.

      "The Paul Morrison Award provides the unique opportunity to recognize individuals who go nameless but serve the Conference and its membership in an important manner," said Commissioner Elgin, who is in his 25th year with The Valley.  "Nancy Stefani has been a tremendous ambassador for not only Drake University but the Missouri Valley Conference as well.  Now in her 38th year as a basketball official scorer, Nancy has few peers in terms of professionalism and longevity."

      The league began presenting the award in 1997, when Drake University historian and consultant Paul Morrison, for whom the award is named, became the first recipient.  Since that first year, Dr. Lee Bevilacqua of Creighton (1998), Glen McCullough of Bradley (1999), John Sanders of the MVC staff (2004), Roland Banks of Wichita State (2006), Mark Stillwell of Missouri State (2008) and Jimmy Wright of Missouri State (2009) have been so honored.

      A native of Ankeny, Iowa, Stefani was appointed Gift Planning Officer for Drake University on March 1, 1988 and was later named Director of Gift Planning at Drake University on June 1, 2001, retiring from the university after 18 years of service on January 31, 2007. 

      Her affiliation with the university, however, began long before her appointment in 1988. 

      A 1976 graduate of the National Institute of Planned Giving in Memphis, Tenn., Stefani has served as the official scorer for home Drake University women's basketball games since 1976.  During that span, she has been the official scorer for the MVC Women's Basketball Tournament in 1996, 1999 and every year since 2007, the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional in Des Moines and the 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

      Formerly, she held the position of Director of Planned Giving for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines during an 18-year run with the Diocese.  She designed and implemented the program for the Diocese and was renowned for consistently meeting and exceeding fundraising goals.

      On October 7, the Board of Governors of the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa selected her as the 2012 recipient of the Outstanding Citizen Award for her numerous contributions to the Italian community and the greater Des Moines area.

      The 1985 and 1986 president of the central Iowa chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, Stefani -- the first Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) in Iowa in 1982 -- was recognized by her peers and community leaders for her achievements in the fund-raising field, as she received the Outstanding Fund Raising Executive Award from the central Iowa chapter of the NSFRE in 1986.

      Having established a reputation as a leading authority on planned giving, Stefani has conducted over 800 programs on the subject of wills and charitable gift annuities for churches, organizations and institutions around the state of Iowa and the United States. 

      In 2008, she joined the Mercy Auxiliary of Central Iowa, was selected to chair the membership and nomination committee in 2009 and currently serves as the Auxiliary chair.  Starting with 300 Auxiliary members, she and her committee worked with the staff of the Mercy Auxiliary of Central Iowa to increase their membership to a current total of 1,750 and growing.

      On October 11, she received the Shining Star Award -- which recognizes an outstanding volunteer from Mercy Auxiliary of Central Iowa -- presented by the Iowa Hospital Association at its annual meeting.

      Currently a Gift Planning Consultant for The Renaissance Group, Inc., in central Iowa, she has also received the 1999 Governor's Individual Volunteer Award from Terry Branstad.

      Tickets to the Presidents Hall of Fame Brunch are $45 per person.  For information on how to attend the event, please contact the Missouri Valley Conference office at 314/444-4300.

. . . The Valley . . .