ASU Alumni Association honors Sun Devil leaders with 2017 Homecoming awards

The ASU Alumni Association will honor Sun Devil alumni leadership during the upcoming Oct. 28 Homecoming game, which will pit ASU against the USC Trojans. The Alumni Association will recognize Ed Sandidge (’62 BS) with its Alumni Service Award, and Tim Hovik, owner and general manager of San Tan Ford, with its Alumni Appreciation Award.

Brian LaCorte (’85 BS), the 2016-17 chair of the organization’s board of directors and National Alumni Council, also will be honored for his service to the organization.

Alumni Service Award: Ed Sandidge, ’62 BS

Ed Sandidge, the owner of Ed Sandidge and Associates, is being honored for his contributions to Sun Devil Athletics, the ASU President’s Club and the W. P. Carey Alumni Council, having served as a founding member of the group then known as the Arizona State College of Business Alumni Association.

Sandidge has served on the boards of directors for Every Kid Counts, Arizona Scholarship Fund and Arizona Medical Network, which he also founded. Additionally he donates his time to the Banner Children’s at Cardon Children’s Medical Center, Banner School-Based Health Centers and the McKenna Youth Foundation. He has received numerous awards including the 2016 Valley Athletic Booster Club President’s Award, the 2013 Humanitarian Award as part of the Phoenician Awards, and the 2011 National Association Of Insurance and Financial Advisors Phoenix Jack E. Bobo Award.

Alumni Appreciation Award: Tim Hovik

Tim Hovik is the owner and general manager of San Tan Ford, serving the Gilbert area. Hovik is being recognized for his support of ASU through the San Tan Ford courtesy-car program, Sun Devil Athletics, the annual White Mountain Steak Fry and Golf Tournament hosted by the White Mountain Alumni Chapter and the Sun Devil Club, and the ASU Alumni Association’s Sparky’s Touchdown Tailgates.

Hovik started as a salesperson at a Ford dealership 25 years ago and now owns and operates one of the 50 largest Ford dealerships in the world. In addition to operating San Tan Ford, Hovik also has chaired the Arizona Ford Dealers Association and currently serves on Ford’s National Dealer Council as the Southwestern United States representative to Ford Motor Co.

Past President’s Award: Brian LaCorte, ’85 BS

Brian LaCorte is an equity partner and trial lawyer at Ballard Spahr LLC, a national law firm, where he oversees the intellectual property team for the firm's Phoenix office. LaCorte has served on Arizona’s "Smart Beginnings" task force and the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness. He has completed a long tenure as an executive board member of Crisis Nursery and is a past president of Southwest Human Development. He has been active in the St. Thomas More Society, Valley Leadership (Class XI), and the Valley Citizens League. LaCorte has supported the ASU Leadership Scholarship Program and Devils’ Advocates alumni chapters the past several years.

For additional information about the ASU Alumni Association’s celebration of Homecoming week, visit https://alumni.asu.edu/homecoming.