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The North Branch High School Alumni Association honored two former students from NBHS with Lifetime Achievement Awards last week.  The event took place at the senior center in the Uptown Maple Commons.

Dr. Bruce Bostrom
The first recipient of the 2016 recognition is a 1970 graduate who started out in his adult career track working in computers-- but ended up attending Mayo Medical School where eight years after commencement from North Branch he earned his MD.

Timothy Butler
The almuni association honored a second grad from the Class of 1977 who has spent his adult working life in uniform.

Both men had good-sized families with three and four siblings,  and both grew up in the rural area of North Branch.

Dr. Bostrom continues to work as a physician, he was presented the  Children’s Hospital’s Hematology and Oncology Achievement award in 2015. To be considered for the North Branch award, a nominee’s volunteer work counts as much as professional development and Bostrom promotes and raises funds for finding cures for childhood cancer, through CureSearch Walk in Minnesota. He is also associated with St Baldrick’s Foundation funding research.

The associate medical director at Children’s wrote for the nomination submission form, “...Bostrom is recognized by many as the leading expert in then treatment of the most common childhood cancer acute lymphoblast leukemia...(he) continues to mentor students on a regular basis ...his creativity, intelligence and generosity have benefited my life and career more than any other mentor.”

Dr. Bostrom is married to Char who he met in medical school, and has three grown kids. Char is a Swedish  folk music fiddler and Bostrom likes to participate in folk dance events to relieve stress.

Butler went into the Coast Guard after graduating from North Branch 39 years ago. He is a product of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut having graduated in 1981. By age 24 he was captain of a ship but also volunteered as a firefighter and he returned to school at the Natl. Fire Academy and graduated from there in 2007. (Also earning a masters degree in public safety administration in 2009.)

He was brought into the St Paul MN fire department in 1990 and directed emergency management for the city, before being chosen to serve as fire chief-- a post he holds now.

Interestingly, his North Branch yearbook photo carries the caption, “here’s a guy with lots of spark...always ready with a bright remark.”

 He was a member of the high school track team in 1978 that placed third in state and he still runs and has done several marathons.

He also volunteers at his church and for Hill-Murray High School, and has three children with wife, Sue.










 

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