The Association of Child Life Professionals Board of Directors will present Louisiana Tech University Family and Child Studies instructor Anita Pumphrey with a Distinguished Lifetime Service Award during the organization’s 35^th annual conference that will be held this week in Las Vegas. Pumphrey started the first child life program at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana, before joining Louisiana Tech’s School of Human Ecology in 1995 as a family and child studies instructor. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her teaching and work over the years at Tech, including an Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award and the F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award. For more than 20 years, Pumphrey has been highly involved in the work of the Child Life Council (now known as the Association of Child Life Professionals, or ACLP).  To date, she has served on numerous committees, served twice on the executive board of directors, authored several publication and presented several innovative conference sessions. Pumphrey was deeply invested in the early stages of the endorsement of child life academic and internship programs, bringing a consistent and visionary voice to these initial steps.  Today, she continues to share wisdom and expertise as the Association of Child Life Professionals moves forward in accrediting and endorsing academic and internship programs.  Moreover, she co-represented ACLP on a site visit to Spain where she helped to guide, coach and mentor the design of a child life master’s program at the University of Barcelona. “Anita Pumphrey is most deserving of being selected by the Association of Child Life Professionals as the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest honor,” said Dr. Gary Kennedy, dean of Louisiana Tech’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences.  “This is a prestigious, competitive award from a national professional organization that recognizes Mrs. Pumphrey’s distinguished service to her students in Tech’s Child Life concentration within School of Human Ecology’s Family and Child Studies bachelor’s degree program, and her dedication to the child life community and profession. “We are very fortunate to have a faculty member, like Mrs. Pumphrey, who is recognized at both the state and national levels for providing leadership and developing students in the child life area.” Ethel G. Jones, director of Louisiana Tech’s School of Human Ecology, also lauded Pumphrey for her work and said she’s most deserving of the honor. “Mrs. Pumphrey’s profound dedication to the student voice has contributed to the current academic and clinical landscape in the field of Child Life,” Jones said. “Her accomplishments are numerous, and she has worked tirelessly across the association for well over two decades on many task forces, committees, and the executive board of directors; so the entire School of Human Ecology stands with the Child Life Community to honor her work.” Written by T. Scott Boatright – boat@latech.edu