PULLMAN, Wash.–Duane Stowe, a man whose name is synonymous with community service in Burlington, has received the Washington State University Alumni Achievement Award.
The presentation was made Nov. 11 at a Cougar rally at Max Dale’s Restaurant in Mount Vernon. He was cited for “superb volunteer leadership and participation in his profession and community, and for extraordinary loyalty and service to his alma mater through his Cougar spirit and pride in the Crimson and the Gray.”
Stowe is one of the anchors of the business community in Burlington, where he and his family have operated Stowe’s Inc., an apparel store, for several generations. He and his family are known for supporting the educational, cultural, humanitarian and business aspects in Burlington. He has held leadership positions with the Skagit Valley College Foundation Board, the Burlington-Edison Schools Foundation and the Burlington-Edison School District Citizens Advisory Committee. He also chaired the Burlington Library Board and the Skagit County Community Concert Association, and was president of the Burlington Rotary Club.
In 1990, the Burlington Chamber of Commerce named Stowe “Burlington Business Person of the Year.” He is a past president of the Chamber as well as the Western Independent Shoe Enterprises. He is a past trustee of Elks Lodge #1604 and is active in the Allen-Blanchard United Methodist Church.
For a decade beginning in 1982, he served the WSU Alumni Association–as a deputy director, director and executive board member. Largely through his encouragement, Hulbert Farms and the Washington Bulb Co. in Skagit Valley donated thousands of flower bulbs to WSU which have been planted on the Pullman campus.
Stowe and his wife, Arleen Hill Stowe (’52), are long-time supporters of the WSU Cougar Club and the WSU President’s Circle.
As a WSU undergraduate, Stowe was president of both Acacia Fraternity and Interfraternity Council. He was a member of Crimson Circle, the senior men’s service honorary, and was named one of the top five senior men. He completed a degree in business administration in 1951, and was a member of the business honorary Alpha Kappa Psi.
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