The 2018 Community Service Award was presented to Stan Day '76 and F.K. Day '78 during an All-School assembly on April 27. The brothers were honored for their global effort to provide bicycles as a means of simple transportation to people living in underdeveloped countries.
In 1987, the brothers founded SRAM, the second largest manufacturer of bicycle parts that employs more than 3,000 people. In 2008, they used their expertise to develop the SRAM Cycling Fund, which promotes bicycle safety and cycling access with the construction of bicycle lanes and mountain bike trails. More recently, the brothers have focused their efforts on World Bicycle Relief (WBR), a nonprofit that provides bikes to people in underdeveloped countries.
The brothers developed the Buffalo bike, a rugged and low maintenance bike tailored to last in harsh environments. To date, the organization has delivered almost 400,000 Buffalo bikes to Colombia, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, and other countries.
In presenting the award, Paul Mutter '87, chair of The Hotchkiss School Alumni Association Board of Governors nominating committee for awards, said service to others is a "common bond that has united every generation of Hotchkiss students, beginning with the founding of the St. Luke's Society 126 years ago."
Members of the Hotchkiss Mountain Bike team, Alex Takoudes '20 and Jack Wolf '19, introduced Stan and F.K. The students explained that in remote areas, a bike can reduce travel time drastically. For every ten miles traveled on a bike, three walking hours are saved. The bikes are not only faster transport, they allow access to education, healthcare, and boost the economy. More than 126,000 children ride Buffalo bikes to school each morning, and more than 138,000 healthcare workers use the bikes to more effectively cover their area. Farmers can also carry five times as many goods on these bikes and transport goods faster, resulting in a 25 percent increase in daily deliveries.
Natalie Yang '18 and Alisa Ghura '19, students active in the St. Luke's Society, moderated a Q & A session during the ceremony. They asked how their experiences at Hotchkiss may have inspired them.
Stan, who earned his B.S. in business at Tulane University and his M.B.A. at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, said Hotchkiss provided him with a solid academic foundation. But, more importantly, it instilled in him a strong sense of integrity and a commitment to hard work.
F.K., who attended Hotchkiss as a prep before transferring to the South Kent School, studied economics at Wayne State University and attended Tulane University, where he earned an honorary degree. Perseverance and trusting your instincts, F.K. said, proved essential to the success of WBR.
In 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed most of the infrastructure in Sri Lanka, F.K. flew to the country with his wife, Leah, hoping to use his expertise and knowledge of bicycles to help. Aide organizations told them to donate money, but instead the brothers spearheaded an effort that resulted in bringing more than 24,000 bikes to Sri Lanka, which helped to jumpstart the country. Encouraged by their success, the brothers turned their sights on other countries needing simple transportation, which led to development of WBR.
Stan serves as president, CEO, and chairman of the board at SRAM and as a director on the board of WBR. F.K. serves as executive vice president of SRAM, and CEO of WBR. He also serves as a director on the board of SRAM.
