Queens Alumna receives 2001 Rolex Achievement Award

Charlotte, N.C., August 23, 2001 – Queens College alumna Patricia (Patsy) Beckford Acheson ’72 was recently honored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc., as one of two recipients of a 2001 Rolex Achievement Award. The award will be presented on August 24, 2001, at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York.

The Rolex Achievement Awards were created in 1994 by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc., and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) to pay tribute to past participants in the world of collegiate tennis who have achieved excellence in their chosen careers. The man and woman honored annually by Rolex and the ITA as the Rolex Achievement Award winners are honored for both their professional successes and their contributions to society.

Acheson became only the seventh female agent to join the U.S. Secret Services in 1974. She was the first female agent assigned to the Vice President protective division in 1979 and provided protection for both Vice President Mondale and then-Vice President Bush. After a 20-year career in Washington, D.C., Acheson retired from the Secret Service in 1994.

Acheson graduated from Queens with a Bachelor of Arts in Art. During her time at Queens, she served as captain of the tennis team and Senior Class Vice President. Today she resides in Falls Church, Va., with her husband and children and still plays tennis recreationally. She is past president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Queens College Alumni Association.

The Rolex Achievement Award winners are nominated by their past tennis coaches, or by the current coaches of their alma maters’ tennis program. Acheson will be presented her award by tennis legend Stan Smith, and will receive a distinctive Rolex timepiece and a framed, calligraphied certificate. In addition, as Acheson’s alma mater, Queens College will receive a $2,500 donation from Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.

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For more information, please contact Erin Pitts at 704.337.2285.