On September 27, the Alumni Association of the College at Brockport named Dianne Hickerson to The Hall of Heritage. At the Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation, the 1964 graduate was one of three alumni receiving the award as having “distinguished themselves by their exceptional contribution to the Alumni Association and/or the College and/or the community and/or have shown outstanding professional achievement,” according to a published statement.
Hickerson, a Town of Sweden resident, spent more than three decades teaching third and fourth grades, and was recognized as a creative teacher, who knew how to make her students love learning and be successful in school.
After retirement in 1996, she pursued watercolor painting and became a nationally recognized, award-winning artist with her work exhibited throughout the United States and Canada and featured in numerous art books and periodicals.
Her retirement also includes community service, particularly work with the elderly. For more than six years, 2006-2012, she paid weekly visits to Lakeside Beikrich Care Center residents with her certified therapy dog, Mikey. After Mikey’s death in 2012, Hickerson trained another Goldendoodle puppy who became certified and continues the Beikirch visits with her every week. She has also served as a volunteer Braille teacher and transcriber with the Lions Braille Service in Spencerport.
