A Palmerton man who has served as a goodwill ambassador for his tireless efforts to honor local veterans has been heralded by his college's alma mater.

Richard Nothstein was recently recognized with the prestigious Northern Arizona University Alumni Association's Joe and Marie Rolle Spirit Award as part of a ceremony at the university.Nothstein, who along with fellow NAU alumnus John Clark, were the recipients of the award for their work to recognize and honor our country's veterans who are affiliated with the university, said he was extremely humbled by the distinction."All this, I feel guilty," Nothstein said. "I'm not a veteran; I never served."Both Nothstein and Clark, who resides in Pinetop, Ariz., have worked for years with the university and its representatives to award medals of honor to alumni veterans and implement a new student veteran center on campus.Nothstein said it was nice to see Jay Vargas - who was the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor be recognized "because he did so much in his military career."Two years ago, Nothstein helped grow the student veterans program at NAU in an effort "for the college administration to do more for our veterans and active veterans.""The growth has been very viable, vibrant," he said. "They now have a student veterans center."The program has become so popular, that it now boasts 300 student veterans on campus, said Nothstein. Enrollment is up by 25 percent, and there are almost 700 student veterans throughout the seven campuses that are all part of the NAU system, he said.In addition, Nothstein said NAU has set up a Hometown Proud Scholarship that is presented to a deserving high school student in either the Palmerton, Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, or Northern Lehigh School districts."They're a special bunch of kids," he said. "This little seed that was planted in Palmerton has become very proactive."The little seed Nothstein referenced was the very first Veterans Appreciation, which was held at Palmerton Area High School in 2005."Part of the idea was to raise money for the Cancer Relay for Life," he said. "The Holiday Homecoming Chorus did a concert in the evening indoors, and Rhett Hernandez was our keynote speaker."Since then, the Nothsteins have afforded several hundred Carbon County veterans four all-expenses-paid trips to visit the war memorials in Washington, D.C.Nothstein is also responsible for a veterans memorial that will be built in the borough to honor all of the Palmerton area servicemen and women as a tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to those who served to preserve our freedom.The memorial will include names of veterans from the American Revolutionary Era to the present a span of over 230 years who either entered the service while a resident of the Palmerton area, or who have lived in the area at least half of their adult life.The centerpiece is a sculpture entitled "Some Gave All," and depicts a gun and helmet. The sculpture will be surrounded by a wide walkway and standing stones with the names of veterans.Those who were killed in action will be named on the base of the sculpture. To qualify, veterans need not have seen action. Peacetime veterans will also be honored.The memorial will be located on a section of land 35 feet by 40 feet in size in the lower southwest corner of the borough park, where the present flagpole is situated, and will include a list of all veterans' names on granite monuments from all time periods of service.The sculpture - one of 10 that were created - will consist of between 30 and 40 slabs of granite and contain the names of about 200 veterans per slab engraved on the granite. It was made by James N. Mur of Sedona, Ariz., who sent a plaque to Nothstein that told about the sculpture's beginnings. A poem by Major Michael Davis O'Donnell on one side of the base was written for soldiers killed in a battle in Vietnam.The memorial will be dedicated on Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012, to mark the 100-year celebration of the borough.Nothstein said both he and his wife, Darlene Nothstein, "feel good and proud" of their most recent achievement."If they keep giving us stuff, I'll never be able to pay them back," he said. "The whole experience has been very enjoyable, and I'm certainly proud to be an ambassador for NAU, a Palmertonian, and an American."