POTSDAM -- Amy J. Kellogg was recently honored with the 2016 Distinguished Service Award.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to alumni who have made exceptional contributions to the Alumni Association and/or the college.

Kellogg, the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association outgoing president, was honored for her “unwavering devotion and leadership, her dedication as a volunteer and as a generous donor to her alma mater,” according to a press release.

In addition to working for one of the top 10 lobbying firms in New York State, Kellogg also serves as president of the Tech Valley Business and Professional Women, the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Women and Law and the Albany County Democratic Committee.

As a student in the pre-law program at SUNY Potsdam, Kellogg was mentored by Richard Del Guidice, who helped her secure an internship in the New York State Assembly in her junior year and helped her prepare for law school.

She attended Albany Law School where, in her second year, she began working at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP. The firm hired her full-time upon her graduation and successful completion of the bar exam in 2002.

She immediately began taking on what would become a landmark piece of legislation, one that would serve as a nationwide model. In 2004, when the Restaurant Association wanted the New York State Legislature to pass a statewide law banning smoking in restaurants, they hired Harter Secrest & Emery to lobby for the changes, and Kellogg became the lead attorney in the case.

Eventually, the law was tied into the Clean Indoor Air Act, which banned smoking in any public place where employees could be exposed to secondhand smoke.

While serving as president of the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association from 2014 to 2016, Kellogg has led the organization in a number of successful initiatives, including the creation of a new Pay It Forward Scholarship.

Designed to help SUNY Potsdam's neediest students, the scholarship encourages recipients to one day "pay it forward" when they are able to give back to the college in some way.

She also endowed a scholarship for student internships, and is in the process of creating a second endowment, designated for a student leadership award.

Kellogg was presented with the Distinguished Service Award during the annual Award Ceremony and class dinner during Reunion Weekend 2016.

Michael Paestella, the president-elect of the Alumni Association, presented his predecessor with her award.