Wittenberg Magazine P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720
Phone: (937) 327-6141 Fax: (937) 327-6112
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Alumni World
And the award goes goes to.. More than 350 alumni descended on Wittenberg’s campus, June 18-20, for the university’s annual Alumni Weekend. Throughout the weekend, alumni reconnected and reminisced with each other as they enjoyed a variety of events. During the weekend, Wittenberg also honored nine distinguished alumni. The awards were presented on Saturday morning in the Benham-Pence Student Center. In addition to the alumni being honored, three Springfield residents were granted the status of honorary alumni. They were: Tom and Mary Lou Loftis and Pauline Chakeres. Honorary Alumni membership is “bestowed upon those who have demonstrated a loyalty and devotion to Wittenberg that is exemplary to alumni.” Tom Loftis, who is a member of the university’s Board of Directors, is president of Midland Properties, Inc. Mary Lou Loftis and her husband served as members of the Parents Executive Committee in 1992 and as co-presidents of the Wittenberg Parents’ Association in 1993-94. She has also been active in the Wittenberg Guild and has held numerous positions on the executive board since 1993. She currently serves as president of the Guild. Chakeres is the wife of Wittenberg alumnus and past Board member Michael Chakeres, and the mother of two Wittenberg graduates. They established the Mr. and Mrs. Michael H. Chakeres Family Scholarship Endowment Fund at Wittenberg. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s Junior College of North Carolina and attended Wake Forest University. Receiving the Alumni Citation were Harvey Peters, ’56, of San Diego, California; Bernard Hilbrink, ’49, of Fairborn, Ohio; Donald Lindsley, ’29, of Santa Monica, Calif.; Joseph Bullock, ’63, and Martha Ann Foss Bullock, ’63, of Columbus, Ohio; and Milton Thompson, ’76, of Indianapolis, Ind. The Alumni Citation “recognizes those who have brought honor to Wittenberg by their continuing dedication to the ideals for which the university stands.” Peters is a retired Lutheran pastor who served parishes in Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico and most recently, Madison, Wis. where he was senior pastor at Luther Memorial Church from 1990 to 1997. He also served in various leadership roles within the Lutheran Church. Hilbrink has been a civic leader in the city of Fairborn for decades. As editor of the Fairborn Daily News for almost four decades, he was known for his pro-Fairborn and pro-schools stance. He has received nearly every possible civic award. In 1998, Lindsley received the “Century Award” from the International Organization of Psychophysiology for his contributions to psychophysiology and related neurosciences. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Lindsley was a professor of psychology at UCLA from 1951 until 1977. He also held faculty positions at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. Bullock is an internationally recognized pediatric allergy physician and is currently associate professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University and co-founder of Midwest Allergy of Worthington, which includes nine regional offices. Martha Foss Bullock has been an active volunteer in Columbus for more than 20 years, especially in the arts community. Thompson is a partner in the Martin, Thompson and Stein law firm in Indianapolis and president of Grand Slam Companies, a sports marketing and management agency. A member of Wittenberg’s Board of Directors, he is in the university’s Athletic Hall of Honor. The Class of 1914 Award “honors an individual from our community of alumni, faculty and staff who has served Wittenberg above and beyond what might be expected of any contributor to the college’s welfare.” Receiving that award were William Hirt of Erie, Pa., and Barbara, ’62, and Robert VanKleunen, ’58, of Barrington, Ill. Hirt is retired chairman and chief executive officer of the Erie Insurance Group, which was founded by his father, H. Orth Hirt. The VanKleunens were active in the university’s Parents’ Association for several years, eventually serving as co-presidents. This past spring, they co-chaired the Benjamin Prince Society. Robert VanKleunen is a retired vice president of The Kemper Group. The Alumni Awards Committee also honored Gwen Mateyo, ’96, with the GOLD Volunteer Award, and Deborah Lenschow, ’90, with the Outstanding Alumni Award. Both will be celebrated at Homecoming, Oct. 8-10. In addition, the following Wittenberg athletes were named to the Athletic Hall of Honor. They will be inducted during Homecoming Weekend at a special evening ceremony. They include football player Lloyd Ball, ’74, baseball player Hal Theis, ’66, and Wittenberg women’s basketball coach and former basketball player Pam Evans-Smith, ’82. Herman Rearick, ’31, will be inducted posthumously for his contributions to Wittenberg’s football, baseball and basketball programs. A variety of other events also took place throughout the weekend for all alumni, including special reunion events for the classes of 1949, 1949 Hamma, 1958-61 and 1968-70. In addition, members of Kappa Delta sorority and Beta Theta Pi fraternity reunited.
Wittenberg Magazine P.O. Box 720 Springfield, Ohio 45501-0720 Phone: (937) 327-6141 Fax: (937) 327-6112 |
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