Service Award Presented at Community Appreciation Day
Alma College celebrates community with family-friendly activities, a scoreboard dedication and the awarding of the fifth annual Community Service Award prior to and during the Scots’ Sept. 10 home football game against Illinois Wesleyan University.
Community Appreciation Day activities near the Bahlke Field entrance include a family picnic and inflatable games for the kids beginning at noon, followed by the football game at 1 p.m.
President Jeff Abernathy will present the fifth annual Community Service Award during halftime of the football game to Jane Keon, chair of the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force. Also recognized will be local entrepreneurs Don and Joan Godfrey, this year’s chairs of the College’s community fund drive.
Inflatable games are popular with the kids at Community Appreciation Day.
Admission is free to the pregame activities. Football game admission is $5 for adults and free for students and children 12 and under.
“Community Appreciation Day is an annual event in which the College shows its appreciation to the local community with activities, food and recognition of outstanding service,” says Brent Neubecker, associate director of annual giving and community relations. “We invite families and community members to visit the campus, enjoy the picnic, and cheer on the Scots.”
Jane Keon Receives Community Service Award
Keon is recognized for her leadership and advocacy for the Pine River Superfund clean-up efforts. In 2008, Alma College and the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force were the recipients of the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Collaboration, given annually for collaborators who work in exceptional ways to improve lives and enhance learning.
“Jane has committed a lot of time and energy in support of the arts and environment of this region, and also in support of Alma College,” says Murray Borrello, task force member and coordinator of environmental studies at Alma College. “She frequently encourages our students to utilize what they learn in the classroom to better the community.”
Jane Keon
The Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force is dedicated to the rehabilitation of the Velsicol Superfund site in St. Louis, which was polluted in the 1970s by Velsicol Chemical Co., a producer of DDT and PBB, a flame retardant.
New Football Scoreboard Dedicated
Alma College will dedicate a new football scoreboard in memory of former All-American Tom Jakovac ’70. The dedication will take place during pregame festivities at Alma’s home football game on Sept. 10, 2011.
Jakovac, the only four-time All-MIAA quarterback in MIAA history, was the league most valuable player in 1968, and he led the Scots to back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1967 and 1968. Following college, he was a successful businessman in Lansing as co-founder and co-owner of East Side Deli Supply Co. He died in 2009 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
His teammates, friends and family raised more than $52,000 to purchase the new football scoreboard to be named in his memory.
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Posted: Thu, September 1st, 2011 at 8:12AM
