Grove City College’s 2019 Florence E. MacKenzie Campus-Community Awards winners are both key figures in local government, choices that highlight the close relationship that exists between the College and the town.
College Electrical Engineering Technician Scott Jaillet, who serves on Grove City borough council, and Mayor Randy Riddle were selected to receive the awards, the Office of Alumni and College Relations announced this week.
The awards are presented each year to recognize those who work to bring the College and the community around it together in meaningful, beneficial ways and strengthen a town-gown relationship that goes back to the College’s founding as a community endeavor in 1876.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to recognize these individuals who represent our commitment as a College to fostering a true community with the town of Grove City,” Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod, senior director of Alumni and College Relations, said.
The Campus Award recognizes members of the faculty, staff, administration or student body, including student organizations. The Community Award recognizes an individual, group or organization from the greater Grove City Borough area. Nominees for both awards must have met the criteria through volunteer effort, not through aspects of employment or other requirements that force interaction.
Jaillet is a valued, longtime College employee who serves the community on borough council representing the Fifth Ward, over the years as a youth soccer coach and as good neighbor, shoveling walks and mowing the lawns of his elderly neighbors. He helped bring council into the digital age using donated College computers and started the local e-waste recycling program. Jaillet, who also serves as co-Hub Director for Grove City College BEST Robotics, grew up on a farm in Coolspring Township, graduated from Mercer High School in 1978 and is a Navy veteran.
Riddle, who has served as mayor since 2004, is being recognized for his tireless and relentless efforts to promote the borough and the College through his unpaid municipal post and on his own time. Riddle was raised in Pine Township, graduated from Grove City High School in 1975 and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Penn State Shenango. He’s worked in drafting, design and sales for several local companies. He is currently sales manager for Marpac Corp., Grove City.
The awards, now in their 36th year, will be presented Feb. 26, 2019.
The awards are named for Florence E. MacKenzie, wife of former Grove City College President Dr. Charles S. MacKenzie. Her efforts and involvement included serving as president of Grove City Woman’s Club, the Women’s Bowling League, secretary of the local United Way and president of the Grove City Hospital Board of Trustees, today known as the Grove City Medical Center. The awards have been presented since 1983.