Grove City College’s Alumni Association will honor five of its own this fall with Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Awards.
The annual awards recognize the outstanding achievements of select College alumni during Homecoming weekend. The College will honor the 2023 awardees at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 during a ceremony at Harbison Chapel on campus. It is open to the public.
“On behalf of our Grove City College Alumni Association, I congratulate these alumni for the honor that they have brought to their alma mater. They represent well the kind of individuals who graduate from Grove City College. We are thankful for their contributions to their respective industries and to society. I encourage all to join us for this remarkable evening during Homecoming weekend 2023,” Senior Director of Alumni and College Relations Melissa (Trifaro ’96) MacLeod said.
The 2023 Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Award honorees are:
Laura (Tarkett ’85) Blumberg is the vice president for Civil Space Enterprise IT and Cloud Solutions for SAIC, a Fortune 500 technology integrator that provides secure high-end solutions in engineering, digital, artificial intelligence, and mission solutions. In this role, she is responsible for the growth and execution of SAIC’s Civil Space portfolio of NASA and NOAA IT programs including NASA’s Enterprise Applications Service Technologies 2 contract, an $800 million contract that provides key business- and mission-enabling application and platform services across the agency.
Dr. David M. Hoganson ’98 is a faculty pediatric cardiac surgeon and medical engineer at Boston Children’s Hospital, with a clinical focus on neonates and infants with complex congenital heart disease. He has co-led the development of workflows for patient-specific 3D modeling and computational flow simulation of complex cardiac disease to improve pre-operative planning and intraoperative guidance. His lab focuses on the development of medical devices to improve the safety and effectiveness of cardiac surgery. His specialties are thoracic surgery and congenital heart surgery.
Robert L. Hunter ’63 is past president and current chairman of the board of The Hunter Family of Companies and recently celebrated his 50th year in the trucking industry. The Hunter Family of Companies has 18 locations with 10 full dealerships, five parts and service locations, three leasing facilities, a body shop, over 750 employees and annual revenues of $600 million. The Pittsburgh Business Times recognized the company as a "Fastest Growing Company” and a “Family Business Award” winner.
Hon. David J. Porter ’88 is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That court hears appeals from federal district courts located within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was appointed in 2018 by President Donald J. Trump. Prior to the appointment, he was a shareholder at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney in Pittsburgh, where he practiced commercial and civil litigation. He graduated from George Mason University School of Law and serves on the Board of Judicial Advisors of the Law & Economics Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School. He is secretary of the Grove City College Board of Trustees.
Dennis R. Reidenbach ’76 served as the northeast regional director of the National Park Service from September 2007 through retirement in January 2014. He led a workforce of over 3,000 employees and over 80 National Park sites spanning 13 states from Maine to Virginia. The northeast region included natural and cultural sites including Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, the Flight 93 National Memorial, Acadia and Shenandoah national parks, and Civil War sites such as Gettysburg and Appomattox Court House.
The Jack Kennedy Memorial Alumni Achievement Award originated in 1964 with a class of honorees that included the College’s third president Weir C. Ketler, who graduated in 1908, legendary benefactor and Trustee Chair J. Howard Pew (1900), noted scientist George Southworth (1914), pastor and theologian Rev. F. Paul McConkey (1909) and coach and athletic director Robert E. Thorn (1916). The award was renamed in honor and memory of professor and administrator Jack Kennedy ’37, who served the College for 32 years until his retirement in 1980.
For more about Grove City College Alumni Association and Homecoming, visit gcc.edu/homecoming.