LINDSBORG- On May 23, Bethany College will honor six outstanding alumni at its annual Alumni Recognition Banquet.
Jay Emler, Tim Hinman and Scott Schoon will be honored with the Alumni Award of Merit, Bethany’s highest alumni honor. William Blomberg will be presented with the Distinguished Graduate Award. The Gold Award, given to a graduate of the last two decades, will be given to Bessie L. Walker. Finally, Louis Leroy Sherman will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The banquet will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Pihlblad Memorial Union. Tickets are $15 per person. Please contact the Bethany alumni office at (785) 227-3380, ext. 8270, to make a reservation.
Each year, the Bethany College Alumni Association selects alumni who graduated more than 20 years ago to receive the Award of Merit. Recipients are chosen based on noteworthy achievements, service through church and public life, creativity in the arts or sciences, or outstanding leadership and participation in a recognized organization.
Award of Merit recipient Jay Emler, a 1971 Bethany graduate, received his Juris Doctor in 1976 from the University of Denver College of Law. He currently works at the Weelborg and Emler Law Offices, and has served in the Kansas State Senate since 2000. His work includes service on the Senate Commerce Committee, Utilities Committee and Ways and Means Committee, as well as the Joint Committee on Kansas Security and U.S. Department of Justice Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative Advisory Committee. Emler has been active in his community, serving as administrator of the Lindsborg Volunteer Ambulance Corps for six years and as a board member of the Lindsborg Community Hospital for 12 years.
Award of Merit recipient Tim Hinman, a 1983 Bethany graduate, received his M.D. from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1987. He is qualified as a Navy diver, and has completed residency and certification in emergency medicine. He has served on the faculty of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine; as emergency department head at Naval Hospital Okinawa; as White House physician in Washington, D.C. under the George W. Bush administration; and as submarine force medical officer for Commander Naval Submarines. He currently is executive officer of Naval Hospital Guam. Captain Hinman has been honored with the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with Bronze Cluster in lieu of second award, Navy Commendation Medal gold star in lieu of second award and Naval Achievement Medal.
Award of Merit recipient Scott Schoon is a 1981 Bethany graduate. He served as the sports supervisor/center director for the Great Bend Recreation Commission from 1981-1987, and then was the City of Topeka Parks and Recreation athletics manager for one year. He currently is Winfield Recreation Commission superintendent, a position he has held since 1988. He has been a member of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association (KRPA) since 1981, serving on the board of directors and as president of that organization. He was named KRPA Outstanding Young Professional in 1986 and KRPA Distinguished Professional in 2004. Schoon is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where he has served as church council president. He is also a school board member for USD #465, serving as vice president, and a member of the Winfield Convention and Tourism Board. For 13 years, he was a Kansas state high school basketball official.
The Distinguished Graduate Award recognizes outstanding achievement and service to a society by a graduate.
Distinguished Graduate Award recipient William Blomberg graduated from Bethany in 1973 with a double major in social work and sociology. Blomberg has dedicated his life to a career of public service with the Social Security Administration. He now directs more than 450 public contract employees as an area director for the Iowa and western Missouri field offices. He serves as a mentor and counselor for newly employed area directors, managers and agency executives, and is the spokesperson for public service. Blomberg has been the recipient of several honors, including the National Commissioner of Social Security Citation, the agency’s highest honorary award for an individual, and the Kansas City Regional Commissioner’s Managerial Excellent Award. He has also been elected president of the Kansas City Management Association three times.
The Gold Award recognizes outstanding achievement and service to society by a graduate of the last two decades.
Gold Award recipient Bessie L. Walker received her bachelor’s in social work from Bethany in 1994. Following completion of her master’s degree in social work in 1999 at the University of Kansas, she worked as regional manager for quality assurance with the Kansas Department on Aging. She now is the Adult Protective Services program manager for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, and also works for the National Adult Protective Services Association, volunteering as regional representative for the board. She is a member of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the Elder Justice Coalition. She recently began consulting for the National College of District Attorneys, serving as faculty for training prosecutors on prosecuting elder abuse cases. In 2004, Walker moved to Lawrence, Kan., where she has been involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters, being matched with her little for four years. She is active with the Lawrence Human Relations Commission, Habitat for Humanity, Douglas County Community Corrections Advisory Board, NAACP Education Committee and Equity Council.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievement and service to society by a graduate who has provided “unique and significant service” to the college over his or her lifetime.
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Louis Leroy Sherman is a 1954 Bethany graduate. He has served as chairman of the Performing Arts Department at Grand Canyon University and conductor of the opera orchestra; professor of music and conductor of the opera orchestra at Howard Payne University; field director of adult and music education placement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; director of music teacher placement and director of the women’s chorus at Kansas State University; director of choral music at North (Kansas) High School; director of bands at Jefferson County Public Schools; and visiting professor at Semario del Sol in Belem, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro Semario. Sherman also was director of the 20th Infantry Command Chorus at Ft. Kobbe Army Base in Panama, and has been on the Kentucky Opera roster for 25 years. He plays trombone in the River Cities Concert Band, Kentuckiana, and in the Kosair Shrine Brass Band. He served as co-chairman of the National Adult and Continuing Education Association, and received the Orpheus Award for Outstanding Teacher of 1975 from his music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Lindsborg, Kan. —
