Distinguished Service Awards to be presented in June; event includes auction of fine art

On the first weekend of June, the Fredonia College Foundation will be presenting the Distinguished Service Award, the foundation’s most prestigious honor, to a popular volunteer and community advocate, a dedicated State University of New York at Fredonia employee, and an organization vital to the Fredonia campus and community. In addition, the Village of Fredonia will be singled out for special recognition.

   Marcia Merrins   Barbara Yochym    Campus and Community Children's Center      Center staff members.

The DSA recipients, Marcia Merrins, Barbara Yochym, and the Campus and Community Children’s Center, will be honored at an awards ceremony in the Williams Center on Saturday, June 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The cost of the event, which is open to the public, is $60 per person which includes cocktails, appetizers and dinner.

New to the event this year is a silent auction of pairs of decorated theatre masks, with designs by Fredonia students and local artisans. The masks will be on display at the Williams Center during the award ceremony, and are currently available to view and bid online. The highest bid at the end of the DSA event, online or in person, will win the masks. Since 2003, the DSA event has served as a fundraising gala for the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Leadership Program, and all proceeds from the mask auction are earmarked for the scholarship.

Marcia Merrins has made Chautauqua County and the Fredonia community her home, hearth and heart. She served the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Chautauqua County for more than 25 years, educating voters on issues and advocating for the preservation of women’s rights and equality. During her league time she served on the league's New York State Board of Directors for 10 years, four years as President, and four years on the national board of directors, League of Women Voters of the United States in Washington, D.C. She has been a “foremother” and vice president of the Chautauqua County Commission on Women’s Issues.

More recently, Mrs. Merrins has become recognized as a local artist and with her entrepreneurial interest has made this into a successful ceramic business, Kniti Griti Works. She is current President of the North Shore Arts Alliance (NSAA), a not-for-profit cooperative marketing, promotional, and membership organization working on behalf of artists in Chautauqua County. She believes that the visual as well as the performing arts strengthens the county’s image, economic vitality and quality of life. She also serves with her husband, Jim, on the Fredonia’s Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center Advisory Board.

Barbara Yochym was involved in Fredonia’s Educational Development Program (EDP) for 38 years, as a stenographer and secretary. Ms. Yochym was responsible for compiling and maintaining student data, handling office correspondence, assisting the EDP director and counselors with reports and program services, and was a resource for students about the university and EDP policies and procedures, and maintains close ties with many alumni.

In 1994 Yochym received the President’s Award for Excellence in Secretarial/Clerical Service and in 2007 received the Barbara Saletta Meritorious Service Award. In recognition of her Fredonia spirit and support for students and campus events, she was presented with the Heart of Fredonia Award in 2015. In 2008 she was an honorary inductee into Chi Alpha Epsilon/EDP honor society. She has served on the boards of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House (for which she also is an usher), the Hillman Memorial Music Association and Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County, and was active in professional organizations on and off campus.

In September 1974, the Campus and Community Children's Center (CCCC) at Fredonia opened its doors to 25 preschoolers. Today, enrollment has reached to between 125 and 150 children each week for the four programs that the center maintains to benefit campus and community families. The center provides affordable care and quality programming, allowing student parents the opportunity to complete their studies. The center also has benefited hundreds of student participants, work study students and provided part-time employment for students. Besides providing quality child care, the non-profit organization is a highly successful small business serving the campus and community. It is also a training site for Fredonia's student field experiences and Jamestown Community College students. The CCCC partners with the local Child Care Council, Success By Six and the Chautauqua County Association for the Education of Young Children. Its early care and education program serves SUNY students’, faculty and staff needs, as well as those of other state employees, in its Early Care and Education Program for infants to 5-year-olds. The center is also one of the first centers in the SUNY system to receive national accreditation from the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. In 2003, the center’s school aged programs earned National School Age Care Alliance accreditation.

The Distinguished Service Award has been bestowed annually since 1980, and honors individuals and organizations who have demonstrated outstanding service to their community, the world at large, and to the State University of New York at Fredonia. Honorees are chosen from the fields of education, business, science, government, community service and the arts.