Notable Franklin College Alumnae Receive Awards

Joanne (Schafer) Weddle of Bloomington, class of 1958, was the recipient of the Community Service Award.  After graduating with a degree in elementary education, she went on to earn a master’s degree in elementary education, a reading endorsement and a degree in elementary administration and supervision from Indiana University.  Her church-related activities include serving as an elder at First Christian Church in Bloomington; singing in the sanctuary choir and the women’s choir; playing in the hand-bell choir and directing the children’s hand-bell choir. She serves as co-chair of the Guiding Coalition of the Circles Initiative, an innovative campaign to eliminate poverty; co-chair of the Community Team of Circles; member of the Board of the Foundation of the Monroe County Community Schools; secretary of the Board of the Monroe County United Ministries, a nurturing organization which serves working families and those in distress with emergency needs; and volunteer coordinator at First Christian Church of the Interfaith Winter Shelter. Her educational interests include serving as a member of the Monroe County Retired Teachers; former member of the Board of the Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa; co-newsletter editor of the Delta Kappa Gamma education organization; member of the membership committee of Alpha Epsilon State Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma; and immediate past-president and current vice-president of the Bloomington Watercolor Society.

Joan (Lawson) Wills of Washington, D.C., class of 1962, was the recipient of an Alumni Citation for Lifetime Achievement. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from Ohio State University.  After a series of government-appointed positions, she was promoted to become the Director of the Center for Policy Research at the National Governor’s Association office in Washington, D.C. Joan established the Center for Workforce Development (CWD) of the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C. and now serves as a Senior Policy Fellow. CWD concentrates its work on the development and improvement of employment-related learning systems in the United States. CWD is the home of the National Collaborative on Workforce Development for Youth comprised of several organizations to deliver technical assistance to build the capacity of workforce organizations to provide comprehensive services to young people with disabilities. The Collaborative’s products are the results of evidence-based research about what the primary clients of the workforce development system – youth and employers – need for the youth to be successful in the labor force.

Ellen R. Jacoby of Miami Beach, Fla., class of 1969, also was the recipient of an Alumni Citation for Lifetime Achievement.  After graduating with a degree in elementary education, she moved to Miami Beach to pursue her love of singing and acting. While singing, a fall left her paralyzed from the waist down and in rehab for six months. During that time, she became interested in playing backgammon, and went on to be an international champion, earning more than 60 trophies. In a quest for something different, she and a friend opened a casting company, now known as Ellen Jacoby Casting International. Her casting credits include True Lies, Parenthood, Something About Mary, The Waterboy, The Truman Show, The Birdcage, Cape Fear, CSI: Miami, Burn Notice and several other TV shows and major motion pictures. In 1990, Miami Beach Mayor Alex Daoud presented her an award for the World’s Greatest Casting Director and declared “Ellen Jacoby Day” on Miami Beach. She was named Woman of the Millennium in 2000 by Miami Metro Magazine. Ellen finds time to lecture; teach and coach acting courses; devote her time to various local charities, including Cystic Fibrosis and the YWCA; has worked with the local police to provide alternative life style programs for youth with rap sheets; and often donates her time to give lectures to various schools throughout Florida.