Joliet Junior College Foundation marks 50th year, names 4 award winners

The Joliet Junior College Foundation will honor three people and one organization at its 50th Anniversary Celebration on Sept. 15 at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.

In 2022, the JJC Foundation awarded students “more than $870,000 in scholarships and student emergency funds,” Joliet Junior College said.

Michael Austin Clark will posthumously receive the J.D. Ross Extraordinary Service Award. Jen Howard, who graduated from JJC in 1984, will receive the Sr. Judy Mitchell Alumni Achievement Award. John H. Weitendorf Jr. will receive the Susan H. Wood Hall of Fame Award and ExxonMobil will receive the JJC Foundation Distinguished Partners in Excellence Award.

J.D. Ross Extraordinary Service Award - Michael Austin Clark (posthumous)

Christopher Parker, board president for the African American Business Association, previously said that Clark was an ABBA founder and served as board director for more than five years.

Clark was also the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Joliet Chapter.

His obituary said he was also a board member of The African American Business Association, Illinois State Police Merit Board and Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce Industry and an Chicago Urban League IMPACT Fellow.

Clark died Oct. 19, 2022 at the age of 41.

Parker previously said that the net proceeds from its 2023 MLK Brunch & Celebration went toward ABBA’s newly formed Michael Austin Clark Upward and Onward Certificate Scholarship.

Each year the scholarship will help two African American business owners be certified through the state of Illinois BEP program, according to ABBA.

Dr. Judy Mitchell Alumni Achievement Award - Jen Howard ‘84

Jen Howard has served as the president of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce Industry since April 2020.

Howard previously served on the Chamber board for four years, spending two of those years on the Chamber’s executive board, according to a news release from Silver Cross Hospital announcing Howard’s appointment to the Silver Cross board.

Howard also still owns and operates TCBY in Shorewood, which she opened in 2011.

She previously owned two temporary staffing companies, where she managed more than $20 million in sales, according to Silver Cross.

Susan H. Wood Hall of Fame Award -John H. Weitendorf Jr.

John H. Weitendorf Jr. joined the JJC Foundation board in 2004 and helped open JJC’s Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center in 2007 on land donated more than 30 years ago by John H. Weitendorf, Sr. a 1942 JJC alumnus, according to JJC.

The Weitendorf Agricultural Education Center has 30 acres of farmland and a 30,500 square foot facility.

The center “provides hands-on learning opportunities for students studying agriculture and veterinary medical technology, as well as continuing education and career training classes,” JJC said.

Weitendorf Jr. has also ensured students are able to attend JJC tuition free with assistance from the John H. Weitendorf Sr. Endowed Scholarship, which provides approximately $5,000 in scholarships each year, JJC said.

JJC Foundation Distinguished Partners in Excellence Award - ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil and JJC partnered to develop “new programs and curricula, introduced existing workers to new skills and built a pipeline of future talent through internships, scholarships and financial support for technical programs,” according to JJC.

In 2018, ExxonMobil and its annual golf outing sponsors collaborated to endow the Manufacturing for the Future Scholarship at JJC to support students enrolled in JJC technical programs.

[ JJC’s 10-year partnership with ExxonMobil gives students paid experience ]

ExxonMobil has donated more than $200,000 through the years to support Joliet Junior College’s mission.

This support includes “sponsorships, financial commitment for the development of the operations engineering technician program, scholarships for JJC’s manufacturing students and veterans and general support for technical programs on campus,” JJC said.