Daryl Bert, vice president for finance, opened chapel by praising the tireless efforts of Bruce Emmerson, food services director for Pioneer Catering, which operates 52 kitchens nationwide.  Emmerson, who was named Pioneer’s “rookie of the year,” in 2007 and “director of the year,” in 2011, has continuously improved the quality of services that are offered to the students, faculty, staff and visitors of EMU, said Bert.

“I have appreciated how seriously Bruce takes feedback from our community by personally, wittily and publicly responding to feedback cards in the cafeteria,” said Bert. “I am always amazed at how quickly Bruce implements themes from the survey forms into the food service experience in the cafeteria…

“I believe this attention to quality is validated by the large number of faculty and staff that join students in the cafeteria for lunch on a daily basis.”

Byron Peachey, associate campus pastor, said: “Anytime I’ve needed to work with Bruce or Ramona [Lantz] with special catering needs or events, they are adaptable and easy to work with, willing to take on special events such as the Late Night Breakfast… The food is always consistently delicious and varied.”

EMU routinely hosts outside groups, conferences and youth camps over the summer which adds to Emmerson’s schedule. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, program coordinator for the Baptist Peace Fellowship also praised the work of Emmerson and Matthew Hunsberger, Lehman Auditorium facility technician, in a written statement to Bert.

After stating that her Fellowship puts EMU at the top of the list, Polaski added: “I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent work of Matt Hunsberger and Bruce Emmerson… They are true professionals who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide excellent service.”

Below is a list of students who were honored at the chapel ceremony for academics, athletics and community service.

Fall Season

Men’s Cross Country:

Dan Nafziger: ODAC Athlete of the Week (Sept. 1-5), All-ODAC Second Team, All-South/Southeast Region First Team, NCAA National Championships participant

Field Hockey:

Nicole Bencsik: All-ODAC Second Team

Jenessa Derstine: All-ODAC Third Team

Valerie Landis: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Adriana Santiago: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Men’s Soccer:

Barkot Akalu: All-ODAC Third Team

Kevin Chico: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Ryan Eshleman: ODAC All-Tournament Team, CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District Team, All-ODAC First Team

Mitchell Leap: ODAC Player of the Week (Sept. 19-25), ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 3-9), ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 24-30), All-ODAC First Team

Brent Yoder:    All-ODAC Third Team

Women’s Cross Country:

Katie Eckman: All-ODAC Second Team

Women’s Volleyball:

Tabitha Bowman: CUA Guetle All-Invitational Team

Brittany Childress: EMU Hampton Inn & Sleep Inn All-Invitational Team

Winter Season

Men’s Basketball:

Owen Longacre: Marymount Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament Team

Women’s Basketball:

Raiven Patterson: EMU Tip-Off Classic Most Outstanding Player

Kala Yoders: All-EMU Tip-Off Classic Team

Intensive English Program

Fanty Polanco

Maria Pena

Jihoo Park

Academic Support Center-Tutors

Stacy Kinkaid

Haleigh Hershberger

Lyubov Slashcheva

Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival nominations

Elizabeth Gannaway

Julia King

Justin Rittenhouse (alternate)

Jamie Hiner (stage manager)

Pastoral Assistant Recognition

Mitchell Stutzman – 1.5 years as pastoral assistant

Nursing Department Outstanding Service Award

Rebekah [last name omitted on request]

Student Government Association

Hannah Patterson, Senator

Joel Choi, Senator

Louise Babikow, Senator

Brittney Wenger, Senator

Katrina Goering, Senator

Daniel Sigmans, Treasurer

Nels Ã…kerson, c0-President

The game was light on shots in the opening minutes as the teams established the flow of play.  Starting in the 14^th minute, the Royals started to take over and fired five shots in the span of four minutes.  (Mt. Jackson, VA/Stonewall Jackson) put a pair on goal and the men had a few looks sail wide off breakaways.

After play evened out, Hampden-Sydney struck first in the 36^th minute.  Chris Whiteside sent a long pass ahead to Tiger teammate James Lawrence.  As EMU’s defense stuttered and hoped for an offsides call, Lawrence punched in the shot for a 1-0 lead.

The Royals nearly got an equalizer in the closing seconds of the half, as (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) zipped a shot past HSC’s keeper, but it sailed inches wide of the goal.

After a quiet start to the second half, (Addis Abeba, Ethiopia/Lycee Guebre Mariam) triggered an explosion in the 67^th minute.  The speedy forward made a move at the top of the box and fired a shot which went through the keepers hands and tied the score.

Less than two minutes later, the Royals took the lead.  With a mess of players in the box, (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) shot a loose ball which (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge) deflected into the net with his heel.

With 22 minutes still to go, EMU had some time to hold off the Tigers.  The defensive line did well to bend and then send back long clears, while the offense dribbled off the clock.  A hustling (Vienna, VA/James Madison) nearly scored in the final minute, but the men settled for the 2-1 win.

Eastern Mennonite had a 22-12 edge in shots, including 10-4 on goal.  (Virginia Beach, VA/Kempsville) played all 90 minutes in goal and collected three saves.

The Royals improve to 6-6-1 with the win.  More importantly, they tightened their grip on second place in the ODAC standings with a 4-1 mark.  Next up is a date at Guilford this Friday, which is 2-2 in the league after a win 2-0 win over Virginia Wesleyan Tuesday.