Sue Rohrer and Sharon Ogilvie

The 2017 Hugh M. Jenkins Award for Excellence in Community Programming was awarded to Mrs. Sue Rohrer and Mrs. Sharon Ogilvie for their dedication to promoting global understanding between international students and scholars in their Lancaster, Pennsylvania community for 25 and 13 years, respectively. Each year, 30-40 international university students are hosted by Lancaster area families to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving and learn about life and culture in this rural community. This meaningful exchange is made possible due to the commitment of Sue and Sharon and the support of the One To World Program based in New York. Both Sue and Sharon initially began their involvement as host families and were so touched by the experience that they volunteered to grow the program and recruit friends and community members to serve as hosts. Sue Rohrer took over coordinating the program in 1991. In 2003, Sharon Ogilvie volunteered to work with Sue in order to expand their outreach and bring more families into the program, enabling One To World to serve twice as many international students. Both Sue and Sharon work year-round to promote the program in their respective communities, hosting fundraisers and introducing the program to potential new hosts. They also travel to New York City, at their own expense, the weekend before Thanksgiving to meet each student who has registered to participate, prepare them for the weekend, and ensure that they have been matched with an appropriate family. Throughout the four-day program, in addition to hosting students, they serve as primary points of contact to ensure that each person has the best possible experience. Their unwavering commitment to international exchange and cultural understanding has helped over 1,000 international students experience American hospitality and has also exposed over 150 families in Lancaster, PA, to students from all over the world.