The JMC Gutenberg Dinner celebrated its 20th Anniversary by honoring three distinguished alumni on Thursday night.
Victoria Ahlen (’98), Lovey Chin (’00), and Tracey Ferguson (’93) received the JMC department’ s Gutenberg Award to celebrate their outstanding professional achievements.
Ahlen, CEO of a Awoque, a social media agency in Sweden, said she is passionate about telling people’s stories. She is known as a leader in the use of social media. During the World Transplant Games of 2011, Ahlen posted online hundreds of the stories of athletes who had received organ transplants in order to increase awareness for organ donations.
“Thank you for this award,” Ahlen said. “I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. Here I am thousands of thousands of miles away from you and you’ve noticed me. Without you I wouldn’t be standing here.”
Chin serves as the vice managing director of global marketing for the Lotte Group in South Korea. She has previously worked for J. Walter Thompson, General Electric and MTV Asia. Chin thanked the JMC faculty and staff for being supportive, equipping her with skills crucial in her work and shaping her into the person she is today.
Ferguson, founder and editor in chief of Jones Magazine, stars in the reality TV show Keeping Up with the Joneses. She said ACU gave her a foundation she could always go back to when tragedy or success occurred.
“I wasn’t only prepared to write and to edit,” Ferguson said. “I was prepared to tackle tough issues, to be able to speak my mind and to stand on Christian values.”
This year, the dinner was changed to allow students and faculty a better chance to connect with alumni. Instead of sitting at tables, attendees were served heavy hors d’oueveres and encouraged to mingle before the awards ceremony.
Dr. Cheryl Bacon, professor and chair of the JMC department, conducted the ceremony and was impressed with the honorees.
“We wanted the 20th year to be really good, and I think we achieved that,” Bacon said. “I’m really just blown away by the things you have all said and the things that you’re doing. “
