CLINTON – The Presbyterian College Alumni Association presented its annual awards during Homecoming 2009 on Oct. 24. PC president Dr. John Griffith noted that the award winners – who are honored for their service, professional achievements, and dedication to their alma mater – accepted universally with humility and by recognizing the people at PC who helped them achieve success in college and in life.

The Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Alumni Gold P Award, was presented to 1959 graduate Herbert L. Entrekin of Clarksville, Ga. A U.S. Air Force veteran and a retired pilot with Delta Air Lines, he continues to serve as an aviator for Angel Flight of Georgia flying patients to medical facilities, delivering supplies during disaster relief, and reuniting families during times of crisis. “God has blessed me with the ability to continue flying and to be able to help people through Angel Flight of Georgia,” he said. “I am very grateful for this honor and I thank you so very much.”

John B. Jackson, an architect from Sumter, was presented with the Mary F. Lehman Alumni Service Award. A member of the PC Class of 1970, he designed Bailey Memorial Stadium and the college’s Armed Services Memorial in addition to serving as a member of the Board of Visitors, the Alumni Board of Directors, and as president of the Alumni Association. “Who would have thought that that scared freshman who got dropped off by his parents in 1966 would ever receive an award like this,” Jackson said, recalling his mother’s entreaty to an upperclassman to look out for her son. “And he did,” he said. “The next day they made all the freshmen line up in front of Neville (Hall); I was trying to be as inconspicuous at 6’4” as I could be and he said, ‘Where is Johnny Jackson? I want you out front. Your mama told me to take good care of you.’

“I tell people all the time, if I could live four years of my life over again, it would be these four years.”

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