Pictured from left to right: Bethany Keller '10; Sam Thios, vice president of student affairs; Elizabeth Pence '10; Bradley Bateman, provost; and Nora Deeg '10.

The 2010 Louis Kussmaul Friendship Award, presented by the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce to the Denison University student “who has contributed most to the friendly relations between Granville and the college,” has been awarded to Denison senior Elizabeth Pence. Two other nominees, Nora Deeg and Bethany Keller, also were honored at the 64th annual Kussmaul Award ceremony, which was held in Denison’s Burton D. Morgan Center on Wednesday, April 21.

Pence is a psychology and education double major from Elyria, Ohio. She was nominated for the award by Ryan Bernath, principal of Granville High School, and the Rev. Todd Naille, pastor of the Granville Chapel.

Pence spent more than 100 hours as an intern assisting high school counselors and working with the students. She conducted college interviews, tutored and supplied academic support, provided meeting preparation, and checked transcripts. Beyond the counseling internship, which included grief counseling, she was a “Young Life” leader for students, facilitating Bible studies and meetings for students. She also has chaperoned both homecoming and prom.

Speaking for the Granville Chapel, Pastor Naille cited Pence’s participation in many different ministries, including the church’s college ministry fellowship and its music ministry. Naille also noted her service as varsity cheerleading assistant coach at Granville High School and her two years of participation in America Reads at Granville Elementary.

Deeg, an English literature and Spanish double major from Zionsville, Ind., was recognized for her work in the Granville Elementary School in the English Language Learners (ELL) program for international students. For two years she provided one-on-one tutoring, taught classes, supervised students, and assisted teachers in the Granville schools. Her commitment to the ELL program led her to pursue a Denison Summer Scholars project in which she researched the history and theories of ELL, interviewed parents and teachers, and created a parent guide of resources and recommen¬da¬tions as well as a 75-page report of her findings. Deeg was invited to attend professional conferences with Granville’s ELL specialists. She also is a long-time member of “Nursing Home Companions,” which organizes student visits to nearby nursing homes, and a dedicated volunteer and leader in Denison’s John W. Alford Center for Service Learning and the Denison Community Association.

Keller, a geosciences major from Worthington, Ohio, was nominated by two Granville citizens, Nick and Melanie Schott, for her friendship to the Schott family and in recognition of her service to the cause of literacy. Keller has been a leader in her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, in its philanthropic efforts, including the promotion of literacy through local libraries. After success with a children’s reading program in the Newark Public Library, Keller and her sorority sisters mounted the same program in the Granville Public Library and helped lead the charge in Granville on a children’s book drive to benefit the Ben Franklin Elementary School in Newark. She also ran a lacrosse clinic for 60 middle school girls.

Louis Kussmaul, brother of former printer and owner of the Granville Times, W. H. Kussmaul, was a well-loved character in Granville during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kussmaul was intensely interested in both Granville and Denison and the relationship between them. His good friend Harry Amos, editor of the Cambridge (Ohio) Daily Jeffersonian honored “Lou” in 1947 by funding the annual award. The Louis Kussmaul Friendship Award stands as a testimony to the friendship of the two men and to the importance of friendly relations between a college and its hometown.