The Manheim Township Alumni Association has named the recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. The honorees are Jonathan D. Ference, Class of 1997; Carolyn Jones, Class of 1975; and Vickie Goddard Kutz, Class of 1964.

Since 1997, Manheim Township has honored graduates who have outstanding professional accomplishments and have positively impacted their communities. The annual recognition is meant to spotlight the noteworthy achievements of alumni and inspire current students.

The award recipients will be recognized at a breakfast reception at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 6, at Calvary Church, 1051 Landis Valley Road, Lancaster. There is a fee to attend, and reservations are required. To register by Wednesday, May 29, contact Becca Stamp at 717-560-3117 or mtalumni@mtef.net.

Ference is dean of the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy at Wilkes University. At Manheim Township, he played varsity basketball and received the Steven R. Hermann Award his senior year. He attended Wilkes University, graduating magna cum laude with a Doctor of Pharmacy in 2003. He completed a family medicine specialty pharmacy residency and Family Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship at UPMC St. Margaret's and University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Ference began his pharmacy career as a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, earning the Roche Preceptor of the Year Award in 2008.

Ference returned to Wilkes University, serving as an assistant then associate professor of pharmacy practice. He held a number of leadership roles, including director of pharmacy care labs, assistant dean of pharmacy, and associate provost of the university. He has authored more than 25 publications and presented more than 45 scholarly works at regional, national, and international conferences. He was named the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy Teacher of the Year in 2009, 2010, and 2014. In 2014, he received the Wilkes University Carpenter Award, the highest teaching honor at Wilkes. Ference received the 2015 School of Pharmacy Outstanding Advisor Award and was the 2016 recipient of the Wilkes University Colonel Blazer Award, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the progress of Wilkes University.

He was appointed CEO dean of the School of Pharmacy in 2023 and serves as the associate dean in the College of Health and Education and an associate professor of pharmacy practice.

Ference is the inaugural president of the nonprofit veterans service organization Heroes Hearthstone. He serves on the board of directors of Educational Opportunity Centers of PA and the Wilkes University Alumni Board of Directors. He is a volunteer coach for local youth sports.

He and his wife, Kimberly, reside in Wyoming, Pa., and are the parents of two children.

Jones is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, author, and speaker.

At Manheim Township, she was photo editor of the Hi-Lite student newspaper and the Neff-Vue yearbook. After earning a Bachelor of Science in photography from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Jones apprenticed with photographer Hiro in New York City.

Early in her career, she worked in fashion photography, and in 1986, she became the first American woman to compete as a racecar driver in the Paris-Dakar Rally.

In 1994, Jones published her first book, "Living Proof: Courage in the Face of AIDS," accompanied by shows in Tokyo, in Berlin, and at the United Nations World AIDS Conference. Subsequently, she has published several more books.

Since 2012, Jones has directed the American Nurse Project chronicling the lives and experiences of nurses. Her award-winning documentaries include "The American Nurse," "Defining Hope," "In Case of Emergency," and "American Delivery."

She is also the founder and president of the 100 People Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to help students to better understand the complex issues facing the planet and the resources people share. She serves as a cultural ambassador for the American Film Showcase, a cultural diplomacy program of the U.S. Department of State and the USC School of Cinematic Studies. As a lecturer, she has presented at conferences, universities, and events around the world, and delivered two TED Talks.

She lives with her husband, Jacques Borris, in Redding, Conn. They are the parents of two adult children.

Vickie Goddard Kutz is a retired educator and administrator who served the students of Manheim Township School District for 33 years.

As a student at Manheim Township, Kutz played field hockey and participated in the Tri-Hi-Y service organization, serving as chaplain her senior year. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Catawba College, she taught for four years in a high school special education class at Burlington Township High School in New Jersey, where she also coached field hockey and served as athletic director for girls' sports.

Kutz then returned to Lancaster County and was hired by Manheim Township to teach a self-contained learning support class at Neff Elementary, the district's first.

Kutz holds a Master of Education in special education, a Special Education Supervisor Certificate and a Principalship Certificate. For more than 25 years, she taught learning support at several district elementary schools, including Brecht Elementary School for 20 years. At Brecht she served as head teacher, organized schoolwide service activities, and through a grant, became the first elementary teacher in the district to have a classroom computer. She was assistant principal at Manheim Township Middle School and, finally, principal of the Neff Sixth Grade Building, retiring in 2006.

Kutz piloted the inclusion format for teaching learning support students within a regular classroom at both Brecht Elementary and Manheim Township Middle School, supervised more than 30 student teachers, was honored as Cooperating Teacher of the Year by Millersville University's Department of Special Education, and was recognized by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools for outstanding service to secondary education.

Kutz was president of the Manheim Township Education Association, served on the board of Manheim Township Educational Foundation, and was instrumental in establishing the Manheim Township Alumni Association. She is a sustaining member of Junior League of Lancaster and has volunteered with many local community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and Lancaster County Prison. She has served as a deacon and elder at Highland Presbyterian Church, where she has participated in several mission trips.

Kutz resides in Lancaster.

To learn more about the Manheim Township Alumni Association, visit https://mtef.net/.