Alumni Appreciation Award
Recognizes significant service to Messiah College

2006 Recipient
J. Harold Engle

Harold Engle attended Messiah Academy, Messiah Junior College, and graduated from Upland College, a sister institution in California.  He was class chaplain, co-captain of the basketball team, student body president and senior class president. 

After teaching at the junior high school level for a few years, Harold went full-time into a business started by his father selling and repairing business equipment.  He eventually became president of the company and the business grew dramatically.

Harold’s enthusiasm for Messiah increased as he encountered other business peers who confided in him that Messiah College graduates were their best hires. 

Harold believes one of the best ways to impact the world is by helping to prepare today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders.  He and his wife, Ruth, decided that Messiah College students with their strong academic preparation and Christian faith are well-equipped for many leadership roles.  As a result, Harold committed (in his words) “to make Messiah College his personal project.”

Harold has actively supported the Messiah College community by:

* Volunteering as a fundraiser for capital campaigns providing numerous campus facilities,

* Serving on the Board of Trustees for 16 years,

* Chairing with his wife, Ruth, the Messiah Partners Program and the Messiah Heritage Society,

* Establishing a scholarship to help students in his home church attend Messiah College

* Initiating an annual Sarasota dinner event as a way to share the Messiah story with friends and donors,

* And [when his wife, Ruth, passed away in 2003] establishing a memorial collection of children’s books in Murray Library in her honor