Lake Shore Savings and retired Jamestown Community College Professor Joan Patrie are the recipients of the 2005 Fredonia College Foundation Distinguished Service Award, a prestigious honor given to area citizens and organizations that make significant contributions to society through business, government, education and the arts. The Distinguished Service Awards will be presented during a special dinner/dance at the State University of New York at Fredonia on Saturday, May 7, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Williams Center.
 
The late Patricia K. McGee (R-Franklinville), former New York State Senator from the 57th District, was also slated to receive the 2005 Distinguished Service Award. State Senator McGee passed away on Saturday, April 2 and will be honored posthumously during the event.
 
Proceeds from the 2005 Distinguished Service Awards dinner and dance will benefit the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship and Leadership Program at SUNY Fredonia. Guests will have the opportunity to meet the honorees during a pre-dinner reception and entertainment for the evening will be provided by SUNY Fredonia School of Music faculty member and internationally acclaimed jazz musician Bruce Johnstone and an ensemble of top student performers. Reserved tickets for the event are available by calling (716) 673-3321.
 
With seven area branches and assets in excess of $200 million, Lake Shore Savings is one of the most respected financial organizations in Western New York. A partner in a longstanding philanthropic relationship with SUNY Fredonia, the institution is one of the original sponsors of programming at the Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center and a generous provider of SUNY Fredonia scholarship monies. Lake Shore Savings made a gift to the Fredonia College Foundation that enabled the purchase of the campus’s first clock tower, now a landmark on the northeast corner of Symphony Circle.
 
A writer, consultant and certified developmental education specialist, Joan Patrie retired from her position as a Professor of Humanities at Jamestown Community College in 1996 after 30 years of educational service. Prior to and since her retirement, Ms. Patrie has offered her time to numerous area organizations. A resident of Jamestown, Ms. Patrie is the president of the Chautauqua County Board of Health, a member of the Girl Scouts of Southwestern New York Board of Directors and a public relations committee member and Public Affairs in Disaster officer for the American Red Cross of Chautauqua County. She also sits on the Selective Service board, is a member of the YWCA nominating committee and a member of the Board of Directors of Family Services.
 
Patricia K. McGee represented the 57th New York State Senate District from November 1998 until she succumbed to illness earlier this month. Senator McGee also spent 11 years in the State Assembly as the representative of the 149th Assembly District, and a decade in the Cattaraugus County Legislature. Respected throughout New York, Senator McGee was the Chair of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Committee and Chairperson of the State Commission of Rural Resources at the time of her death.
 
For more information on events and programs at SUNY Fredonia, visit the university online at http://www.fredonia.edu.