PennWest Clarion News

January 8, 2025

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MLK BREAKFAST FOUNDER, LOCAL PASTOR TO DELIVER KEYNOTE
ADDRESSES AT CLARION

January 08, 2025
Two Clarion community pillars will deliver keynote addresses to honor
the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.
Dr. Brenda Sanders Dédé and Pastor Jake Jacobson will be speakers
for the 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast at 9
a.m. Jan. 20 in PennWest Clarion’s Eagle Commons. This year’s theme
is The King Legacy: Celebrating 30 Years of the Day of Service.

Dédé, who was awarded emeritus status from Clarion, retired in 2018
as associate vice president for Academic Affairs for PennWest Clarion,
where she served 23 of her 48 years in higher education. She founded
the MLK breakfast in 2011, the annual Juneteenth program in 2002
and the annual Martin Luther King celebration. At Clarion, Dédé
previously served as interim associate provost, associate vice
president for Academic and Student Affairs, assistant vice president
for Academic Affairs, coordinator of graduate studies and director of
faculty research.
She is executive director of the Pennsylvania Black Conference of
Higher Education, Inc., and she is a charter member the American
Association of Blacks in Higher Education. In the Clarion community,
Dédé has served with the Chamber of Business and Industry, Borough
Planning Commission, Kiwanis Club, United Way, Big Brothers/Big
Sisters, SAFE domestic violence agency, Clarion Blueprint Committee
Inc., Clarion County Community Choir and the First Baptist Church.
She was an elected member of Clarion Borough Council from 2010 to
2024.
Jacobson has been pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Clarion for 41
years. For the past 18 years, he has served as director for Evangelical
Mission with the Evangelical Church in America and as assistant to the
bishop in the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. He holds
undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biblical studies, and he holds
a graduate degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary, now United
Seminary. He is a certified and practicing spiritual director.
Jacobson serves the Clarion community as chaplain for Clarion
Psychiatric Hospital and VNA Hospice, and as chaplain coordinator for
Clarion Hospital. He is board president for Pathways, SAFE and Clarion
Agency on Aging. He coaches Clarion Little League and girls’ basketball

at Clarion YMCA. Jacobson promotes the arts through Clarion Arts
Council and United Way Arts Initiative. He serves Clarion Area School
District’s Strategic Planning and Middle States Evaluation committees,
and he is part of the Downtown Revitalization Project and Meals on
Wheels.
Jon Anderson, president of Pennsylvania Western University, will
present the welcome and closing remarks, and Student Senate
president Gage Gray will give the student address. Dr. Erin Lewis, field
services coordinator for PennWest’s Education Department and local
vocal instructor, will lead the singing of “Lift Every Voice.”
Cost of the breakfast is $9 at the door. Non-perishable food items will
be collected in support of Clarion Community Food Bank. The
breakfast is sponsored by PennWest Clarion and Clarion community
businesses, churches and organizations.
Following the breakfast, Clarion Free Library will host a volunteer
fair beginning at 10:30 a.m. to honor the 30th anniversary of the Day
of Service. Various organizations from the surrounding
communities will set up tables, and attendees will have the
opportunity to learn about volunteering for these organizations.