The Jenco Foundation Fund recognizes and celebrates unsung heroes who, outside of their paid positions, give their time, talent and passion in ways that contribute to quality of life in Appalachian Ohio. The Jenco Awards, which began in 2002, uphold the legacy of Father Lawrence Martin Jenco, who dedicated his life to the service of others.
The Jenco Foundation Fund celebrates people of all ages who, like Father Lawrence Martin Jenco, have made a difference in their communities through service and visionary leadership – people who exemplify the difference we can all make when we give time, talent and passion to helping our neighbors and building community. Established to continue the work of the Jenco Foundation, the fund offers individual achievement awards to recognize visionary leaders and volunteers who by direct, person-to-person action have improved the quality of life in Appalachian Ohio.
The award is open to people of all ages serving their communities.
Celebrating the Legacy of Father Martin Jenco
Lawrence Martin Jenco was born Nov. 27, 1934, and grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois After studying at St. Joseph’s Seminary in the United States and the Pontifical University in Rome, he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1959.
Father Jenco joined a small religious community called The Servants of Mary (O.S.M.). His ministry took him to many different countries where he worked among the oppressed of the world, including Australian aborigine alcoholics, California migrant workers, Indian lepers and Cambodian refugees.
Father Jenco was serving as director of Catholic Relief Services in Beirut, Lebanon, when he was kidnapped by Shiite Muslim extremists on Jan. 8, 1985. Two months later, AP correspondent Terry Anderson was also kidnapped and held at the same undisclosed location as Father Jenco. When Anderson learned that a priest was being held captive nearby, he asked to see him. The bearded, white-haired Father Jenco heard Anderson’s confession — the first in 25 years — which to Anderson represented his “first formal step back to the church.” Later, Father Jenco and Anderson shared a cell where they spoke often of their spiritual odysseys and of the role of the church in ministering to the poor and underprivileged.
Father Jenco was released after 19 months in captivity while Anderson was destined to remain imprisoned about five years longer, until 1991. But as Anderson later told a radio interviewer, his time spent with the priest in the early years of captivity was instrumental in helping “build a structure I could hold onto” in the years to follow.
Once freed, Father Jenco resumed his ministry by serving as chaplain at the University of Southern California, providing outreach programs to the Hispanic community. He spoke often of his experiences as a hostage and emphasized the need to forgive. He and Anderson remained friends until Father Jenco’s death from cancer in 1996.
Anderson called Jenco “a wonderful personal example. . .the closest thing to a saint I have ever met.” In June 2001, Anderson honored his friend through the establishment of the Father Lawrence Martin Jenco Foundation to continue the legacy of compassion and giving Father Jenco spread to so many.
In 2011, the Jenco Foundation joined the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio as an endowment, ensuring that Father Jenco’s legacy would live on in perpetuity. Anderson passed away April 21, 2024, but his legacy, too, lives on in the Jenco Foundation Fund, the Jenco Awards and the growing list of award recipients.
2024 Jenco Award recipients
- Margaret “Peggy” Adams of Guernsey County was part of a group who founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Christ Our Light Conference, an all-volunteer Catholic charity helping those in need in Guernsey County, and has served as its president for five-plus years. Her leadership and vision have been instrumental in securing funding to support the nonprofit’s work, in developing relationships with local charities and agencies to better serve the community, in bringing compassion to those seeking assistance and in inspiring those she serves and those who serve alongside her.
- Robert Black of Scioto County used proceeds from the sale of a CD featuring local artists to establish the nonprofit Boneyfiddle Project with a mission of uplifting the arts to stimulate the economy in Portsmouth’s historic Boneyfiddle shopping district. He and the nonprofit launched a “pop-up” outdoor concert series called Final Friday in Boneyfiddle that now has a permanent, accessible outdoor venue and draws crowds of more than 1,000 to enjoy local, regional and national acts. The concert series has ignited a cultural and economic renaissance in Portsmouth.
- Holly Johnson of Adams County gives her time, energy and servant’s heart to better lives in local communities and help organizations working to improve quality of life. Johnson served for nine years on the Adams County Children Services board and most recently joined the boards of the Adams County Library and Koda House, a new Christ-centered youth home being developed in Adams County. She also serves as president of the boards of the Adams County Homeless Shelter and Interfaith House, a local food pantry.
- Patty Summers of Mahoning County is the founder, president and CEO of Youngstown Blue Coats (YBC), a nonprofit serving individuals experiencing homelessness in the Mahoning Valley. Summers saw a need for – and inspired a group of volunteers committed to – serving homeless individuals by identifying where they live and bringing assistance directly to them. YBC collects and distributes warming items to both the sheltered and unsheltered homeless, partners with 60-plus area agencies to provide additional resources and serves several school districts.
- Mike Workman of Morgan County is a champion for his local community and the greater Appalachian Ohio region. He was instrumental in establishing the Morgan Community Fund (MCF), an FAO geographic affiliate partner he co-founded, chaired and continues to serve through time, talent and treasure. Workman has supported numerous educational and other programs through MCF and mentors entrepreneurs in Morgan County and through Marietta College’s Entrepreneurship and Career Development Center. He is also a former member and chair of the FAO board.
- Shannon Yochum of Highland County has spent the past 10 years creating opportunities and building community for farm youth and their families in Appalachian Ohio and beyond. She is the founder and co-administrator of the Southern Ohio Showdown, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing and expanding opportunities for junior exhibitors to show beef cattle while earning points and awards. Yochum’s work, including volunteering at the Ohio State Fair and with the Ohio Junior Maine-Anjou Association, has impacted thousands of young people and their families.
Previous Jenco Award recipients
Monica Batteiger, Sarah Gilfert, Andrea “Andy” Jones, Ben Nease and Lacey Rogers
Melissa O’Harra Brown, David Butcher, Jane Cavarozzi, Kyle Johnson, Therese Fieler Lackey and Dr. Logan Minter
Bobbyjon Bauman, Roxanne Groff, Denise Lucas, Megan Macke and Patty Mitchell
Roberta “Bobbi” Bishop, Lillian Ford, Karen Kumpf, Josh Montgomery and Clinton Nowicke
Cathy Barney, Dottie Fromal, Theo Hutchinson, Sam Jones and Jennifer Sheets
Ada Woodson Adams, Dan Palmer, K. Allene Kilgore, Grant Plummer, Tami Phillips and Elizabeth “Liz” Shaw
Jared “Jed” Butcher, Vicki Laudick Casey, Jerry and Tammy Foster, Mitchell “Mick” Schumacher, Pamela Trimmer and Don McKendry
Robin Bozian, Becky Cropper, Carl Felger, Kari Gunter-Seymour Peterson, Amy Hill, Linda Lake and Barbara Summers
Bill Crawford, Margaret Fredericks, Donna Sue Groves, Jodie Hunt, Nancy Sams and Iva Sisson
Joan and Wayne Fontaine, Ginger Gagne, Gary Goosman, Paul Strauss, and George and Ruth Ann Rooks
David Deci, Theresa McCune, Henry Burke, Margaret Tabler and Frank Hare
Robert Smiddie, Rhonda Bentley, Sister Brendan Conlan, Lorraine Myers, Arlene Sheak and Adrienne Nagy
Ric Mcdowell, Shirley Whan, Lisa Roberts, Cindy Yeager, Ann Stempel and Catherine Hare
Jack Spadaro, Sandra Shirey, Reggie Robinson, James Couts, Donna Sue Groves and Cheryl Withrow
Irene Flowers, Elise Mitchell and Susan Burt
Keith Wasserman, Carol Kuhre, Tom O’Grady and Deanna Tribe
Support The Jenco Foundation Fund
Gifts to The Jenco Foundation Fund are tax-deductible and can be made in many ways, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, royalties, insurance beneficiaries and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs.
To mail your donation, please designate the fund and mail to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, 35 Public Square, Nelsonville, OH 45764.
Donations can be made online by designating The Jenco Foundation Fund when donating.