Six people with ties to St. Thomas have received Leading With Faith Awards from the Catholic Spirit, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The awards, conferred Thursday at a luncheon at St. Catherine University, went to:
- Dr. Mark Dienhart, executive vice president and chief operating officer. He was cited in the nonprofit category for his leadership at St. Thomas, including all administrative departments and the $500 million Opening Doors capital campaign. He is a 1975 St. Thomas alumnus.
- Larry LeJeune, president of LeJeune Investments, which owns four Twin Cities area auto dealerships. He has been a member of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees since 2003 and is a founding member of the School of Law Board of Governors. He won in the large business category.
- Robert Strachota, president of Shenehon Co., a Minneapolis-based business and real estate valuation firm. The 1975 St. Thomas alumnus is a member of the St. Thomas Real Estate Advisory Board of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate in the Opus College of Business and is on the St. Paul Seminary Board of Trustees. He won in the small business category.
- Jackie Gibney, president and partner of Jacobs Marketing in Plymouth, also won in the small business category. She established the Gibney Awards in 2009, providing funds that St. Thomas undergraduate students in Business 200 give to several nonprofit organizations each year. The awards typically are $5,000 per organization.
- John LeBlanc, director of development, marketing and communications at St. Therese senior citizen health care and education centers in New Hope and Oxbow Lake. He is a 1990 St. Thomas alumnus and won in the nonprofit category.
- Jim Reinhardt, owner and president of Minnesota Rehabilitation Services. The Burnsville firm provides rehabilitation and case management services to injured workers involved in the workers compensation system. He is a 1983 St. Thomas alumnus and won in the small business category.
The Catholic Spirit initiated the Leading With Faith Awards in 2002 to affirm Catholics whose business practices and work habits are guided by their Catholic values and reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ and his church.
Archbishop John Nienstedt congratulated the award winners for living their faith “in an exemplary way” and told them he is “buoyed and inspired” by their good deeds.
To read more about the 12 people who won Leading With Faith Awards, see the Catholic Spirit, Sept. 15 digital edition, pages 1B-15B.
