Alumni Award Winners
2023 Winners
Alumni Association President’s Distinguished Award
Keevon Johnson ‘08
Director of Student Engagement, Cristo Ray Philadelphia High School
Keevon Johnson graduated from the Criminal Justice program at Bucks County Community College in 2008 and then transferred to Chestnut Hill College to earn his bachelor’s degree. He is currently studying for his master’s degree at Eastern University majoring in Clinical Counseling with a concentration in Trauma Studies.
As the Director of Student Engagement at Cristo Ray Philadelphia High School, he maintains a caseload of clients who have complex personal and family problems and provides relevant life skills training and mentoring to inspire youth and help youth avoid destructive paths. Keevon is also the President of Neighborhood One, a Bristol Township-based non-profit that provides mentoring and guidance to its residents, helping to keep youth off the streets. He provides leadership and direction to the membership and the governing board of the organization.
Keevon has had many notable accomplishments thus far in his career. In 2011 he was awarded the Neighborhood One “Unsung Hero Award” for having a positive impact on his community.
In 2018, Keevon organized the Rise & Dream Philly Teen Conference. The event theme was “Find Yourself, Be Yourself”, inspiring teens to rise above the conditions that surrounded them and work towards their goals and dreams. Kevon was also one of five local leaders who organized the BLM Unified Peace Walk through Bristol Borough in 2020, an effort that gained much praise for being an all-inclusive, positive, and standout community event.
Keevon states that he has always felt obligated or responsible for uniting people in Lower Bucks County to work together to solve problems while making the world a better place. His vision and extensive knowledge have played a pivotal role in the development and success of many initiatives. His commitment has led him to be called “Mr. Dependable.” His continual effort to change lives shows that he will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Community Service Award
Daniel Emr ’03
Daniel Emr is the Executive Director and Founder of Worthwhile Wear. Org; an organization that exists to reach and restore women affected by Human Trafficking. The organization targets highly trafficked areas both internationally and domestically and offer women the opportunity to overcome two primary factors which are at the root of sex trafficking: poverty and lack of education. Under Dan’s leadership women have access to vocational training centers, free education, reliable housing and restorative programs for personal growth.
Dan first heard of the human trafficking issue in 2010. At that time, he was working in a sales and marketing role at a local engineering and manufacturing company. Over the course of two years, he deliberated what his role should be to help those enslaved. He knew he needed to be a part of the solution.
Growing up in Ukraine with a missionary parent, Dan learned about the importance of what it meant to set personal comforts aside to better serve others. As a result, he launched Worthwhile Wear in India in 2012, and then launched a variety of programs in the U.S. in 2014. Today, Worthwhile Wear has grown to offer the most comprehensive services to survivors of trafficking in the state of Pennsylvania.
A 2003 graduate of Bucks County Community College in Business Studies, Dan transferred to Temple University where he earned his bachelor’s degree. While at Bucks, Dan was highly involved in SIFE (Student in Free Enterprise) and Habitat for Humanity, where he held leadership positions in both. Dan has visited Bucks campus to share his story many times. He was highlighted by the Board of Trustees in the Spring of 2022 at the Upper Bucks campus. He has also recently engaged with the student population at the Upper Bucks Campus by presenting his business and story. Dan is described by all who know him as a remarkable human being.
Centurion Award
Stacey Bennett ‘99
Stacey Bennett graduated from Bucks County Community College in 1999 with an A.A. in Communication Performance. She then went on to obtain her B.A. in Theater and M.A. in Communications Studies from the University of Arkansas.
Stacey has had an extensive career in teaching communications and innovating courses for today’s students. She has taught Communication Studies and Theatre at Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia, where she was involved in Virginia’s vigorous open educational resources (OER) program.
Stacey joined the Arts & Communication faculty at Bucks County Community College in 2014. At Bucks, she was one of the earliest participants in our Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative and created an OER template for the Effective Speaking course that is now used by a significant percentage of our communication instructors. As area coordinator for Communication Studies, which role she’s held since fall 2015, she also encouraged the OER redesign of the Interpersonal Communication course. In the past three years alone, students taking OER sections of Communication Studies courses have saved nearly $350,000 in textbook costs, due entirely to Stacey’s leadership.
A strong advocate on campus, Stacey has served as one of two Faculty Open Education Advocates, promoting OER adoption to all faculty since 2019. She is a co-convener of the Open Education Faculty Institute. Stacey has presented on the OER initiative at national and regional conferences, including the Open Education Conference and Faculty of the Future, and is key player in getting the college a named a finalist in the 2022 Bellwether Awards competition.
Stacey is currently a member of the Faculty Federation Union and the Advisory Council to the President. She collaborated in the creation of the new Theater Arts AA program. She regularly volunteers to participate in open houses and New Student Orientations representing Arts & Communication. She served on a Strategic Enrollment Plan Action Planning Team. Her contributions to the college are varied and many, and she has enhanced the quality of life for a significant number of Bucks students. Stacey has contributed to increased student retention, by removing the barrier to completion caused by the cost of textbooks.
Professional Achievement Award
Jeff Halikman ‘93
Senior Producer of Phillies Baseball for NBC Sports Philadelphia
As the Senior Producer of Phillies baseball, Jeffrey Halikman is responsible for the planning, format, content, and execution of Phillies’ live TV broadcasts on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He is one of only thirty Sports Producers in the U.S.A. to hold this tremendous position.
Jeff is entering his 26th season overall working on Phillies broadcasts, and his 18th season as a producer. Prior to this, Jeff was an Associate Producer for Phillies broadcasts for eight seasons. His longtime career with NBC Sports Philadelphia began in 1997, which was also the inception of the company. Jeff’s extensive experience includes working on Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers broadcasts at PRISM Sports in Philadelphia. His work ethic has been honored with four Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards and nominations for Phillies baseball, 76ERS basketball, and college basketball productions.
He is a 1993 graduate from Bucks County Community College and 1994 graduate of Kutztown University with a B.A. degree in Telecommunications, where he also received an Early Career Excellence Award in 1996. Jeff still refers to BCCC and its TV/media and Communications department as preparing him well for his B.A. in Telecommunications from Kutztown University.
Jeff states "I felt like I was taking the right steps to build up to where I was going. Everybody at Bucks was very helpful because they know you are trying to transfer, and they want you to. My experience at Bucks laid the groundwork for my entry into the field of sports production."
He has mentored many undergraduates who hope to pursue a similar career. His respect for the college is evident and he enjoys speaking to the college’s media classes when back on campus. Jeff met his wife in a Psychology course at Bucks, and now their children are following in their parent’s footsteps and taking class on campus. Jeff and his family consider their connection to the college a defining part of their lives.