Missouri Southern announces Beacon of Hope Award recipients
Jan. 28—Missouri Southern State University has announced the recipients of the annual Dr. Al Cade Beacon of Hope Service Awards.
Named in honor of Al Cade, the former dean of the College of Education who died in 2015, the awards honor an individual student and a student group who have contributed an extraordinary level of dedication and demonstrated superior leadership through volunteer service on or off campus.
The 2022 recipients are Riley Laver and the Missouri Southern women's softball team.
Laver is a senior international business major. Her volunteer efforts have included work at Souls Harbor, Petco, Watered Gardens, the Joplin Humane Society and local churches. On campus, she is an honors student who also serves as a Lion Ambassador, captain of the women's soccer team, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and vice president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council.
This is the second consecutive year the Missouri Southern softball team has won the award. Collectively over the 2021 spring and fall semesters, the softball program racked up 350 hours of community service that averaged out to 19.4 hours per student-athlete. The team helped clean up Grand Falls and assisted the Walk to End Alzheimer's and the Ronald McDonald House Big Red Shoe Run.
