Michigan —Much to his surprise, Tom Mejeur, a member of the Wyoming Church, received a call that informed him that he had won the 2003 National Program Chair of the Year Award from the ITT Technical Institute. The award would be presented at the corporate managers' meeting in Hilton Head, S.C., Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2003.

ITT Technical Institute is a technical college that grants associate’s, bachelor’s, and master's degrees for computer-aided drafting, electronics, information technology, and project management. ITT has 76 campuses in 28 states and over 33,000 students. Mejeur is program chair for computer-aided drafting and design.

When the call came, Mejeur quickly looked at his PDA calendar and discovered that part of the meetings were scheduled on Sabbath. He told his director that he planned to go to church on Sabbath. But he was told, “We accommodate your religion on this campus, but you are going to corporate meetings, and all those meetings will be mandatory.”

Mejeur chose to go to church on Sabbath, even though he was scheduled to meet with the ITT chairpersons that morning. In the afternoon, he spent time at a park then walked on the beaches and roads back to the hotel.

Shortly after sundown, he returned to the corporate meeting and the director was so glad to see him. He was treated as if he had been there all day.

Nancy Graham, Wyoming Church communication leader