Concordia College

The purpose of the Concordia College Alumni Achievement Award is to honor alumni who have exemplified the ideals of Concordia College through outstanding service and leadership in their profession, community and church.

These individuals have profoundly influenced the affairs of the world through thought, word and deed.

2008 Alumni Achievement Award Recipients

Alumni Achievement Awards will be presented to Dr. Ordean Oen ’49, Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Dianne (Larson) Kimm ’60, Pelican Rapids, Minn.; and Charley Johnson ’72, Moorhead.

Oen is retired from a distinguished 31-year career as a research physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  His work centered on the development of fission and fusion energy sources.  Oen has turned his hobby of making wild fruit into jelly and wine as a valued source of financial support for the Park River (N.D.) Lutheran Bible Camp, and his family and grandchildren continue to participate in Concordia Language Village programs.

Kimm is manager of the Lutheran Social Services refugee program, where she has worked tirelessly on behalf of refugees from Somalia, Bosnia and Russia.  She has assisted with refugee resettlement in the region, helping with basic housing, language education, legal issues and achieving citizenship.  She is a community leader who has served the Pelican Rapids School Board for 30 years.

Johnson is a well-known television newscaster, who is no general manager of KVLY and KXJB TV in Fargo.  He previously worked as a news director at both stations and also in radio.  He is considered one of the Red River Valley’s most recognizable and trusted newsmen.  He served as president of the Trinity Lutheran church council, on the Concordia National Alumni Board and has taught broadcast journalism and news writing.