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February 22, 2007
Good Shepherd Raker Memorial Award Recipients are Nelvin Vos, Ph.D., and Rita and Joe Scheller
Raker Spirit Award Presented to Employee Ingrid Baruch Lande

Allentown—The 22nd Good Shepherd Raker Memorial Awards, which commemorate the anniversary of the founding of Good Shepherd in February 1908, today were bestowed upon Nelvin Vos, Ph.D., of Maxatawny, and Rita and Joe Scheller of Orefield. The Raker Spirit Award was presented to Good Shepherd employee Ingrid Baruch Lande of Bethlehem.

During a special ceremony at Grace Lutheran Church in Allentown, Sally Gammon, F.A.C.H.E., president & CEO, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, presented the awards.

Since their inception in 1986, the annual Raker Memorial Awards recognize members of the community who, through philanthropy and volunteerism, honor the legacy of Good Shepherd’s founders, the Rev. John H. and D. Estella Raker and their son, the Rev. Dr. Conrad W. Raker.

Raker Memorial Award Recipient: Nelvin Vos, Ph.D.
Vos served on the Good Shepherd Board of Directors from 1990 to 2000, serving as its chair and secretary. He chaired the Good Shepherd Board of Directors’ Presidential Search Committee and the Mission Statement Revision Committee, and he currently chairs the Vision Statement Revision Committee and is a member of the Patient Safety Committee. Vos was named a Good Shepherd Trustee emeritus in 2003.

Vos is professor emeritus of English at Muhlenberg College since 2000. He served as the college’s acting president in 1990. He also served Muhlenberg College in these capacities: head of the Department of English from 1976 to 1987; vice president and dean of the College, 1988-1993; director of church relations, 1994 to 2000.

Vos earned a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College in Michigan and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Chicago.

In addition to his board work with Good Shepherd, Vos has dedicated much volunteer time to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and currently serves as a trustee of the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia and as a board member of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries. Vos is executive director of the Society for Arts, Religion and Contemporary Culture, which is based in his hometown of Maxatawny.

“Dr. Vos has been a good friend of Good Shepherd for decades,” says Gammon. “All of us at Good Shepherd are grateful for his commitment to our patients and to our residents.”

Raker Memorial Award Recipients: Rita and Joe Scheller
The Scheller’s spirit of giving led them to create the RJ Foundation. Thanks to a generous gift to Good Shepherd, the RJ Foundation name graces the wall of Good Shepherd’s mobility center inside the recently opened Good Shepherd Health & Technology Center. The RJ Foundation Mobility Center provides wheelchair and adaptive seating evaluations, custom fitting and training to people with disabilities. It is the region’s only wheelchair and adaptive seating clinic.

Married for 50 years, Rita and Joe both had impressive careers coupled with an equally impressive history of volunteer work.

Joe is the former president and board chairman of Silberline Manufacturing Company, which has provided aluminum pigments for more than 50 years. Joe joined the family business after receiving a degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and serving in the U.S. Air Force.

His volunteer work includes serving on the board of the Allentown Art Museum from 1994 to 2004. He currently is a member of the Muhlenberg College Board of Trustees. He also serves on the board of directors for the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding of Muhlenberg College. In 2001, the Schellers established the RJ Fellowship Program at the college to provide funds for scholarships, course development, research, faculty development and the RJ Fellows Symposium.

Rita is a former teacher. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and a master’s degree from Lehigh University. She has been a member of the Allentown Art Museum’s Society of the Arts for 24 years, serving as docent and working on many committees. Rita also volunteered as a tutor for the Lehigh Valley Literacy Center and is an overseer of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology.

“The Schellers have been generous to Good Shepherd in many ways,” says Gammon. “When Joe joined the Good Shepherd Work Services board in 1988, he became impressed with the persistence and steadfast spirit of people with disabilities.” Joe served Good Shepherd on the Work Services board for 6 years.

Rita and Joe also served as co-chairs of the Good Shepherd Celebrity Classic in 1996. Rita has volunteered her time at the Good Shepherd Celebrity Classic golf and tennis tournaments, and Joe has participated in the golf tournament.

Raker Spirit Award Recipient: Ingrid Baruch Lande
The Raker Spirit Award recognizes the Good Shepherd employee who most exemplifies – in his or her day-to-day living – the spiritual values that have come to be known as the Raker legacy. Baruch Lande is director of rehabilitation services for the Long-Term Care division of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. She has worked for Good Shepherd for more than 14 years, and during that time she has distinguished herself as a leader who is dedicated to compassionate care.

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network is a nationally recognized rehabilitation leader, offering a continuum of care for people with physical and cognitive disabilities and specializing in assistive and rehabilitation technology. More than 35,000 people come to Good Shepherd each year for specialized programs in stroke, orthopedics, brain injury, spinal cord injury, pediatrics, amputation and more. Good Shepherd provides rehabilitation services in 7 eastern Pennsylvania counties. Good Shepherd operates 14 outpatient sites, 4 inpatient sites, a long-term acute care hospital, 2 long-term care homes for people with severe disabilities, an independent living facility, a Work Services division that provides employment training and job placement and a lifestyle products store called Rehability. Good Shepherd was founded in 1908 when The Rev. John and Estella Raker invited a disabled orphan named Viola into their Allentown, Pennsylvania, home. Good Shepherd is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. For more information, visit www.goodshepherdrehab.org.