Chad Radford of Roseville, Michigan, honored with Olivet's 2017 Servant Leadership Award

2017 Apr 18

Chad Radford of Roseville, Michigan, is a 2017 recipient of The David and Ella Elwood Servant Leadership Award at Olivet Nazarene University. He was nominated by faculty, staff and fellow students for this honor. He has demonstrated - through a variety of service opportunities - the qualities of a servant's heart.

Radford is a junior, majoring in psychology at Olivet. As the junior class chaplain, he has also been part of the Party With Jesus student-led worship and volunteered with Mission Possible, a ministry to inmates. He has served as a Preaching Ambassador, an Alpha group leader and as a captain for the Team World Vision marathon run to help provide clean water for Africa's people.

After graduation, he plans to work with people through the area of counseling. He believes that working with the entire family unit, not just the individual, is the key to helping families find harmony.

"I believe that through serving others, a Christian is able to be Christ in the world," Radford says. "Christ humbled himself to the position of a servant and displayed a better way of life by being a servant to those He was leading."

Now in its 10th year at Olivet, this award recognizes juniors who demonstrate the qualities of a servant's heart. As part of the award, each recipient receives $1,000. Of that amount, $250 is donated to the charity of his or her choice. Radford has designated the Alzheimer's Association.

The Servant Leadership Award program is funded by the David and Ella Elwood Foundation to promote and foster servant leadership in the Olivet community and around the world. Dr. David Elwood, an Olivet alumnus, is a clinical psychologist and the founder of Elwood Staffing Services, Inc., a leading provider of talent-based solutions. Ella Elwood, an Olivet alumna, is a Century 21 real estate agent in Columbus, Indiana. They have been married for 60 years and have three sons and eight grandchildren.

"The Elwoods represent all the qualities we celebrate as an Olivet community," said Dr. John C. Bowling, University president. "Their lives remind us that success is not just about the bottom line, but about relationships and achieving a higher purpose."