BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - James Ingold ‘85 was announced as the inaugural recipient of the Legion of Honor Humanitarian Award granted by IWU during a ceremony held in Evelyn Chapel on Feb. 3, the nationally recognized Four Chaplains Day. The award celebrates Ingold’s decades of service in leadership and fundraising for charitable causes, most notably including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“Our recipient for the Legion of Honor Humanitarian Award embodies the ideals of selfless service, integrity, faith and compassion that this honor represents,” said Van Miller '04, IWU’s assistant vice president for advancement, corporate and community partnerships, as Ingold's honor was announced.
Ingold has so far raised more than $3 million for St. Jude. He has served on St. Jude’s Area Board of Directors and was named the 2025 St. Jude Volunteer of the Year. Other organizations Ingold has worked with and contributed to include Habitat for Humanity of McLean County, the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership organization, the Westminster Village Foundation, and the Tinervin Family Foundation. As a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church, he has gone on seven mission trips to build a church in Honduras.
“It’s amazing what you do,” said IWU President Sheahon Zenger in his remarks during the ceremony. “It took Van 10 minutes to go through all your philanthropic works. You set the bar high for all of us. You deserve this beyond words.”
The ceremony featured performances by IWU’s Collegiate Choir, including the recently composed “Do Good” choral arrangement, inspired by the famous quote from Minor Myers, jr., “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.”
The award itself is the legacy of IWU alumnus George Fox ‘31, one of the legendary Four Chaplains who sacrificed their lives to save U.S. soldiers and civilians during the Second World War. The Chapel of the Four Chaplains, which presents the Humanitarian award, was established in 1951 with a dedication by President Harry Truman to honor Rabbi Alexander Goode, Father John Washington, Reverend Clark Poling and Fox, a Methodist pastor, who were chaplains aboard the U.S.A.T. (United States Army Transport) Dorchester when it was sunk on Feb. 3, 1943.
One of the officiants of the ceremony was IWU alumna Kathleen Potthoff ‘73, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Marine Corps and current junior vice commandant at the Department of Florida Marine Corps League, which has conducted Legion of Honor Award ceremonies for more than a decade. Potthoff received the Humanitarian award herself in 2023.
“I hope that the recognition and awarding of the Legion of Honor Humanitarian Award to James Ingold will be a step for future ceremonies and awards in keeping with the legacy of selfless service, as well as finding more information on Chaplain Fox’s time as an itinerant pastor in and around Bloomington,” Pothoff said.
The IWU Alumni Association is currently accepting nominations for the Legion of Honor Award to be represented at the 2027 Four Chaplains Commemoration. If you would like to nominate an IWU alumnus for one of the six awards presented by the Legion of Honor Awards Program, please submit nomination materials by Sep. 21, 2026 here.
Please contact Avary Kampwerth, volunteer engagement officer, at akampwer@iwu.edu with any questions.