CONGRESSMAN TO DELIVER THIEL COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

April 27, 2011

GREENVILLE, PA – U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a republican representing Pennsylvania’s 3rd district, will serve as keynote speaker at Thiel College’s commencement at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 8 in the college’s William A. Passavant Center.

A native of Pittsburgh, Kelly was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2010 and took office in January. He currently serves on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Education and Workforce Committee.

Before entering politics, Kelly owned and operated Mike Kelly Automotive, a company founded by his father in the early 1950s that Kelly expanded from selling Chevrolet and Cadillac, to include Hyundai and Kia franchises. The Butler, Pa., dealership currently employs more than 100 in the region and is a leader in the local and national automotive industry. He has served as a Butler City councilman and has sat on the boards of several local and civic organizations, including the Housing Authority of Butler County, the Redevelopment Authority of Butler County and the Moraine Trails Council of Boy Scouts of America.

Dedicated to improving education, Kelly founded the Butler Quarterback Club and the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation, which provides unique and innovative educational programs for students in the Butler Area School District.

Kelly has a degree from the University of Notre Dame where he played football. He and his wife, Victoria, have four children and four grandchildren.

Also during the ceremony, Thiel College trustee emeritus Howard Weyers ’56 will receive an honorary doctor of business degree.

Weyers, a former social studies and history teacher and high school and college football coach, is the founder of Michigan-based Weyco Inc., a third-party administrator for employee benefit plans. He sold Weyco in 2006 to Meritain Health, where he still currently serves as a consultant. He also is a national speaker on the health care industry.

Weyers is an emeritus trustee on the Thiel College Board of Trustees, was inducted into the Thiel College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991 and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Thiel’s Haller Enterprise Institute in 1998. He also is very involved in his community, supporting local hospitals and foundations in Michigan as well as the Children’s Miracle Network and the United Way, among others. Weyers and his wife, Kay, were key donors to Thiel’s Alumni Stadium and Rissell-Schreyer Dome projects. The Weyers Student Lounge and Weyers-Sampson Art Gallery in the college’s Howard Miller Student Center are named in honor of the Weyerses. They live in Okemos, Mich., and have two children and two grandchildren.

About Thiel College

Thiel College is a liberal arts, sciences and professional studies institution located in Greenville, Pa., that provides a great balance of academic challenge, personal and social involvement, and exceptional value to its 1,100 students. For more information about Thiel College, visit www.thiel.edu or call 800-24-THIEL.

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