VINCENNES, Ind. - Christina M. Ernst, Vincennes resident and chief executive officer of Miller Construction Company Inc., has been named the 2018 recipient of the Walter A. Davis Memorial Citation for Service by the Vincennes University Alumni Association.  VU will honor Ernst at a banquet on May 22, 6:30 p.m. (EDT), at Green Activities Center.

Tickets for the banquet are available now and cost $15. Reservations may be made by calling 812-888-4354, or in person at the Dayson Foundation and Alumni Center located at Third Street and College Avenue.

The Walter A. Davis Memorial Citation for Service is named for former VU President Walter A. Davis, who served from 1924-50.  The award is presented annually to a VU alumnus or resident of the greater VU Community and recognizes civic leadership and contributions, in addition to professional achievements.  Recipients are selected from nominations submitted by alumni and the public, with the final selection made by a committee comprised of a member of the VU Board of Trustees, a former recipient, a representative of the public, and alumni.

Congratulatory messages may be sent to Ernst in care of the VU Alumni Office, 1002 N. First St., Vincennes IN 47591.

ABOUT THE RECIPIENT - Christina M. Ernst

Ernst is a 1967 graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School.  She went on to graduate with an associate degree from Sullins College (Bristol, Virginia) in 1969, a baccalaureate degree from Indiana University in 1971, and a master’s degree from Indiana University in 1977.  She also attended the MBA program at Indiana University.

She is the chief executive officer of Miller Construction Company Inc., a third-generation family business which constructs and maintains power lines for utility companies.  Her grandfather started the business in 1920.  Ernst was the assistant director of admissions at Vincennes University before she left to join the family business in 1980, following the untimely deaths of her brother and father.  She became its president in 1988.

She currently serves on the boards of German American Bancorp and the Grouseland Foundation. She was a founding board member of the Knox County Community Foundation and is second vice chair of the VU Foundation Board. She also served on the Vincennes Utilities Services Board for eight years. She is a member of the Francis Vigo Chapter of DAR and is an active member and treasurer of St. James Episcopal Church.

Ernst’s professional memberships include the American Line Builders Chapter of the National Electrical Contractor’s Association, and since 1990 she has been a trustee for the Line Construction Benefit Fund, the health benefits provider for IBEW line workers.  She was honored as a distinguished alumnus of Lincoln High School in 1996, and received a Torchbearer Award from the Indiana Commission for Women in 2007.  In 2010 she received the first Business Woman of the Year award from the Knox County Chamber of Commerce.

She is a breast cancer survivor and is active in the local Think Pink fundraising efforts.

Ernst is married to Tom Ernst of Vincennes, and they have one daughter, Elizabeth Ernst Killgallon, of St. Simons, Georgia, and one granddaughter, Charlotte Christina Killgallon.

###

LINK to VU Online Newsroom, click HERE

VICKIE PUFFER, Communications Coordinator & Online Newsroom Manager

812-888-4162 office, 812-887-4635 cell, VUNews@vinu.edu, vpuffer@vinu.edu

VINCENNES UNIVERSITY, Department of University Relations, www.vinu.edu/news/newsroom