Zeidler to Receive TNCC Leadership Award

By WYDaily Staff Monday, December 13, 2010

Thomas Nelson Community College has selected the Honorable Jeanne Zeidler, former Mayor of Williamsburg, to receive its Fifth Annual Presidential Leadership Award. As part of TNCC’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observances, the award presentation is set for 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 11 at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg.

The College established its Presidential Leadership Award to honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by recognizing an outstanding community leader and important role model for students.

Now president of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, Zeidler became Williamsburg’s first female mayor in 1998 and held office until May. Before serving as mayor, she was elected four times to the Williamsburg City Council and was Vice Mayor from 1996-1998. She was a member of the Williamsburg-James City County School Board for four years with service as Chair and Vice Chair before election to the City Council.

Her civic participation is not limited to government. Zeidler was the first woman to serve as president of the Williamsburg Rotary Club and holds memberships in numerous organizations including NAACP (life member), Williamsburg Area League of Women Voters, Williamsburg Area Chamber of Commerce and is a commissioner on the Williamsburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority, to note a few.

Zeidler’s work with museums, cultural and educational institutions spans over 30 years, including 21 years as director of the Hampton University Museum. Additionally, she was executive director of Jamestown 2007 and chair of the Historic Triangle Jamestown 2007 Host Committee.

She has received numerous awards including Williamsburg Area Chamber and Tourism Alliance’s 2006 Corporate Citizen, Williamsburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2005 Roll of the Drum, Hampton University’s 2004 Presidential Citizenship Award and the College of William and Mary 2003 Prentis Award, among others.

Zeidler holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Arts degree from the College of William and Mary. Zeidler and her husband, Edward P. Crapol, Professor Emeritus of American History at the College of William and Mary, live in Williamsburg.