Trine honors Debra Rhoads as Woman of Distinction

Trine University honored Debra Rhoads with its annual Woman of Distinction Award during the university’s annual Touchstone and Homecoming Celebration Dinner on Oct. 6.

The event was held in the Keith E. Busse/Steel Dynamics Inc. Athletic and Recreation Center.

John Shannon, Ph.D., Trine University president, presented the award following a video presentation featuring images of Rhoads throughout her lifetime.

Reading the introduction to the award, Gretchen Miller, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Trine, said Rhoads and her late husband, Mitch, were “extremely generous with their leadership, mentorship and sincere friendship.”

“You epitomize the Woman of Distinction,” Miller said. “We honor your contributions to philanthropy, business and education, to our community – and are so thankful for your loyal friendship and engagement.”

About Debra Rhoads

Born in the small town of Newton Falls, Ohio, Rhoads worked her first after school job in 1969 at the local Aid N Save Pharmacy as a pharmacist assistant.

Upon graduation from high school, she went to work for Second National Bank in the mortgage department, then on to Trumbull Savings and Loan on a fast-track program to learn all the operations of banking.

In 1978, she packed up everything she could fit in her Mazda Mizer 808 and drove to Los Angeles, California. Her adventure found her working at Orange Julius of America where she met her future husband, Mitch, a 1966 Tri-State College graduate. She married him in 1985, joining a family that included two wonderful children, and noted it was the best thing she has ever done. 

Their path would include stops for Mitch’s career at Burger King Corporation and ownership of LePeep Restaurants.

All the while, Debra honed her business acumen. She owned and operated Palisades Office Products, where her clients included Walter Matthau, Cicely Tyson, Charlton Heston, Sally Fields, Ken Kercheval, Dom Delouise, Rita Moreno and Pernell Roberts, to name a few.

She later would go on to own and operate Executive Suites and Business Services in Denver, Colorado, for 27 years. She retired in 2017.

The couple lived in Angola, Indiana, for more than 25 years, with Mitch serving on the Trine University Board of Trustees for 16 years. They have generously supported Trine University, including supporting the Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium, the Rhoads Center for Entrepreneurship in the Ketner School of Business, the Trine Fund, the Stephen M. Elder Endowed Scholarship Fund, Scholarship Gala, Sig Cup and support of Mitch’s Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and numerous student scholarships. 

In addition to their service and support of Trine, both Mitch and Debra were board members for the Community Humane Shelter of Steuben County for many years.

Mitch passed away on Jan. 10, 2022.

The Woman of Distinction Award was first given in 2006 to honor Marjorie Bowstrom, a Tri-State University trustee. The award recognizes the powerful contributions of women in the areas of philanthropy, business and education, and is presented annually to a woman judged by the university to mirror the attributes represented by Bowstrom. It signifies the university's high regard for the lofty achievements of today's female leaders.