Jason Mortvedt, pictured above, was surprised and overwhelmed when he was told he was receiving the prestigious John and Kathy Paxton Alumni Service Award from his college alma mater, Southwest Minnesota State University.

If there is one piece of advice Jason Mortvedt would give to young men and women attending college, it would be, “Get involved.”

It is certainly a philosophy Mortvedt followed while he was a student at what is now known as Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU), in Marshall.

“My alma mater has had three different names,” Mortvedt comments. “Originally, in 1964, it was called Southwest Minnesota State College (SMSC). Then, from 1975 to 2003, it was known as Southwest State University (SSU) before adopting its current name.”

Though the name changed, Mortvedt’s dedication to his college never did and during the SMSU’s 2023 homecoming football game, the Frost native was honored as the recipient of the John and Kathy Paxton Alumni Service Award.

“I was actually serving on the Alumni Board when this honor was created,” Mortvedt shares. ” I was introduced to John and Kathy in 1976 and they became lifelong friends. Over the years John and Kathy received about every award that a person could receive at Southwest.”

According to Mortvedt, learning he was going to receive the award named after his friends was an overwhelming experience.

“I was very honored,” he says. “I was humbled to receive this award.”

The John and Kathy Paxton Alumni Service Award is known as one of the most prestigious awards to be given out by the college and is not awarded every year.

“It’s kind of funny. I did not have any idea where I was going to go to college,” Mortvedt admits. “I knew that I did not want to be too close to home so Mankato was out. I also did not want to attend college where I knew too many of the other students so Winona State was out.”

Mortvedt, who was one of 18 students who graduated from Frost High School in 1973, credits the band director at Frost, Brad Brandt, with steering him towards Marshall.

“He (Brandt) had just attended a music festival at the college and he knew I didn’t want to go to Mankato or Winona,” Mortvedt explains. “He thought Marshall could be a good fit.”

Mortvedt recalls going out to Marshall and thinking how great it was because everything was new.

“It wasn’t until 1976, when I became an RA (Resident Advisor) at Manchester Hall that things began to change for me,” he says. “That is when I really began to get involved at the college.”

According to Mortvedt, he learned a lot while he was an RA.

“You have to be prepared for anything and you need to like people,” he stresses. “It was something that was right up my alley. I loved getting people together to just have fun.”

Mortvedt was a physical education major and also worked in the rehabilitative service department.

“I started helping Lew Shaver with the wheelchair basketball team,” Mortvedt notes. “I also did the public address (PA) announcing and play-by-play for the women’s basketball games on KSSU-TV. Then, I started doing a talk show with the men’s basketball coach, Dale Honeck, following the Mustangs’ basketball games. I also had a show on the college radio station (KSSU). My nickname was ‘Captain Mort,’ and people still call me that to this day.”

If all of that was not enough, he became the interim wheelchair basketball coach when coach Shaver took a sabbatical.

“I like to tell people I took the team to the championship game the year I coached them,” Mortvedt shares. “Of course, there were only a total of four teams to begin with.”

Mortvedt shares he also learned an important lesson during his coaching stint.

“I came to the realization that I was a better basketball official than a coach,” he says. “The Mustangs’ basketball coach was a great mentor to me and other officials. He reviewed a lot of tape with us and would critique our work.”

Mortvedt also credits Honeck with uniting the college and the town.

“The college was founded during the Vietnam War era and many of the people in Marshall did not appreciate the protests and sit-ins which would take place on campus,” he explains. “Many townspeople resented the college students.”

According to Mortvedt, Honeck, the boys basketball coach, put together a great team and people from the town began to come to the campus to watch the games.

“The gym was packed, the Mustangs were entertaining and people enjoyed watching them,” he comments. “That helped to begin bridging the gap between the townspeople and the college students.”

Before he left SMSU, he helped organize a Superstars competition during the fall of 1976.

“We had both students and teachers competing,” Mortvedt notes. “It was a lot of fun.”

He also is credited with starting the homecoming king and queen coronation in 1976.

“Back then it was called the Fall Festival,” Mortvedt says. “It was a great way to get people together and build excitement for the big weekend.”

Mortvedt used the knowledge he gained about being a referee to stay busy once he completed his college education and returned to his farm west of Frost.

“I refereed until 1996, a total of 21 years, mostly high school but also some junior high contests,” he says. “I refereed many different sports including football, basketball, volleyball and baseball. I was also a mentor to other officials.”

Even though he was busy farming and refereeing, he still made time for SMSU.

According to information provided by the college, Mortvedt served on the Alumni Board for two six-year terms.

“I, along with Chuck Larsen, started something we call the Poor Man’s Gala,” Mortvedt comments. “It began as an alternative for those SMSU alumni who don’t like to get dressed up and who like cheap beer and free popcorn.”

It has been going on for 18 years.

“I should probably clarify that the Poor Man’s Gala is a non-sanctioned SMSC/SSU/SMSU event” he adds with a twinkle in his eye. “We get together at Fuzzy’s on Friday night to kick off the homecoming weekend.”

When COVID-19 came along, he found another way to stay in touch with his Mustang family.

“There was a core group of five and we planned an outdoor picnic,” Mortvedt says. “We were all retired and looking for a way to get out of the house.”

Those picnics are now held monthly from May through September at the 7-Mile Creek County Park south of St. Peter and an average of 15 people come each time.

“When I went to college in Marshall I knew about 80 percent of the students because I was involved,” Mortvedt concludes. “I tell kids that once you graduate, don’t stop. Become a community leader, serve on boards. It is a way to give back to the community for all of the ways they have invested in you.”