Morningside College held a dedication ceremony for the newly renovated Yockey Family Community Room in the Olsen Student Center on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 12 p.m.
Ron and Jeannette Yockey, who made the naming gift for the new room, were recognized during the ceremony. Remarks were given by Morningside College President John Reynders; Rich Waller, chair of the Morningside College Board of Directors and president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Security National Bank; Leah Winter, Morningside Student Government president; and Ron Yockey, a 1970 graduate of Morningside and president of Beef Products, Inc. (BPI).
Reynders said, “Our students benefit immensely from connections with the Sioux City community. The new community room provides an attractive space where Morningside students and community members can meet and interact. We deeply appreciate the generosity of Ron and his wife.”
Ron Yockey said, “Our family has been involved with Morningside College for fifty years. I am proud of the growth of this organization and its many contributions to the Siouxland community. I like to think that in a small way, our family is a testament to the enduring values of this institution. ”
The new community room will be used by campus and off-campus groups for meetings, conferences, and banquets for gatherings of up to 200 persons. It features state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems, a layered ceiling, recessed lighting, and sliding glass doors.
Yockey, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and physics at Morningside. His father, Dr. William C. Yockey, a resident of Sioux City and retired Morningside College professor and environmental consultant, is a 1949 Morningside graduate.
 His brother, Randy Yockey, of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, is director of quality assurance at Chesterman Co. in Sioux City and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the college in 1973. Ron Yockey’s sister Janet Fleckenstein, a sixth-grade teacher who works and resides in Sergeant Bluff, received her Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree through the college’s Graduate Studies program in 1978. His sister Pamela Schulz, of South Sioux City, Neb., earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Morningside in 1977 and is a teacher at West Middle School in Sioux City.
Ron Yockey has been at BPI for 23 years and worked for the company in California and Texas before returning to the Sioux City area. Previously, he served as director of engineering at Knox Gelatin for one year and as manager of by-product development at Iowa Beef Packers, Inc. (IBP) for 15 years. He is a member of the advisory board for Process Technology Xchange (PTX), the food and beverage industry’s process and packaging technology event. (above, from left: Dallas Schulz and Pamela Yockey Schulz, Ron and Jeannette Yockey, Lee and Dr. William C. Yockey, Jennifer Yockey, Randy Yockey, Janet Yockey Fleckenstein and John Fleckenstein.)
He is a member of the Morningside College Board of Directors and serves on the Siouxland Business Gifts Committee for the college’s current capital campaign, “This is Our Moment.”
He has a son, Eric, and two grandchildren.
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