John Ridgeway ‘75 Named DSU’s Distinguished MEAC Alum

DSU alumnus John Ridgeway recently added a new honor to his list of life achievements as he was recognized by the Mid-Eastern Athletics Conference (MEAC) as the DSU Alumni of the Year.

The Conference annually recognizes Alumni of the Year honorees from all of its member institutions during its MEAC Basketball Tournament, which this year took place in Norfolk, Va. Ridgeway was recognized along with the other honorees, during halftime of the March 13 evening men’s quarterfinal games.

Ridgeway earned his bachelor’s degree from then-Delaware State College in 1975.  For more than 10 years, he has served on DSU’s Business Advisory Council for the College of Business and as chair until March 2013. He is an inducted member of the DSU College of Business Hall of Fame.

He serves as the Corporate Manager of Toyota Financial Services (TFS) in Owings Mills, Maryland.  His primary responsibility is managing over 350 associates, who provide services to both Toyota and Lexus customers and approximately 1,100 dealers on the East Coast. John has over 30-years of executive management experience in operations. He is responsible for charitable giving in the area and championed launching the Kaizen continuous improvement programs at TFS.

In the community, John supports ongoing TFS community service initiatives in the Baltimore area. Some of these initiatives include Northwest Hospital Cancer Center, Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore, and Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland. 

John is a lifetime member of the DSU Alumni Association, a member of the DSUAA Alumni Legacy Hall of Fame and has been recognized by the New Castle County (DE) Chapter of the DSUAA. In addition to supporting his alma mater, he has supported several HBCUs to include Bowie State University, Coppin State University, and Morgan State University. He currently serves on the president’s Advisory Council for Stevenson University in Stevenson, Md. 

John is a member of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc. and chairs the organization’s philanthropic arm, the Groove Fund. Over the past two years, he has supported the efforts of Groove Phi Groove to award $50K to Morgan State and 25K to Delaware State. He also holds memberships in--and has been recognized by--several other professional organizations, including the Union Masonic Lodge #21, Boys & Girls Club of Baltimore, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and the Monday Club of Wilmington, Del. He is also a NAACP lifetime member.