Geneva College presents this year’s recipients of the Life G Award, Geneva’s highest alumni honor, to Ann Birdsall O’Neill ‘68 and Dwight E. Wagner ‘68, CCIM.

The Life G Award is given each year to graduates for service above self, those who embody the principles for which Geneva College stands, and whose efforts on behalf of the College, the community, and the nation have been exemplary. Recipients must have previously received Geneva's Distinguished Service Award and have been nominated for the Life G Award by the Geneva College Alumni Council.

Ann Birdsall O’Neill

Ann (Birdsall) O’Neill ‘68 grew up in Pasadena, California, where she graduated from John Muir High School in the Rose Bowl in 1965.

Traveling-through students from Geneva had given Ann a longing to attend Geneva, which she did following high school. Ann was a cheerleader at Geneva and she graduated with a degree in English and secondary education in 1968. By that time, she was married to fellow classmate Jerry O’Neill ‘68. They lived in a series of places, including Jerry in Vietnam, then together in Spencer, Indiana; Sterling, Kansas; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbus, Indiana; and permanently in Pittsburgh in 1995 when Jerry became president of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS).

During those years, Ann learned to homeschool, live in a small town, understand brain injury, be a pastor’s wife, and then a seminary president’s wife. They raised five children, three of whom graduated from Geneva (Margaret O’Neill Spear ‘93; Luke O’Neill ‘97, MSOL ‘99; and Bethany O’Neill Hardwig ‘10). Additionally, five grandchildren have graduated from Geneva (so far). Jerry died in March 2026 following a long illness with primary progressive aphasia, and Ann continues to live in their home in Pittsburgh.

Dwight E. Wagner

Dwight E. Wagner ‘68, CCIM founded U. S. Commercial Realty in 1996. Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the firm deals primarily in sale and leasing of commercial, industrial, investment, and land development real estate throughout central Pennsylvania. He currently serves as an associate broker and client advisor for the firm since sale of the company to Michael D. Wagner, CCIM in 2018.

Dwight earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Geneva College in 1968, and earned the coveted CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation in 1983.

During more than 50 years as a commercial broker and developer, Dwight personally completed or participated in more than $5 billion in commercial and investment real estate projects, including the sale of a portfolio of 11 regional shopping malls located in eight states valued in excess of $700 million for a major U.S. pension fund client. This sale at the time was the largest commercial real estate transaction ever completed in the U.S.

Dwight served for 12 years as one of three members of an Independent Fiduciary Committee for a Separate Account of The Equitable, responsible for a $900 million portfolio of regional shopping malls and a $1 billion portfolio of major office buildings located throughout the U.S. This committee was responsible for all management, leasing, expansion, acquisition, and disposition decisions for the account.

He has negotiated complex multi-leg 1031 tax deferred exchanges for shopping centers, free standing retail property, office buildings, apartment complexes, industrial parks, and hotels. He has sold thousands of acres to developers and farmers. Dwight provides both advisory and asset management services for clients on a fee basis.

Dwight is licensed as a broker in Pennsylvania and holds memberships in the Lancaster County, National Association of Realtors and the CCIM Institute. He is active in his native Lancaster County community in various church and community organizations, as well as a principal owner of commercial retail, office, and land development projects.

He currently serves on a Regional Advisory Board for Mid Penn Bank and is a member of the real estate site acquisition team for LCBC Church expansion campuses throughout Pennsylvania. Dwight is a past member of the Board of Directors for Tabor Community Services, Inc.; past president and owner of Tanglewood Manor, Inc., a public golf course; and past chairman of a Regional Advisory Board for Fulton Bank for 25 years.