As a last hurrah, State College Mayor Arnold Addison has claimed recognition from leaders across the state.

Addison was selected as Mayor of the Year in a unanimous decision by the executive board of the Association of Mayors of Pennsylvania and will be honored at a mayoral conference in Hershey this June.

Addison, who has served as mayor of State College for 16 years, will not be seeking a fifth term.

"This is my last year," Addison said. "I'm in the lame-duck session now, and it felt good to be recognized by my fellow mayors."

The Association of Mayors is an organization made up of about 800 mayors from across the state, Addison said.

Addison will be presented the award by Walter Panek, mayor of Ambridge and president of the Association of Mayors, at the June conference.

"He had very good qualifications," Panek said, adding it was evident Addison really enjoyed working with students.

State College Borough Council member Jean McManis nominated Addison for the award with a 12-page application, outlining Addison's achievements as mayor. With the nomination forms, she included many newsclippings and editorials.

"I'll admit to you that I've kept a file on Addison. Whenever there was an article in the newspaper, I cut it out," McManis said. "There was such a huge amount of stuff, I just had to go through and select what I think would be impressive to the board."

Addison has always maintained a strong commitment to students and been involved with town/gown relations, McManis said. He has prevented confrontations between the University and the borough council, she added.

McManis included a history of Addison's achievements and letters of recommendation with her nomination.