Iowa District Court Judge James Ellefson, a 1974 Wartburg College graduate, will receive the college’s annual Graven Award Tuesday, Feb. 19.

A longtime Marshalltown attorney active in both the community and his church, Ellefson was appointed to the bench in January 2012 by Gov. Terry Branstad. He will accept the award and deliver an address during an 11:30 a.m. ceremony in the Wartburg Chapel. The public is invited.

The Graven Award is presented annually to a person “whose life is nurtured and guided by a strong sense of Christian calling and who is making a significant contribution to community, church and society.” It is named for the late Judge Henry N. and Helen Graven, natives of Greene, Iowa, whose lives reflected those same commitments.

The Rev. Ramona Bouzard, dean of the Wartburg Chapel, said Ellefson is “deeply engaged in his community and service to his church.”

“He has done everything from serving Lutheran Services in Iowa to singing in the Marshalltown Men’s Choir. It says a lot about who he is.”

Ellefson, who earned a law degree from Drake University, is a former partner in the firm of Moore, McKibben, Goodman, Lorenz and Ellefson and a past member of the Iowa Board of Law Examiners and the Judicial District Nominating Committee.

He has served as a mediator and hearing officer with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, worked with Lutheran Services in Iowa Foundation and has been on the Elim Lutheran Church council in Marshalltown. He also has been a member and chair of Youth & Shelter Services of Marshall County and is currently on Wartburg’s President’s Advisory Council.

Ellefson and his wife, Brenda, have two daughters — Sarah, a 2011 Wartburg graduate, and Rachel, who will graduate from Wartburg in May.

Dr. Stanley and Mavis Johnson Graven (both Wartburg graduates), their son, Dr. Kendall Graven, and Lloyd Graven will represent the Graven family at the award ceremony. Stanley and Lloyd Graven are the sons of Henry and Helen Graven.

College organist Dr. Karen Black, the Wartburg Choir and the Castle Singers jazz ensemble will perform.