WINTERVILLE—Pitt Community College Foundation officials say last month’s “Accelerating the Future” fundraiser eclipsed the 2015 event in terms of money generated for student scholarships and educational activities at the college.
According to PCC Event Specialist Erin Greenleaf, the 2016 version of “Accelerating the Future” took place March 18 and raised $40,657 for the PCC Foundation. She said last year’s inaugural event netted $38,728.
“Any time we can get the general public on campus and make new friends for PCC, it is a success,” Greenleaf said. “It is not always about the dollar amount raised.”
Nearly 250 people visited campus to participate in this year’s fundraiser, which took place in the Craig M. Goess Construction and Industrial Technology Building and featured a buffet dinner, silent auction, student exhibits and dancing. The college’s Automotive Systems, Building Construction, Architectural Technology, Horticulture, Advertising and Graphic Design, Fire-Rescue, Associate in Fine Arts and Welding programs were represented during the event.
“By highlighting eight different academic departments, our hope was to bring awareness to the wealth of learning possibilities offered at Pitt Community College,” Greenleaf said. “We love sharing our campus with the community. It’s a chance for our supporters to see how their contributions to the PCC Foundation have helped the college grow and do great things to develop a skilled local workforce.”
Presented by BarbourHendrick Honda, “Accelerating the Future” included an exhibit of luxury and specialty cars provided by friends of PCC. In addition to a 1932 Ford Roadster and Brinkley Moore’s 1955 Ford Thunderbird hardtop convertible on display, there was Donnie Taylor’s 1964 Pontiac GTO coupe, John Carroll’s 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427/435 convertible, Buddy Holt’s 2005 Chevrolet SSR Hardtop convertible, and John Dunn’s 2003 Nissan 350ZX coupe.
“We appreciate our ‘Accelerating the Future’ sponsors and the many friends of the college who participated in it to support the success of our students,” said Susan Nobles, who serves as vice president of PCC’s Institutional Advancement Division and executive director of the PCC Foundation. “We were especially pleased that our guests had an opportunity to see some of our students’ work from our Construction and Industrial Technology, Fine Arts and Public Safety programs.”