NEWS RELEASE DATE: Nov. 12 2009 FOR USE: Now CONTACT: Steve Quakenbush
GCCC ENDOWMENT HONORING MEMORIALS & OUTSTANDING BOARD MEMBER
Association’s 2009 annual meeting, dinner & election coming up evening of Nov. 17 at Southwind
The Garden City Community College Endowment Association will celebrate successes of the past year and honor award winners at the organization’s 2009 annual meeting Nov. 17 at Southwind Country Club.
The association will elect new members and officers for the board of directors and bestow the following honors:
• Outstanding Service Award to the David Beasley Memorial
• Outstanding Service Award to the Ernest and Susie Nunn Memorial
• Robert A. Whippo Award for Outstanding Board Service to Dana Woodbury, Garden City.
The gathering includes a social period at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and the program and meeting at 8 p.m., including entertainment by the College Singers ensemble. Information is available at 620-276-9578.
DAVID BEASLEY MEMORIAL
The Beasley Memorial honors the memory of David Beasley, a respected law enforcement officer who lost his life to cancer in 2005.
As a friend, colleague and officer, Beasley instilled pride and dedication in the people around him, and the way his fellow officers chose to honor his memory left a lasting legacy that benefits others who follow his example.
The Finney County Sheriff’s Department deputy developed cancer late in 2004, 15 years after starting his career with the agency, and a golf tournament first organized in 2005 to help defray his medical expenses has become an annual event that now supports the David Beasley Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Born in Finney County in 1962, he graduated from Holcomb High School in 1981, and worked at Palmer Manufacturing and Tank and Morton Buildings before becoming a deputy in 1989.
While with the sheriff’s department, he earned his GCCC associate degree in criminal justice, and later a bachelor’s degree from Friends University, becoming the first member of his immediate family to complete college. He was part of the Garden City Jaycees, served on the Community Day Care Board of Directors and belonged to the First United Methodist Church, as well as a number of law enforcement organizations.
Upon his death, family and friends chose to use the funds raised at the tournament to set up the scholarship in his name, which benefits GCCC criminal justice students, and to make the tournament an annual tribute. The event has raised thousands of dollars over the past five years, due in large part to the efforts of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Greg Hands and Sergeant Steve Martinez.
Among others involved in the effort are Gaynelle M. Beasley, as well as the late officer’s daughters, Brynn Shellenberger and Britny Dawson.
ERNEST O. & SUSIE NUNN MEMORIAL
Loyle and Velma Nunn Miller, of Dallas, Texas, haven’t lived in Garden City since 1955, but they’ve never given up on their belief in the education GCCC provides.
They began supporting the association by establishing the Ernest O. and Susie Nunn Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund in 1992, and they’ve made annual contributions each year since.
The fund provides awards of $875 to two students each year. The scholarships are designated for men or women majoring in education or pre-engineering, who reach and maintain grade point averages of 2.5 or above.
The couple provided five substantial gifts for the fund over the past five years, and it honors the memory of Velma Nunn’s parents. They said they established it in appreciation for the education they received through GCCC.
Mrs. Nunn, born in Pierceville, graduated from Garden City High School in 1938 and what was then Garden City Junior College in 1940. Loyle Miller, a Decatur native, graduated from high school in Rexford and attended GCCC in 1939-40.
The couple lived in Garden City from 1952 to 1955. She served as a Cub Scout leader and in the Buffalo Jones Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association. He was part of the local Lions Club and was elected PTA president at the school.
Their family includes three children, nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren. They still maintain contacts with as many of their Garden City friends as possible.
“We think the college has been very beneficial to Garden City and the citizens of that area,” they said. “Education has always been a must.” They also share their generosity with the University of Oklahoma.
“We have very pleasant memories of the Garden City,” Loyle Miller said. “We’re not able to attend the annual meeting, but we are both proud of our associations with the college.”
DANA WOODBURY
Woodbury accepted an invitation to help guide the association after attending the organization’s annual scholarship auction back in 2002. Her work and dedication since that time earned her the outstanding board service award, which is named in honor of the late Robert A. Whippo, a long-time member.
The chance to help provide academic scholarships, and develop a better understanding of the college’s role in the community, first prompted the future board member to serve. Soon, however, she also found other forms of satisfaction in lending her time.
“My favorite part is the selection process for the Ambassador Scholars,” she explained. “This is the most direct interaction our board has with students. I love to hear their stories and see their smiles.”
A Dodge City native, she has also served the Southwest Arts and Humanities Council, was elected as a former president of the Finney County Economic Development Corporation, and belonged to a city advisory board on environmental issues. Presently, she is the association’s treasurer.
She and her husband, Lance, a Leoti native, moved to Garden City in 2001, and she owns Culligan of Southwest Kansas. The family also includes daughters Whitney and Campbell.
“GCCC has a major impact in Southwest Kansas,” Woodbury said. “It not only educates the workforce, but also supports business and industry through outreach programs.”
She believes GCCC helps students learn to analyze situations and solve problems -- skills important for career and life success.
Volunteers recently completed the 30th Annual GCCC Endowment Association Scholarship Phonathon, raising a total of $81,950 in direct mail gifts and pledges.
In addition, the association’s 2008-2009 annual report was issued in September, indicating that it had provided a record number of 756 academic and technical scholarship awards to GCCC students, totaling $403,195 in assistance.