HCC Foundation Gala Scholarship Auction Set For Nov. 2

Becoming a regional kick-off for the holidays, the 6th Annual Hopkinsville Community College Foundation Gala Scholarship Auction is just days away. Scheduled Friday, November 2, at the James E. Bruce Convention Center, beginning with a silent auction during social hour at 6:00 p.m., revelers and benefactors alike are set to be feted with a gourmet meal and grand items to be sold, all for the benefit of students of HCC.

According to Jackie Jones, HCC Foundation Board Vice-President, and chair of its Gala Scholarship Auction, auction items in every price range will be available for purchase next Friday. We have everything from Attorney General Jack Conways six-person table and box in Churchill Downs Turf Club, to the Honorable Carroll Hubbards UK versus Florida basketball game tickets. We will auction a 10-day trip to the coastal village of Oostende, Belgium with splendid European accommodations, and a week-long vacation on Alabamas Orange beach in a luxury 2-bed, 2-bath condo. There are also items like weather radios, cookbooks, fine crystal, and tickets to TPAC and Keeneland. We will have something for everyone, Jones declared.

The assets of the Foundation have grown in excess of $2 million dollars. For the 2012-2013 academic year, the Foundation will award $80,147.00 in scholarships. An additional $7,987.00 in support will be provided to the college for allied health programs and for the Frances Thomas Literary Park. These scholarship monies from the Foundation include the Hopkinsville Rotary Scholars Program, but also include monies to support students interested in agriculture technology, economics, nursing and allied health, textbook scholarships, and students who have been historically underserved or underrepresented.

With a budget deficit looming at the college, it is more important than ever to engage in private donor cultivation, according to college president Jim Selbe. The Foundation plays an increasingly important role in resource development for the college, and we are grateful for its continued efforts to provide a margin of excellence to our students and to our institution, Selbe noted.

Jones says that tickets to the gala are still available by calling the college at (270) 707-3733. Cost is $50.00 per person, and includes appetizers and a gourmet meal prepared by Chef Jettinghoff using many Kentucky Proud ingredients including beef from Hamptons Meats and local eggplant for the vegetarian entre. HCCs Institutional Advancement Officer, Yvette Eastham states that there is still time to give an item to be auctioned. We like to have varied items so that everyone who is in the buying mood can make a purchase, whether it is a flat-screen television, the latest iPad or tickets to the Alahambra, gift certificates for meals or oil changes, or trendy jewelry. Wed like everyone to leave with something, but most importantly, to leave with the knowledge that they have helped to grow their community college, she concluded.

The evening will also feature students of the college serving as Ambassadors, to assist with the proceedings. All monies raised go directly to student scholarships.

Reservations are required for the Gala, and cost is $50 per person. Call 707-3733 for more information.

Auction items can be view on the HCC Facebook page.