Founders Dinner celebrates LSC Foundation 25th anniversary and kicks off 2016 Silver StarGala
Over 70 guests recently gathered at The Club at Carlton Woods for a very special celebration: the Lone Star College Foundation Founders Dinner, where past Foundation Board members and StarGala chairs representing service from 1997 through 2012 were honored.
"The Founders Dinner is the first of many events that will mark the Foundation's 25th anniversary, and will culminate with our 2016 StarGala on April 16 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott," said Carl Joiner, Chair, Lone Star College Foundation Board of Directors. "We felt that a great way to kick-off our celebrations would be to recognize the board members who began this foundation and over the years, developed it, and brought it to where it is today."
Adding to the excitement of the evening, Leah Goss, Chief Advancement Officer for Lone Star College, delivered news of a comprehensive campaign getting underway for the college, explaining, "in addition to scholarships, the Foundation will work closely with the college to focus our fundraising on the priority projects that meet the most urgent needs in our community over the next one to five years."
This effort will begin with the 2016 StarGala, which will continue to focus on scholarships, and will also provide opportunities to give to year one of priority projects. Ms. Goss explained further, "This Gala has a very ambitious fundraising goal of $1 million dollars, and new strategies for reaching that goal. Rather than asking just one couple, or one firm to chair the event, we have asked a committee of Founders to help us achieve this goal."
A highlight of the evening was when Dr. Steve Head, Chancellor of Lone Star College, took the stage, and relayed to guests, "when I began my career here 32 years ago, I was Director of Financial Aid at North Harris County Junior College," recalls Dr. Head, "and even as low as our tuition was then, it was evident that students needed assistance to attend the college. That's why I was such a strong supporter of starting the Foundation in 1991."
Dr. Head explained that state support for higher education continues to slip while the needs of our students and our workforce keep growing, creating an even more urgent need for Foundation dollars to support not only the original vision of scholarships, but also to support programs that will be conducted at the five new facilities being built which focus on high-demand, high-wage workforce areas.
Dr. Head culminated this momentous occasion by saying, "each of these projects represent an opportunity for new partnerships and new investments that will bring tremendous value to our students, area businesses, the economy, and our communities," said Dr. Head. He continued, "Lone Star College is at the table, whether it is in Austin, or at the White House, for the discussions that are shaping both programs and policy, and I am excited for what the next 25 years will bring as the college, our Board of Trustees, and the Foundation, work together."
Check out a pictorial recap of this very special evening!