Greenfield Community College announces the appointment of Clara Elliott as its Director of Human Resources. Prior to accepting this position at GCC, Elliott served as human resource director for the Holyoke Public Schools. In her native country of Venezuela, she was the first in her family to finish high school and go on to attend the Cecilio Acosta Community College in Los Teques, the University of Simon Rodriguez, and graduate school at Western New England College in Springfield, where she earned a master's degree in business administration. "So the community college was a blessing to me," says Elliott. "If I didn't have the community college, I wouldn't be sitting here today."
Elliott looks forward to applying her understanding of the student body toward making GCC a welcoming place for everybody. "My background and the skills that I bring to the job provide me with the opportunities to establish a great relationship with our students and the college community," says Elliott.
For more information, please call Liz Carroll, Marketing Coordinator, at (413) 775-1420.
It was a nail-biter of a campaign that had GCC Foundation volunteers scrambling into the final hours to meet an ambitious campaign goal to support Greenfield Community College and its students. In the days following the June 30th deadline, as the last round of checks came in the mail, campaign chair Philip Lemere ('79) finally breathed a sigh of relief as the running tally reached $550,000 and ultimately surpassed it by over fifteen hundred dollars. The final total of gifts of all sizes from generous donors came to $551,641, which includes $509,326 in cash and $42,315 in gifts-in-kind.
"The success of this year's campaign can be directly attributed to the enthusiasm and dedication of the more than one hundred volunteer fundraisers who worked on it," said Lemere. "Their efforts resulted in generous contributions which will enable GCC to continue to provide excellence in higher education and access for those who seek it. The support of the community is very heartwarming and continues to make me proud to be a GCC alum."
"The outpouring of support," said Allen J. Davis, Executive Director of the GCC Foundation, "came from 1,142 donors, one hundred more than last year, and the contributions ranged in size from $5 to $58,000 and from as far away as Alaska and Japan. As in a close election, every gift made a difference."
People from every corner of the community, all of whom believe in the power of GCC to change lives for the better, made donations to the campaign, including businesses, individuals, civic organizations, current and retired faculty and staff, alumni, grateful parents, students, private foundations, and one hundred percent of the college's trustees and the foundation's board of directors.
"This region truly defines the word 'community,'" said GCC President Robert L. Pura. "On behalf of the students, the faculty and the staff, I want to thank Phil Lemere, Vice Chair Shane Hammond, and the entire GCC Foundation for this extraordinary effort. Most of all, I want to thank this community. As I have often said, I have yet to see a college that means more to its community, and I'm not aware of a community that supports its college more than this one does. As a result, the doors to America's dream remain open, and the quality behind those doors remains at the highest level."
The money raised will be used to provide scholarships to GCC students, supply the library with new books, support the professional development of faculty and staff, and give President Pura the flexibility to start or save key programs.
"I think there were some anxious moments towards the end," said Edward Tombs, treasurer of the GCC Foundation. "But as we put out the word that we hadn't yet reached our goal, more checks started coming in. It makes you feel good to know that people want to see us succeed. It's really heart-warming to live in this great community that is so generous, and this support is crucial to maintaining a first-rate college in our area."
For more information, please call Allen J. Davis, Executive Director of the GCC Foundation, at (413) 775-1601.
Greenfield Community College | One College Drive | Greenfield, MA 01301-5129 | (413) 775-1000 (tel) | (413) 775-5129 (fax)