GCC ceremony kicks off $100K scholarship challenge

MASSAPONAX — Consider yourself challenged.

Bruce and Sandy Davis of Fredericksburg announced plans Tuesday to donate up to $100,000 to Germanna Community College’s educational foundation as part of a matching-gift campaign to raise money for GCC’s annual fund.

The couple pledges to match all “unrestricted funds” dollar-for-dollar donated to the foundation by anyone in the community.

“We wanted to do something significant for Germanna Community College and its educational foundation,” said Bruce Davis, who serves as the foundation’s president. “We hope that this challenge gift will help inspire others to support one of the most important assets in our community.

“There are few families in Germanna’s seven-county service region that have not been touched in some significant way by the educational offerings and the benefits of the college.”

About 225 Germanna employees gathered for the college’s “Learning Day” inside Room 212 at the Fredericksburg campus to hear the news.

Dubbed the “Bruce and Sandy Davis Annual Fund Challenge Campaign,” the fundraiser will provide money for students to help pay for college costs. The campaign will conclude when the $100,000 in matching donations has been collected.

“This is one of the most significant gifts in the history of the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation,” said GCC President David A. Sam. “It has the potential to generate a total of $200,000 in donations, which will help both the college and the foundation address important needs. I am deeply grateful to Sandy and Bruce for their ongoing commitment to Germanna and its students.”

Modestly accepting applause from the crowded room, Bruce Davis quickly shared his reasons for giving.

“My wife, Sandy, and I are in a position to put our money where our mouth is,” Bruce Davis said. “And we need to juice up our foundation to bring it to a new level of fundraising ability, and one way to do that is through this challenge fund.”

Unrestricted gifts donated to the foundation go into an annual fund, also known as the “Fund for Germanna Community College.” That fund supports the annual operational needs of the foundation and the college, according to Mike Zitz, director or media and community relations.

“Without a strong annual fund that is supported by unrestricted gifts each year,” said Bruce Davis, who also serves on the college’s local board and advisory board, “there would be so many projects that the foundation would be unable support. We are grateful that Germanna has donors who realize the importance of this form of annual support.”

Each year, about 300 students receive more than $175,000 in scholarship funds through the foundation.

Until recently, Bruce Davis served as vice president and part owner of Freeman Beverage — a Stafford-based wine and beer distributor — a position he’s held for more than 20 years.

Sandy Davis works as a patient services coordinator at the Cancer Center of Mary Washington Healthcare. The couple moved to the Fredericksburg area in 1989.

A student’s perspective

Germanna alum Michael Ly, 19, returned to his alma mater Tuesday to share his own personal journey, explaining how Germanna scholarships helped him achieve a higher education.

The 2009 Culpeper County High School graduate, who was voted senior class president and finished in the top 1 percent of his class, earned his associate’s degree in business administration from Germanna in December.

Declining a scholarship to a small college in North Carolina two years ago, Ly chose to enroll at Germanna instead.

“Despite this tremendous scholarship, the support was not enough for me to turn down Germanna and the opportunities available here,” Ly told the crowd. “Germanna means a lot in that it gave me another direction to head toward. And in the view of the students, these scholarship funds can be some of the most important means to an end.”

For some, Ly said, “it’s simply money to fund an educational goal,” and for others “it’s the vital source to fund an entire journey.”

“When I received a scholarship from the educational foundation, it was one less worry, one less pressure and one less constraint for my own goals for college,” said Ly, a first-generation college graduate in his immediate family.

At Germanna, Ly received the Willis Clyde Locker Scholarship and was one of three students selected to speak during the education foundation’s annual dinner last fall.

“He was there to talk to our investors about the importance of scholarships for students and how they transform lives,” said Mike Catell, director of foundation and alumni relations for Germanna.

Ly is a full-time student at George Mason University, working on a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. His ultimate goal is to earn his doctorate degree.

Germanna president recognizes five employees with $1,000 gift

Germanna Community College’s Learning Day on Tuesday also proved to be a day of surprises for five employees.

To acknowledge their hard work, GCC President David A. Sam presented $1,000 ceremonial checks to the recipients of the President’s Recognition of Excellence awards.

“One of our strategic initiatives is to invest in people, and it’s personally important to me because of my memories of working in organizations in the private sector and not always feeling particularly appreciated,” Sam said. “I would like to do everything that I can with our systems to continue to appreciate you in many ways.”

The Germanna honorees included:

Donna Alexander, a part-time employee in the tutoring center

Bonnie Dixon, a part-time nursing adjunct professional

Don Frank, a full-time business instructor

Martha O’Keefe, a full-time administrative employee in the Workforce Center

Tina Parker, a full-time employee in the technical services department

Parker, the last person called during Tuesday’s ceremony, was overwhelmed with emotion, crying tears of joy as she walked toward the front of the room.

Nominated by their peers, the names of the nominees were submitted to a four-member committee for review. Sam evaluated all of the finalists, making the ultimate choice.

“It was a very tough decision,” he said. “But we have decided that these are people who represent the best of who we are.”

Following the recognition ceremony, Frank made an announcement of his own.

He promised to donate his $1,000 gift to the “Bruce and Sandy Davis Annual Fund Challenge Campaign” in which the Davises will match that amount up to $100,000 to help raise money for scholarships.

“You just cost me $1,000,” Bruce Davis jokingly said to Frank.