By JUDY JENKINS, The Gleaner

Henderson Community College's year-old "Fulfilling the Promise" fund-raising campaign received a significant boost Tuesday with the donation of $100,000 from Ohio Valley National Bank and $75,000 from the local Preston Family Foundation.

Thanks to a matching gift opportunity that was part of a Title III federal grant obtained by the college earlier this year, the two contributions are expected to be matched by federal funds.

Lisa Piccolo, HCC chief institutional advancement officer, said the OVNB and Preston Family donations are earmarked for the campaign's Student Scholarship Endowment, and that designation qualifies them for matching federal money. There is, she said, a $360,000 ceiling on those matching funds.

Scott Davis, campaign chairman as well as a representative of the bank and the Preston Family Foundation, said the two contributions and their federal matches bring the campaign total to about $1.1 million thus far and the effort is still in its initial stages.

The campaign, which was launched in October, 2003, does not yet have an announced pledge goal. Piccolo said this week that "We're still in the lead gift phase, and need to get through this phase before determining a goal."

Pledges will be paid over a six-year period in the campaign which is expected to be completed in mid-2005.

"Fulfilling the Promise" is a project for all of the Kentucky Community and Technical College institutions. Each school is conducting its own campaign and is establishing its own individual goal.

KCTCS President Michael McCall said the campaign has statewide initiatives that "will fulfill the promise of a brighter future for all Kentuckians, enhance economic development and community growth, and enhance Kentucky's emergence as a global economic powerhouse in the 21st Century."

Locally, there are three campaign objectives:

- A campus Child Development Center, intended to be a state-of-the-art facility that will meet the needs of students with children, employees of local business and industry, and the community at large. It also will provide a learning environment for students pursuing education studies.

- Technology Infrastructure Advancement, which will allow the college to remain current with today's rapid changes in technology via cutting-edge equipment and well-trained faculty.

- Student Access/Student Success programs and scholarship endowment to meet the needs of an ever-growing enrollment.

Davis pointed out Tuesday that the campaign "is an important undertaking for the college" which not only has received no new state money for its programs in recent years but also has had to deal with budget cuts. "As a community, we need to be supportive of an institution that educates our workforce," he said, adding that HCC provides numerous two-year programs and also allows traditional students to receive their first two years of college here.

Davis, who is vice chairman of the OVNB Board of Directors and administrative manager of the Preston Family Foundation, said it's essential that HCC "be able to address continuing enrollment trends and serve students with quality, state-of-the-art education."

HCC President Patrick Lake noted that the bank and the Preston Family Foundation have been long-standing supporters of the college and have set an example for others in the community.

"We are grateful for their generosity and leadership."