From right to left, Wendy Moser, Betty White and Debbie Cave represent nursing programs at Surry Community College. They were saluted for their hard work in making the program a success during the SCC Board of Trustee’s meeting Monday afternoon at the college.
Curtis Workman, physical facilities director, told the board that Blue Ridge Enterprises of Mount Airy had the winning bid for construction of the center at $3,584,000, which came in $600,000 under budget. All in all, 19 contractor submitted bids.
The board unanimously accepted the Blue Ridge Enterprises bid. Chairperson Gene Rees told SCC President Deborah Friedman to go ahead and send the information to the state construction office.
Dr. George Sappenfield, vice president of corporate and continuing education, said that they would be inviting everyone from President Barack Obama down the line to the event on May 1. He said that Gov. Bev Perdue would also be invited, along with other state and local officials.
Workman, who was standing in for Susan Pendergraft, vice president of administrative services, also told the board that he learned in recent meetings that the vision committee thought the building was not going to be big enough.
He also said Surry County School’s Superintendent Ashley Henson who told him how important the college’s new auditorium will be to the county. The auditorium is part of the viticulture building project. “He said it was one of the biggest needs in Surry County. It’s important for cultural uses,” Workman said.
He proposed that the auditorium be expanded to seat between 1,200 and 1,500 instead of the proposed seating, which stands at less than 1,000.
In other matters, the board heard from Marion Venable, executive director SCC foundation/coordinator of grants, who announced that Surry Community College had received $800,000 from the Golden LEAF Foundation to expand learning centers in both Pilot Mountain and Elkin.
“We are thrilled. The call came on March 5 that we got the $800,000,” she said, which was just shy of the $834,000 the college was asking.
Dan Stone, who represents Pilot Mountain on the board, expressed his thoughts on the grant from Golden LEAF Foundation.
“Our staff did a wonderful job putting this together. It really shows you what the college is all about. When it gets up and running it’s going to be a great thing. Pilot Mountain and Elkin are really just completing the circle. This is probably the first true county effort. There are so many things we can offer. I talked with the principal at East Surry and he said we could put those kids on a bus and get them down there. This will keep a lot of kids off the roads, which will be one less worry,” Stone said.
Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.
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