Golfers tee off at the Williamsport Country Club during the Pennsylvania College of Technology Foundation Golf Classic, which raised over $100,000 for student scholarships. Providing a patriotic backdrop for the pre-Independence Day event is a U.S. flag, hoisted by equipment provided by Allison Crane & Rigging.
The Penn College Foundation’s 39th Annual Golf Classic, held June 23 at the Williamsport Country Club, raised $106,900 for student scholarships.
The Penn College Foundation Golf Classic Scholarship Fund exceeds $2.3 million. Proceeds from the Golf Classic – along with accumulated investment income – created the endowed scholarship fund, one of the foundation’s largest.
“For more than 20 years, I have witnessed the direct impact scholarship funding has in the lives of Penn College students: students who are hard-working, innovative and kind – qualities valued by those of us who seek to enhance the industries we serve and the communities where we live,” said Linda K. Alberts, Penn College Foundation Board chair and a member of the Golf Classic Committee, during a pre-tournament lunch.
Awards for the best-ball tournament were presented at a dinner for players and their guests in the hangar at the college’s Kathryn Wentzel Lumley Aviation Center, where attendees heard from Lauren D. Peck, an aviation maintenance technology student from South Williamsport who has received several Penn College scholarships.
Scholarship recipient Lauren D. Peck shares her Penn College experience and the impact scholarship support as had in designing the career of her dreams: a Combat Systems Officer in the Air Force. A member of the Air National Guard, she was recently deployed to Africa, where her duties included programming aircraft radios and loading cryptographic keys for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
“As I am ready to start my senior year, I am amazed by the journey I have taken and how far I have come,” the tennis player and Air National Guard member told attendees. “I started down this path without any mechanical background, and today, I proudly have an associate degree in aviation technology. I am a fully certified aircraft mechanic, a lab assistant in the school’s hangar, and this summer, I am interning with Corning Incorporated’s Aviation Department.”
She praised her instructors, who she called true mentors, and thanked scholarship supporters for the role they have had in her success.
“Through my military service and scholarship funding, 100% of my college tuition has been covered," she said. "The generosity of donors has taken a huge weight off my shoulders, allowing me to fully focus on my education, excel as a student-athlete on the tennis team, and lessen my post-graduation debt. The support has allowed me to thrive and explore my passions and has prepared me for a future where I can hopefully contribute meaningfully to the aviation industry.”
“On behalf of Penn College and the Golf Classic Committee, we are so appreciative of the support of our community and corporate partners over the past 39 years,” said Kyle A. Smith, senior executive director of college relations. “The event continues to provide critical support for our hardworking students, like Lauren, as they work toward their degrees and transform their futures, their industries and their communities.”
Title sponsor for the 39th Annual Golf Classic was Compass Group North America.
One of two Compass Group teams. The endowed scholarship sponsor was also Title Sponsor for the Golf Classic.
Compass, a hospitality industry leader, has established an endowed scholarship at the college. The company is a Penn College Corporate Tomorrow Maker and a member of the Visionary Society on the college’s Donor Wall. Through Compass Group, dozens of Penn College business and hospitality students gain invaluable hands-on experience working at the Kentucky Derby each year.
Other event sponsors were:
Tournament sponsor: Hudock Capital Group LLC.
Pro sponsors: Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., The Hartman Agency, Jersey Shore State Bank, M&T Bank and TurnKey Electric Inc.
Hospitality sponsors: Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management, Ken & Kristie Healy Foundation, The Liberty Group, and Young Industries Inc.
Gift sponsors: BRIX Design Group; Eastern Alliance Insurance Group; Real Estate Excel, A Girio Realty Co.; Susquehanna Trailways; Wayne Twp. Landfill; and Woodlands Bank.
Closest-to-the-Pin Awards: Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships, Fairfield Auto Group, and Mark and Connie Sitler.
Penn College Foundation Golf Classic Committee members coordinating this year’s event were Linda Alberts, Aubrey Alexander, Larry Allison Jr., John Confer, George Girio, Ken Healy, Michael Hudock Jr., Christopher Keiser, Allen Kiessling, Rick Quigley, Paul Rooney, Mark Sitler and Blair Soars.
For more about giving opportunities at Penn College, call 570-320-8020 or visit www.pct.edu/give.
For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education and a special mission affiliate of Penn State, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
Getting a feel for students’ hands-on education, Aubrey Alexander '09 tries out a welding simulator.
The ‘future welder,’ a member of the Golf Classic Committee, joins the Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships team. The dealerships were a Closest-to-the-Pin Award sponsor.
Jon A. Nichols, Penn College’s vice president for finance/CFO, takes a swing.
Emergency Management & Homeland Security students, joined by instructor Will Schlosser (second from right) talk with players.
A foursome from Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management, a Hospitality Sponsor for the Golf Classic.
Foundation Board member John Confer '75 (right) hangs out with the Baja team. Team members attended the classic to show off the vehicle they designed and produced in the college’s labs. The team recently finished in the Top 10 in an endurance challenge at a Baja SAE competition.
A golfer shares a laugh with Penn College President Michael J. Reed.
With 'sunshine on their shoulders' and smiles on their faces, golfers represent the Kiessling Group.
Moira Olexa, Little League marketing account executive, in action …
… and with her Little League International teammates.
Ray Wheeland tries his hand at the welding simulator …
… then adds a little fun for the team photo. The team comprised Ian Plankenhorn, account executive for the Hartman Group; Wheeland, CEO/vice president and international sales at Wheeland Lumber; Ken Healy ’01, executive vice president and director of engineering for PMF Industries Inc.; and Mark Sitler, vice president of the Hartman Group.
A display at the college’s hangar, where the Golf Classic dinner was held, honors the steadfast partnership of Lycoming Engines.
The blue-and-white paint job on a Cessna 175C is the work of an aviation student.
Another student project: Among the automotive restoration students who helped restore a 1948 Tucker is Ty Tucker, the great-great-grandson of Preston Tucker, the legendary automotive figure who created the vehicle. The car received “Best in Class” at Moda Miami, one of the world’s premier car events.
Event trophies, designed and produced by Bryan C. Schaefer, CNC machining and automation. Retired faculty member Bill Geyer crafted the trophies’ wooden bases.
Reed thanks participants and introduces them to the student projects on display in the college’s Aviation Center hangar. “We are always mapping out new ways to place students in the best possible position for long-term success," he told attendees earlier in the day. "With that said, we know we cannot do this alone, we are so grateful for the more 4,000 corporate partnerships we have across the nation and to all of you in this room for your support of our students today, and all throughout their educational journeys.”
David Coates, PGA professional and Williamsport Country Club golf pro, announces winners.
Cory Smith from Expand Energy accepts the award for First Place Individual Gross, with a score of 66.
Peck, the event's student speaker, is joined by her parents, Matthew Peck and Amy Horning. Her father is a 1988 graduate in electronics technology: fiber optic/communication emphasis.