AT&T Honored with Tri-County Technical College Foundation’s Philanthropist of the Year Award
November 28, 2011
PENDLETON, SC – November 23, 2011 – AT&T is the 2011 recipient of the Tri-County Technical College Foundation’s Philanthropist of the Year award. This is the Foundation’s highest and most prestigious honor reserved for individuals, foundations, companies, trusts, organizations, or other entities that have made a significant financial contribution, either cash or non-cash, to the Foundation to support the work of the College.
The company was honored November 17 at a meeting of the College’s Foundation Board.
Jane Sosebee, AT&T’s legislative director for the State of South Carolina and a former member of Tri-County’s Foundation Board, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
Jim Evers, regional director for external affairs for AT&T, said, To be included in the same company as past recipients of this award is a tremendous honor. The College has an extraordinary impact on the lives of its students and their families. We are pleased to have the opportunity to support those efforts and to join with the College and the Foundation in working to make a difference in the tri-county region.
“AT&T has been a tremendous support to this Foundation over the years,” said Foundation Chairman David Wakefield. “The company recognizes that an educated workforce is critical to the success of its company but also to the success of our nation. As a proponent of students worldwide, AT&T has made education a priority through its philanthropic giving program. As a result Tri-County and its students have benefitted.”
Historically, AT& T’s focus has been to support projects and collaborative efforts designed to strengthen communities through the advancement of education.
This focus led AT&T to make its first gift to the Tri-County Technical College Foundation in 1996 to fund the AT&T Instructional Excellence Endowment, an endowment focused on supporting the professional development needs of faculty and staff through the College’s mini-grant program. In 2009 The AT&T Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AT&T Inc., awarded the College a $100,000 grant to support the Gateway to College program — an initiative that is designed to serve at-risk students and recent high school dropouts in Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. The purpose of Gateway to College is to serve the needs of students who recently have dropped out of high school or who have the academic capability but are struggling in a traditional high school environment
The following year, AT&T made a $50,000 donation to Tri-County in support of economic and community development, one of the four initiatives of the College Foundation’s Major Gifts Campaign. The money supports small businesses through the College’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.
Most recently the company sponsored the College’s 2011 Fall Classic Golf tournament.
Over the past 15 years AT&T has made consistent gifts, totaling more than $211,000, to the Foundation. The company is a member of the College’s prestigious Wall of Honor, which is reserved for donors who have contributed $100,000 or more cumulatively.
“AT&T is the kind of community citizen that sets an example for others,” said Dr. Ronnie L. Booth, president of Tri-County. “Further, AT&T understands the important role of technology in education. The company’s gifts are a long-term investment in the lives of students in our community and ultimately, the community as a whole. We are grateful for their generosity and support,” said Dr. Booth.
