Hopkinsville Community College will be purchasing new professional program equipment and supplies thanks to the single largest donation to its Foundation. Friday morning, HCC President Dr. Alissa Young announced to a group of faculty, staff, and stakeholders the $400,000 gift from Diane and Steve Thomas.
Dr. Young adds the professional and technical programs are an area that continue to grow at HCC with programs like Work-Ready and HopFAME.
That the gift is from Diane Thomas is heartwarming for the head of the college.
Dr. Young says anyone can donate at any time to the foundation.
That means this gift will bring nearly a million dollars to support the professional and technical programs at HCC. The gift does include several opportunities for naming rights, which will allow Diane and Steve to be remembered for years to come.
Other notes from HCC:
+ Gifts to HCC or the HCC Foundation of at least $50,000 are eligible to be matched through the KCTCS Match Program. This will allow the endowment gift to double over time.
+ “This gift is more than just a donation – it’s a thank you. A thank you to a place that has changed lives, opened doors, and uplifted countless people, including myself. It is more than just dollars. It is a thank you for the role HCC has played in shaping this community. It is a way to pay forward to help ensure that more students can walk these halls, chase their goals, and write their own success stories.” — Diane Thomas
+ The generous gift also includes three naming opportunities for spaces on HCC’s campus. The Academic Building, affectionately called the Blue Building, will house the Steve and Diane Thomas Student Lounge and the Andy “Little Britches” Thomas Conference Room named to honor a beloved family pet. The Technology Center will house the Steve and Diane Thomas SMART Lab, a reimagined two-story lab that will have space for a variety of technical programs. The spaces are currently under renovation, but the college will have open houses once construction is complete.
+ Steve Thomas, a native of Trigg County, enjoyed a career as a truck driver with Agri Alliance in Hopkinsville before retiring in 2007. These days, he spends his time bass fishing on Barkley and Kentucky Lakes. Diane Thomas, originally from Richmond, Virginia, relocated to Kentucky in 1968. She retired from Martinrea Hopkinsville in 2012 and Freudenberg Filtrations Technologies in 2017. Since July 2018, she has been a faculty member at HCC, where she currently serves as the business program coordinator and associate professor of accounting.
+ To give to the Steve and Diane Thomas Endowment Fund or establish a new endowment, call (270) 707-3732 or email rena.young@kctcs.edu.
