Seward County Community College continues to receive support for its capital campaign projects.
Black Hills Energy Foundation, affiliated with the local gas utility in Seward County, presented the college with a check for $25,000 to use for the construction of the Colvin Family Center for Allied Health.
The SCCC Foundation applied for the grant from Black Hills Energy Foundation last year and was awarded the funds.
Dennis Rohrbaugh, BHE’s gas operations manager for Southwest Kansas, said the company is always trying to contribute to its service area.
“It goes through a committee,” Rohrbaugh said of the grant process. “They look at what the project is and what it means to the community and if it fits what we’re trying to accomplish from a community perspective. We want to help grow and develop the communities that we serve.”
SCCC Board Member Casey Mein and SCCC President Ken Trzaska were extremely appreciative of the grant, but were just as gratified that it came from a long-standing, local partner like Black Hills Energy.
“Anytime a local business partner can help with building our institution out here, it’s fantastic,” Mein said. “We, as a board, are more than appreciative to companies or anybody that can help us build the type of institution we want this place to be. We can’t thank Black Hills enough.”
Trzaska added, “It’s very rewarding as a campus and as a leader to have local companies reinvest into the institution to help us move forward with our vision and direction. This is truly an honor to receive this donation to support the good work that we’re doing. We look forward to continuing to build and grow the relationship with Black Hills Energy and we’re just grateful to them having confidence in the work we do and reinvesting those dollars into the institution for the betterment of our students and the community.”
Construction for the Colvin Family Center for Allied Health began late last year, following November’s unanimous board approval of a $4.2 million contract. Coonrod & Associates offered a construction budget of $4,156,433.00, with a contingency for change orders of $103,911.00, totaling to a contract sum of $4,260,344.00.
The project should wrap up in summer 2019
