Dinner & Auction raises $600,000-plus for student scholarships
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Sponsored by Lycoming Engines, the event began with a silent auction reception hosted in the Center for Career Design – a space and operation comprising the Penn College Foundation, Alumni Relations, Career Services, Corporate Relations and Donor Relations – where collaboration bolsters opportunities for students, alumni and industry partners.
A total of 49 items (25 silent auction and 24 live auction) were auctioned, including items made or donated by students, alumni and current or retired faculty. Ron Roan, of Roan Inc. Auctioneers & Appraisers, donated professional services, as he has done for many years.
In addition to proceeds from the auction items, the Cunningham Family personally announced a significant pledge during the event to the Legacy Campaign for Penn College in honor of President Davie Jane Gilmour, who has announced she will retire in June 2022. The gift recognizes the family’s long-standing connection – all eight of the siblings attended Penn College or its predecessor, and four served as employees of the college – to the institution and to Gilmour.
At the conclusion of the live auction, Penn College advocate and longtime supporter Frank Pellegrino invited the community to join him to help endow the recently created Don E. Waltman Memorial Scholarship. Dozens of community members and businesses united in support, including Larry and Stefanie Allison, who recently purchased Don Waltman’s Market House Meats & Deli and announced their plan to reopen it in early 2022.
Support for the memorial scholarship was overwhelming, resulting in more than $200,000 of additional commitments.
“The strength of community and the value of an applied technology education was clearly affirmed through the generosity of our loyal advocates,” Gilmour said of the event. “Scholarship funding creates access and transforms lives. Hundreds of students will benefit from the generosity that was demonstrated at the Dinner and Auction. It was overwhelming and inspiring, a night that I will never forget and always cherish. On behalf of our hardworking, innovative students, I share my heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to this meaningful event.”
The Foundation Dinner & Auction sponsors are:
Event Sponsor
Lycoming Engines
Dinner Sponsors
Chief Oil & Gas
Larson Design Group
Reception Sponsors
First National Bank of Pennsylvania
The Mattie Family
McCormick Law Firm
Wine Wall
Ed and Linda Alberts
Chief Oil & Gas
The Kiessling Family
Silent Auction
Aubrey Alexander ’09
Jay and Juli Alexander
Herman Logue
Table Sponsors
Ed and Linda Alberts, C&N, Al and Jane Clapps, the Cunningham Family, Fish Real Estate, Fulton Bank, The Hartman Group, Jersey Shore State Bank, the Klingerman Family, Herman Logue, Lycoming Engines, the Mattie Family, McCormick Law Firm, Frank Pellegrino, Pennsylvania Skill by Miele Manufacturing, Joe and Barbara Reynolds, Marshall Welch III, Woodlands Bank, and John and Sue Young.
Item Donors
Ed and Linda Alberts; Stefanie Allison; Alfreda Baer; Matthew Blose ’19; Blue Line Chauffeur; Raffaele Colone ’00; John ’75 and Linda Confer; ConCreate Design Club; Jim and Nikki Crawford; Joseph DiBucci ’20; Elite Feet Inc.; EuroOptic; Bill Geyer; Davie Jane Gilmour; Fred Gilmour ’66, ’72; Whitnie-Rae Haldman ’14; Jule Hanford; The Hartman Group; Hershey Antique Automobile Club of America Museum; Doug and Loni Kline; Dan and Monica Klingerman; George Logue III ’10; Amy Messersmith; Frank Pellegrino; Penn College Construction Association; Pneu Dart Inc.; Jeff Rauff; Joe ’76 and Barbara ‘95 Reynolds; Dave and Maggie Roche; Karen Ruhl ’02; Paul and Tacie Rooney; Bob Bailey and Carol Savoy ’73; Kyle and Jordyn Smith; Blair Soars; Mark and Connie Sitler; Steve Sleboda; Albert and Judith Styrcula; Susquehanna Gallery and Frame Shoppe; Jeremy Thorne ’13; Ron ‘85 and June Wright; John and Sue Young; David and Karen Young; and Jody Odell Zimmerman.
Auction Committee Members
Linda Alberts, Alfreda Baer, John Confer, Brent Fish, Chris Gayman, Jonah Howe, Ray Mattie, Joe Reynolds, John Young and Karen Young.
Penn College is a national leader in applied technology education. For more, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.
– Photos by Becky J. Shaner, senior manager of donor relations and special events
A modern concrete coffee table created by construction alumni Joseph F. DiBucci, '18 and ’20, and Matthew E. Blose, ’19, features exposed river-gravel veining and a maple-and-walnut base.
Raffaele M. Colone, owner of Woodrich and a 2000 graduate in forest technology, donated this handcrafted serving board.
A seasonal arrangement frames a card denoting Fish Real Estate as that table's sponsor. The centerpieces were created by Karen R. Ruhl and her floral design students.
Surveying technology alumna Madison L. Kistler, of Kutztown, pursuing additional degrees in applied technology studies and concrete science technology, explains the ConCreate Design Club's fire ring contribution to the crowd.
Lizeth V. Reyes-Becerra, of Erie, a building construction technology student and member of the Penn College Construction Association, stands in front of an outdoor bench created by the organization for the silent auction.
Roan's experienced eye acknowledges another bidder in the crowd.