FSCC Endowment Dinner; Nearly 250 people attend annual banquet

FSCC Director of Development and Alumni Relations Gary Palmer, endowed scholarship scholar Taylor Bailey and keynote speaker Daryl Roller, former FSCC director of development, business and industry pose for a photo at the FSCC Endowment Dinner.(Submitted Photo)

The 29th annual Fort Scott Community College Endowed Scholarship Dinner was hosted by the FSCC Endowment Association Nov. 15 at the Fort Scott Armory.

Nearly 250 people attended the banquet, which serves as a unique opportunity for donors, who establish endowed scholarships, to be paired with and meet the scholarship student recipients, a news release said.

The evening included a meal of white fish with shrimp and broccoli sauce, braised beef tips, rice pilaf, country style green beans and carrots, tossed salad with dressing, dinner rolls with butter and various flavors of cream pie for dessert.

Nearly 250 people attend the banquet, hosted by the FSCC Endowment Association, on Nov. 15 at the former National Guard Armory.(Submitted Photo)

While donors and students had time to converse over dinner, former FSCC student Ryan Goodbody provided live dinner music on the piano. A multimedia presentation highlighted each donor, their legacy and the students who received the respective scholarships throughout the evening.

Director of Development and Alumni Relations Gary Palmer welcomed the crowd.

He read a note from Fort Scott Community College President Clayton Tatro that expressed his regret for missing the special evening for a grant conference in Washington D.C.

He wished to thank the donors for their selfless giving and the students for being good representatives of FSCC.

FSCC Board of Trustees member and Alumni and Friends President Robert Nelson gave the invocation.

Director of Admissions Mert Barrows selected Taylor Bailey, FSCC student, to represent the student perspective as an endowed scholarship scholar. Bailey expressed heartfelt thanks as she told many stories about donors she shared special moments with throughout the years. Now she is the recipient of many of those same donors' scholarships.

Keitha Bohlander, Carolyn Sinn, Gloria Key, Carol Dikeman and Olive Sample were all mentioned in her speech. Taylor had a personal story about most of them to share with the audience.

Palmer introduced former FSCC Director of Development and Business and Industry Daryl Roller as keynote speaker, who shared stories about various donors, their legacy and what they mean to FSCC, and more importantly the students, the release said.

He also shared a few paragraphs of a short story that an English instructor had FSCC students study, that highlights the human potential.

Palmer concluded the evening by recognizing nearly 160 endowed scholarship recipients and promote the legacy that endowed donors may preserve by choosing to endow a scholarship in someone's honor.

Palmer offered some thoughts about thinking progressively and how progressive thinkers have been making decisions and contributions since 1919 to make Fort Scott Community College what it is today.