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Issue date: 8/22/07 Section: News

Philanthropist strikes again!

Gale Lemerand, a longtime supporter of the college and a successful Volusia County entrepreneur, is providing a $300,000 endowment to the DBCC Foundation. The contribution is eligible for state matching funds and will increase based on the final use of the funds. The endowment will be used to form the "L. Gale Lemerand Center for Entrepreneurship." A major component of the Center will be the establishment of a Distinguished Entrepreneur Speaker Series supporting DBCC's comprehensive educational programs.

Lemerand's contribution will bring to Daytona Beach a series of nationally recognized leaders in industry and government to inspire and educate students, faculty, staff and all residents of Volusia and Flagler counties. The focus will be to encourage opportunities for leadership and public service to students and local businesses, to help develop an understanding and appreciation for our free enterprise system, and to motivate participants to strive for personal success in their lives.

DBCC is also unveiling its comprehensive entrepreneurship educational programs, which begin with workshops offered by the DBCC Small Business Development Center in areas such as business plan development, marketing, finance and staffing.

Additionally, DBCC's Center for Business and Industry will be offering continuing education courses to serve the ongoing needs of entrepreneurs in our community. For information contact: Mitch Pietras, (386) 506-3515 or Ned Harper, (386) 405-3579

DBCC prepares for budget cutbacks

President Kent Sharples announced in August a number of strategies aimed at addressing a potential state budget cutback of between $2 to $5 million this year. That figure will be finalized during the special legislative session in September, but the College is already preparing for cutbacks by freezing many open positions to save money.

Those positions include 13 jobs in the Facilities Services Division, including nine custodial vacancies. Because of that, DBCC is not able to maintain its former response time to work orders and is asking faculty and other employees to take up the slack by emptying their own trash cans at day's end.

Custodial staff is placing its emphasis on classrooms and lavatories. Office space will be cleaned on an "as needed" basis. The college purchased large containers and placed them in key locations for all to dispose of their daily refuse. The custodial staff will monitor the large containers for disposal.

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