Congratulations to Bill and Gloria Kaufmann
By Diane Macdonald
At a recent awards ceremony, Bill and Gloria Kaufmann were awarded the Sharon Carry Community Leadership Award by Bow Valley College. Sharon Carry was the first President and CEO of Bow Valley College and interestingly, a former member of our Rotary Club. Bill, who was our Club President in 1987/88 and also an Assistant District Governor, has shared with us the story of his involvement with Bow Valley College.
The Sharon Carry Community Leadership Award is given annually to recognize individuals for their demonstrated support for Bow Valley College. The terms of Reference for the award are:
- Must show commitment of support for Bow Valley College as a volunteer, ambassador and/or donor
- Must have an impact on education and/or in our community
- Must demonstrates leadership and success in business or industry
Congratulations Bill and Gloria – such well- deserved recognition!
As background information, Bow Valley College came into being in 1965 as the Alberta Vocational Centre, providing academic upgrading and business education to adults who hadn’t gone far enough in school to enrol in trades programs. In the late 1990s, the government of Alberta decided that the school would become a Board-Governed institution and changed the name to Bow Valley College. The Principal of the school at that time, contacted Bill for assistance in searching for a Chairman of the Board. Bill suggested John Currie, who was subsequently appointed Chairman. In Bill’s words, “A few years later, John came “knocking on my door”, twisting my arm to be a member of the Bow Valley Board….which I did, partly out of loyalty to John, but mainly because of my interest in education and the particular role that community colleges play. I found the Board, student and staff relationships to be more personal and empathetic than that at traditional university institutions.”
Bill describes the students at BVC as “folks of all ages who are trying to establish themselves on the first rung of gaining employment”. They may be new immigrants who want to improve their English, Indigenous folks who want to improve their lot in life, or those of a more mature age who, in their earlier life got “off the rails” and are now working to better their education and gain more meaningful employment. As Bill says, “Human interest stories abound!”.
Bill also mentions that the College did a major rebuilding of their original building on 6th Ave. and he chaired the Building Committee for two years during that time. Once those renovations were complete, they constructed a new building across the street. These buildings constitute the current campus.
Following Bill’s tenure on the Board, (in Bill’s words again), “Gloria and I were so impressed with the role Bow Valley played in providing the education to those less fortunate that we retained contact both financially and otherwise, providing bursaries for many students.” Of note, three rooms are named after Bill and Gloria on the 6th floor of the north (original) campus building.
To view an article from the College and a picture, please click on this link:
