Gifts help FVCC to keep getting better

As we consider the Flathead’s finest amenities, Flathead Valley Community College ranks right at the top. Our community college has impressed us in recent years with its well-planned expansion and ability to develop curriculum programs to meet the needs of local businesses.

Two recent legacy gifts to FVCC assure a bright future for the growing institution.

Earlier this month we learned that the late Thain and Fay White left $2.4 million to the college foundation to establish a permanent endowment for FVCC. The Whites were longtime Flathead Valley residents. Thain died in 1999 and Fay died in October 2012.

Both Thain and Fay valued education. He was a self-taught historian, archaeologist and naturalist; she had many interests such as world events, politics and history and in her later years took classes at FVCC.

The Whites’ bequest will have a lasting impact on the college for years to come, and we look forward to the foundation and college officials working together to maximize this generous gift.

A second generous gift to FVCC has taken shape in recent months. The new $5.75 million Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing and Health Sciences on the south end of the campus is nearly complete. Health and science programs will move in the first week of April, and a grand opening is planned April 30.

The Broussard family, owners of Rebecca Farm, gave $4 million to FVCC in mid-2011 to build the nursing and health education facility as a tribute to the late Becky Broussard. The gift recognizes Becky’s extraordinary life as a nurse, philanthropist and major figure in the world of equestrian eventing.

The donation was the largest gift ever given to the college. With community fundraising chipping in close to $1.4 million the college was able to break ground a year ago on the building, the first on campus built entirely with private dollars.

The Broussard family’s giving goes back even further, though. In 2003 they provided a scholarship endowment that has grown to $1.2 million.

Philanthropy of any kind is a special gift to a community, but bequests that bolster our education system are the kinds of gifts that keep on giving.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.