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Drake,
Tribe receive national award
In
a gala ceremony last month in Washington
D.C., Drake Enterprises and the Eastern
Band of Cherokee were recognized by
the Council for Resource Development
with the prestigious 2006 National
Benefactor of the Year Award.
This award recognizes those benefactors
who have made significant contribution
to a local community/two-year college.
Drake
Enterprises and the Eastern
Band of Cherokee were recognized
by the Council for Resource
Development with the prestigious
2006 National Benefactor of
the Year Award for their contribution
to Southwestern Community College.
From left are SCC President
Cecil Groves, Principal Chief
Michell Hicks and Drake Enterprises
Founder and Chairman Phil Drake.
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The two shared the award for their
combined commitment to support the
region’s access to world-class
education and training resources.
They have done this, in part, by providing
Southwestern Community College with
a portion of a high-performance telecommunication
fiber-optic network they recently
deployed in far western North Carolina,
upstate Georgia and eastern Tennessee.
"The Council for Resource Development
Benefactor Award recognizes individuals,
foundations, or businesses/corporations
for outstanding contributions to community
colleges,” Polly Binns, executive
director of CRD, said at the Capitol
Hill ceremony attended by more than
750 people. “These two benefactors’
commitment to Southwestern truly embodies
the ideals of philanthropy, leadership,
and volunteerism in the service of
community, technical, and junior colleges.”
In 2003, Phil Drake of Drake Enterprises
and Principal Chief Michel Hicks of
the Eastern Band, with the help of
Southwestern, formed BalsamWest FiberNET
to address a serious lack of affordable
advanced high-speed broadband telecommunications
access in the region. Spanning more
than 250 miles, this fiber-optic network
has enabled BWFN to become a leading
provider of enterprise broadband services
in the region. Without such access,
BWFN founders felt economic development,
good jobs and the delivery of quality
health and educational services would
be hampered.
In recognition of Southwestern Community
College’s advocacy, counsel
and assistance over a six -year period,
Drake Enterprises and the Eastern
Band of Cherokee chose to acknowledge
and support the college through their
generous gift.
"We are most grateful to Southwestern
for their leadership and support in
helping develop this critical infrastructure
resource for our region,” said
Chief Hicks. “We are pleased
to be a part of this effort which
promises to greatly improve the quality
of life for our Tribal members, as
well as all persons living in the
area. There is no more important investment
that we can make than in the education
and training of our children and in
providing access to a world-class
education for all citizens.”
With the new infrastructure, Hicks
emphasized that, “the network
will greatly enrich the Tribe’s
new fine arts initiative developed
in cooperation with Southwestern Community
College and Western Carolina University.
Utilizing this advanced telecommunication
infrastructure, the new Fine Arts
Institute will offer students the
unique opportunity to have live access
to national and international services
and resources.”
Drake, founder and chairman of Drake
Enterprises, said, “From a business
perspective, I appreciate the entrepreneurial
spirit, technology know-how and public
service commitment of Southwestern
in helping bring to reality this critical
21st century telecommunication resource
for our region. In our desire to make
life better for ourselves, our children,
and the generations to follow, I believe
this network that Southwestern helped
create is fundamental to making that
happen.”
With the new infrastructure, Tim Hubbs,
president of Drake Enterprises, said,
“Our region can access the tools
it needs to educate and train the
workforce of the future, support advances
in health care, improve the ability
of local businesses to succeed and
create opportunities to generate good
jobs for the future. Students attending
the new SCC Macon Campus and those
participating in the Early College
program will have access to this resource-rich
learning environment.”
The state-of-the-art fiber optic telecommunications
network is the largest contribution
the college has ever received, according
to SCC President Cecil Groves.
"You can’t put a dollar
figure on a priceless gift like this,”
Groves said at the awards ceremony.
"This positions Southwestern
as the first college nationally to
own and operate such an extensive
21st century telecommunications network
dedicated exclusively for the use
of our students, faculty and staff.
“With this unbelievable asset,
Southwestern is positioned to become
a national leader in technology-enhanced
learning and the teaching of highly
advanced technical skills needed for
employment in the 21st century,”
Groves said, adding, “This new
resource is fundamental to achieving
the prosperous and rewarding future
we all desire for ourselves and our
children.”
The Council for Resource Development,
which presented the award to Drake
Enterprises and the Eastern Band of
the Cherokee, is an affiliate of the
American Association of Community
Colleges. The organizations serve
more than 1200 community colleges
across the country – who, in
turn, provide education to nearly
half of all undergraduates in the
United States.
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