Pictured here with VCCS Chancellor Glenn DuBois are representatives of Highlands Community Bank (HCB) and DSLCC. From Left to Right: David Oliver, Board of Directors, HCB; Chancellor DuBois; Elaine Nelson, President, DSLCC Educational Foundation Board; Nick Moga, Chairman of the Board, HCB and DSLCC Educational Foundation Board member; Sally Gilbert, Senior Vice President, HCB; Jim Garcia, Board of Directors, HCB; Rachael Thompson, DSLCC Educational Foundation Executive Director; Bryan Thompson, President, CEO, and HCB Board of Directors; Dr. John Rainone, President, DSLCC.

Community College Philanthropists Honored with
 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy   Richmond, VA (April 20, 2016) - Highlands Community Bank of Covington, Virginia has earned the 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. The Bank was nominated for the award by Dabney S. Lancaster Community College and the DSLCC Educational Foundation. The award was given at a luncheon ceremony at the Country Club of Virginia on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Hosted by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, the 11th annual event honors leading philanthropists from each of Virginia’s 23 community colleges, as well as the statewide foundation. This year’s class of distinguished philanthropy leaders has contributed a combined total of more than $11 million dollars to Virginia’s Community Colleges. Highlands Community Bank has been a long-time supporter of DSLCC, having established an annual scholarship in 2005, only three years after the Bank’s inception in 2002. Since that time, Highlands Community Bank has provided a scholarship annually for full tuition to assist a deserving, graduating high school senior from the bank’s service area, who plans to enroll in the business curriculum at DSLCC. They have also been a sponsor of the DSLCC Educational Foundation’s biennial Bubbles, Bands and Brunch fundraiser since 2009. Most recently, Highlands Community Bank made its greatest show of support to date when it pledged an additional $50,000 to the major gifts campaign, “Imagine, Invest, Inspire – The Campaign for DSLCC.” The gift will continue the annual HCB Scholarship and support college advancement and new initiatives. The gift also includes a three-year pledge to continue as a benefactor of the DSLCC Educational Foundation’s biennial “Bubbles, Bands and Brunch” event. In honor of the bank’s avid support of DSLCC over the years, the Follet Bookstore Suite on the DSLCC Clifton Forge campus was named the Highlands Community Bank Bookstore this past fall. In addition, as the recipient of the 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy, the 2016 Commonwealth Legacy Award has been named in their honor. The Highlands Community Bank Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship has been awarded to Miss Michaela Miller, a 2016 graduate of Alleghany High School. She will be presented her scholarship award in May. In addition to helping community college students realize their dreams of continuing their education, keynote speaker Mike Petters, VFCCE board member and president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries, said donors also play a critical role in Virginia’s workforce development efforts. “By supporting the foundation, you support access, affordability, and student success at every one of Virginia’s Community Colleges across the state from Big Stone Gap in southwestern Virginia to Melfa on the Eastern Shore – and 21 community colleges in between.” Graciela Billingsley, this year’s Eva T. Hardy Commonwealth Scholarship Recipient, took to the podium to thank her benefactor. “This scholarship – you – have truly impacted my life because in continuing my higher education at Northern Virginia Community College, I will be able to continue to learn important course work that will be the foundation to my future.” * * * * * Recipients of the 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy: Blue Ridge Community College - Robert E. and Frances W. Plecker Family Central Virginia Community College - Andrew H. and Anne O. Easley Trust Dabney S. Lancaster Community College - Highlands Community Bank Danville Community College - Gene Haas Foundation Eastern Shore Community College - The Late Donald Trufant Germanna Community College - Adam and Rhonda Fried J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College - Steve Esbach John Tyler Community College - John Randolph Foundation Lord Fairfax Community College - Luray Caverns Corporation Mountain Empire Community College - Kline Foundation Board of Directors           New River Community College - Giles County Northern Virginia Community College - Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Patrick Henry Community College - Thomas P. Dalton Family Paul D. Camp Community College      - Hampton Roads Community Foundation and Dr. Deborah DiCroce Piedmont Virginia Community College - The Perry Foundation Rappahannock Community College - John and Susan Moore Southside Virginia Community College      - Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives Southwest Virginia Community College                The Gaynelle Lockhart Albert Family Thomas Nelson Community College                    Rotary Club of Newport News Tidewater Community College                    Barnes & Noble College Virginia Highlands Community College               Eastman Credit Union Virginia Western Community College               Optical Cable Corporation and                                    Neil D. Wilkin, Jr. Wytheville Community College     Robert “Tom” and Patty DuPuis Virginia Foundation for Community College Education     Eva T. Hardy

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