Heartland honors fourteen with
President’s Medallion
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[June 24, 2021]
Heartland Community College (HCC) has recognized fourteen
individuals for their integral role in expanding the College,
serving its students, and paving educational pathways for the larger
community.
The inaugural recipients of the HCC President’s Medallion Award were
honored on June 11, 2021, with eight of the fourteen being
Heartland’s Founding Board Members:
Vernon “Art” Adams
Founding Trustee, 1990-1993
Margaret Esposito
Founding Trustee, 1990-2003
Jim Pemberton
Founding Trustee, 1990-1995
Fred Ragsdale
Founding Trustee, 1990-1995
Sharon (Sullivan) Tarvin
Founding Trustee, 1990-2001
Roger Tuttle
Founding Trustee, 1990-2007
Jim White
Founding Trustee, 1990-2011
Cindy Brand
Trustee, 1991-2009
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This group was elected as the first leaders of Heartland Community
College in 1990, who helped build the foundation of what the College
is today, navigating a number of issues and demands to develop one
of the most successful community colleges in the state of Illinois.
Working from the humble origins of store fronts and church basements
to our campus today, none of HCC’s achievements and community
contributions would have been possible without this founding group’s
tireless efforts and extraordinary vision.
The following six individuals were also honored with Presidential
Medallions:
Willie Brown – Community Leader and Past Heartland Foundation
Board Member
Longtime Bloomington resident and State Farm executive, Willie Brown
has led numerous charitable and community improvement initiatives.
His work on the Heartland Community College Foundation Board in the
late 1990s and early 2000s helped to highlight the important work of
fundraising for local students. Under his leadership, the Foundation
expanded its scholarship offerings and connected with a number of
local philanthropists and businesses to create greater access to
higher education for hundreds of students.
Gregg Chadwick - Former Board of Trustees Chair
Gregg was a long-time member of the District 540 Board of Trustees.
First appointed in 2002, he was elected 4 more times and served as
both the Vice Chair (2007-2009) and Chair (2009-2020). Chadwick also
served as President of the Illinois Community College Trustees
Association (ICCTA) in 2020, after previously serving ICCTA as
Treasurer (2009-2010), Chair of the Government Relations and Public
Policy Committee (2017-2019), and Vice President (2019-2020). In
July of 2020, Gregg was awarded the Ray Hartstein Trustee
Achievement Award for exemplary service.
Alan Chapman - Former Foundation Board Member and Unit 5
Superintendent
Former teacher, principal, and superintendent for Unit 5, Dr.
Chapman has spent his entire career creating educational pathways.
Alan embraced HCC early on and helped pave the way for college
credit courses to be taught in community high schools, providing
many local students with early and affordable access to
post-secondary education.
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Front row from the left: Allan
Saaf, Cindy Brand (standing), Betty Pilchard and Julie Dobski. Back row from the
left Willie Brown, Jim White, Hallie Chadwick (accepting for father, Gregg
Chadwick), Robin Walter (accepting for spouse, Gregg Chadwick) and
Alan Chapman.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
Julie Dobski - Local Entrepreneur
Founder and owner of Little Jewels preschool, Julie is widely recognized for her
commitment to education. Her vision for creating early education opportunities
for the youngest in our community reflects her value in lifelong learning and
its transformative power. As a local entrepreneur for more than three decades,
Julie regularly illustrates this value by providing countless learning
opportunities for her employees.
Alan Chapman and Julie Dobski served as the chairs for the first major gifts
campaign in support of scholarships and programs at HCC. Because of their vision
and tireless energy, the Foundation raised $7.7 million, which tripled the
number of scholarships available to students, supported programs like the
Challenger Learning Center and Information Technology programs, and established
Heartland as a charitable destination for hundreds of people and companies in
the district.
Betty Pilchard – HCC Faculty
One of the first faculty members ever hired at the College, Betty taught at
Heartland for a quarter of a century. With her focus on business education, she
guided and shaped the minds of thousands of students, and worked with
administration to develop the system of faculty promotion. Her work on various
projects, including textbook affordability, showcased her desire to support
student success and teaching excellence, both inside and outside of the
classroom.
Allan Saaf – HCC Vice President Emeritus
Allan led the growth of credit programs at Heartland for nearly two decades.
During his time as Vice President for Learning and Student Success, the College
developed programs in Nursing, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Early
Childhood Education, expanding the College and enhancing the opportunity for
students to transfer to four year institutions. Allan was a champion of critical
thinking and educated citizenry, and managed efforts to ensure those values were
embedded in every Heartland program.
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“We are proud to recognize these individuals who helped elevate Heartland to
what it is today,” said HCC President Keith Cornille. “Each recipient of these
inaugural awards exemplifies the College’s mission to enrich our community.
Though their service, support and actions, this group have made a huge impact on
our community and – directly or indirectly – the lives of all our students since
the College’s foundation.”
The Presidential Medallion award exemplifies the College’s aim to enrich the
community, by recognizing those who share this mission and live it out through
exemplary service, philanthropy, and dedication to advancing opportunities in
education.
[Steve Fast
Director, Public Information
Heartland Community College] |