By Sydney Tancowny
Dean Allen Berger (centre) presenting Bart Orr (left) and Cam Parker (right) from the Burgar Funeral Home with a plaque celebrating their 45th year anniversary of being an Augustana University donor.
The conversation was bright and spirited in the Jean Hachborn Common Room of Augustana's iconic Founder's Hall on October 26th. Each year, the Dean's Anniversary Donor Luncheon, hosted by Dean Allen Berger, is held in order to thank and celebrate outstanding donors to the Augustana Community Awards Program.
Dean Berger thanked those gathered for their long-term commitment to Augustana and spoke of the importance of Augustana's many partnerships with our local and extended community. During the luncheon, Dean Berger addressed Augustana as a unique place within the University of Alberta-a living laboratory of teaching and learning innovation. Our size and location within the Camrose community is what presents the opportunity for students, staff, faculty, and community members to come together in engaging and innovative ways. Once again at the luncheon, anniversary donors, the dean, and staff were seated together around the same table discussing our ambitions for Augustana. There was no shortage of questions for Dean Berger!
Augustana's 2016-2017 Anniversary Donors:
45 Years - Burgar Funeral Home Award
30 Years - Canadian Tire Camrose Vikings Hockey Award
25 Years - Streb's Automotive/Industrial Supply and Engine Services (1975) Ltd. Award
20 Years - Camrose County Award
15 Years - Farnham West Stolee Kambeitz LLP Bursary, Nanhanni River Adventures Ltd. Award, Verhaeghe Law Office History Award
10 Years - Camrose Morning News Bursary, Camrose Veterinary Hospital Bursary
The Community Awards program was established in 1973 to assist in making post-secondary studies possible for students with limited resources and to attract students to the then Camrose Lutheran College.
An initial committee of community members and college officials were responsible for recruiting gifts from the business community to fund awards. Working with the community, the Committee promoted two award funds - the Current Scholarship Fund and the Scholarship Foundation. We now refer to these opportunities as Annually Funded Awards, individually named endowments, and the Community Awards Endowment Fund.
The program met with great success in its early years and that success continues. We add new awards on an annual basis, with annually funded and endowment funded awards now numbering over 200.