Edmund Fitzgerald III and Emily Fitzgerald along with their children, Ann Brown and Edmund Fitzgerald IV, of Gretna, have earned the 2012 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy.
Nominated by Danville Community College, the award was presented at a luncheon ceremony at the Country Club of Virginia.
Edmund Fitzgerald III was a charter member of the Danville Community College Board in 1968 and later served as vice chairman.
He and his wife endowed the Peoples Mutual Telephone Endowed Scholarship in 1989. The scholarship endowment was expanded in 1998 to include the Peoples Mutual Telephone Company Inc. Tech Prep Scholarship to serve the students of Gretna High School and Pittsylvania County.
The Fitzgeralds’ children, Ann Brown and Edmund Fitzgerald IV, also were recognized.
Brown, accompanied by her spouse, Kent Brown, was recently a member of the DCC College Board and served as vice chairman and chairman.
Edmund Fitzgerald IV is an active member of DCC’s Educational Foundation board of directors.
Both children have been committed to the mission and standards of Danville Community College, most recently showing their support in the college’s first Major Gifts Campaign and college beautification projects.
The Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy luncheon is hosted by the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education to honor leading philanthropists from each of Virginia’s 23 community colleges as well as the statewide foundation.
This marks the seventh year the awards have been given.
The 2012 class of distinguished philanthropy leaders has contributed a combined total of more than $48 million to Virginia’s community colleges.
“These philanthropic leaders are tremendous partners,�? said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community College System. “These individuals, organizations and employers are difference-makers who play an essential role in helping our colleges fulfill their mission of addressing Virginia’s unmet needs in higher education and workforce development.�?
Philanthropists will have a scholarship named after them. It will be awarded next fall to a student attending their community college.
The one-year scholarships are funded by Wells Fargo and Dominion.