Nearly $85,000 Raised at WKCTC Auction for Student Scholarships

MEDIA RELEASE:Paducah, KY (09/22/2017) — Nearly $85,000 was raised for student scholarships at West Kentucky Community and Technical College's (WKCTC) 2017 West is Best Barbecue and Auction at the Julian Carroll Convention Center September 21.

Paducah Junior College (PJC), the foundation supporting WKCTC, hosts the scholarship auction each year with a dinner featuring a live and silent auction that raises money to help deserving students pursue a college education.

This year's auction had a new twist, celebrating all the best of western Kentucky with a more casual theme and emphasizing the college's regional focus. WKCTC's 10-county service region in western Kentucky and southern Illinois were featured throughout the evening.

WKCTC Vice President for Advancement Lee Emmons was thrilled with the night's outcome.

"We had an impressive crowd of over 400 people, and it was wonderful to see the support and enthusiasm everyone displayed for raising money for our students," said Emmons.

The last auction item of the evening was a "Day with the President," a day full of activities and experiences offered at WKCTC with college President Anton Reece. The item included activities such as commanding mission control at the Challenger Learning Center, cooking a dish with one of the culinary program's chefs or playing a pick-up game of basketball with students.

Murray State University's (MSU) Peggy Pittman-Munke never put her bid card down during the bidding for this item, winning it for $2500. Excited to have won the prize, Pittman-Munke, who has worked at MSU since 2002, said, "You (WKCTC) send us the most amazing students, and I wanted to return the favor."

Reece thanked all the donors for their support and emphasized the importance of their contributions to removing financial barriers for students.

"We rely very heavily on our community supporters. Tonight you have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students," said Reece as he addressed the crowd. "One of the key barriers in terms of accessing and furthering their education and training is the need for financial assistance. Thanks to you, we are able to continue to help our students afford a college education."

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West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has been recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 10 Community College each of the four times the Prize has been awarded by the Aspen Institute and has twice been named a Finalist with Distinction for providing students with strong job training and continuing higher education opportunity, for achieving high completion and transfer rates, and for providing strong employment results for its graduates.

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