New Directors Emeriti & Fundraising Success Celebrated at BRCC

Two long-time friends of Blue Ridge Community College were recognized by the BRCC Educational Foundation with Director Emeritus designations last week.

Robert S. “Bob” Baldygo, served on Foundation Board during his tenure as BRCC’s Vice President of Finance and Administration from 1993 – 2015. He was Foundation Treasurer and an active member of the Finance Committee, and during his time at the College, Foundation assets grew from $128,949 to $11,476,305. He was a generous personal donor, and upon his retirement, the Foundation Board recognized his commitment by naming a scholarship in his honor.

Mary N. Mannix, served two terms for a total of six years on the Foundation Board. During her board tenure, she was an active member of the Planning Committee, of which she served as chair for three years. She was also an Executive Committee member, and helped recruit new members to the Foundation Board. Ms. Mannix was a generous personal donor to BRCC Educational Foundation and helped facilitate significant donations from Augusta Health to support Nursing faculty positions, the Augusta Health Foundation Scholarship at BRCC, and the Career Coaches program.

In addition to the accolades for Baldygo and Mannix, the Foundation event included a special announcement – that the College’s third major gifts campaign has raised $7,490,088 in cash, pledges and planned gifts to date! Tom Mendez, a current member and former chair of the BRCC Foundation Board of Directors, and member of the Campaign Leadership Committee, made the announcement Friday. He stated, “This is the single largest major gift effort in BRCC’s history, and among the largest campaigns within the entire Virginia Community College System.” Mendez added that the campaign has an aspirational goal of $8 million by December.