St. Clair County Community College students Chuck King of Port Huron and Jenae Curley of Marysville use shovels to ceremoniously break ground Monday, May 7, for SC4's McMorran Greenway and Street Closure Project. With them are some of the nearly 100 people who attended the ceremony.

 

St. Clair County Community College ceremoniously and officially broke ground Monday, May 7, on its McMorran Greenway and Street Closure Project on the college's Port Huron campus.

A ceremonial groundbreaking Monday morning was moved indoors to the College Center Atrium because of the rain. Meanwhile, workers began breaking ground on the actual project on McMorran Boulevard.

For the ceremony, SC4 President Dr. Kevin A. Pollock and members of the SC4 Board of Trustees and SC4 Foundation Board of Directors were joined by members of the SC4 Alumni Association Board of Directors, Port Huron Mayor Pauline Repp, City Manager Bruce Brown and officials from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County. SC4 students Jenae Curley of Marysville and Chuck King of Port Huron used shovels to ceremoniously break ground in a sandbox at the ceremony. Faculty, staff, students, donors, community leaders and county residents also attended the ceremony.

The project is part of a two-year, $1 million public fundraising campaign for student scholarships and five capital projects on the college's Port Huron campus. SC4 and the SC4 Foundation launched the "All Aboard: Campaign for Talent, Technology and Tomorrow" on Nov. 1.

As of April 30, $384,557, or 38%, already had been pledged or raised for the overall campaign.

The McMorran Greenway and Street Closure Project closes McMorran Boulevard from Erie Street to River Street and River Street from McMorran Boulevard to Willow Street and turns them into a pedestrian walkway.

The project will improve and provide safer pedestrian flow on campus, both between campus buildings and from downtown to the Black River. It will offer additional green opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the community. And it will give the SC4 campus a more defined entrance or "front door."

The Community Foundation of St. Clair County is providing a $75,000 challenge grant specifically to support the McMorran Greenway and Street Closure Project. The grant will provide 50 cents from the Community Foundation for every dollar raised. The Community Foundation will make three matching payments to the SC4 Foundation of up to $25,000 each. To get the full $75,000 grant, the campaign will have to raise at least $150,000. As of April 30, the total match from the Community Foundation was at $14,904.

For more information about the fundraising campaign, or to make a donation or pledge, visit www.sc4.edu/allaboard or contact David P. Goetze, SC4's director of college advancement and alumni relations, at (810) 989-5761.