SPCC Trustees Elect New Officers

June 14, 2007

The South Piedmont Community College Board of Trustees elected new officers during the June 12 meeting. Harvey Leavitt III of Wadesboro was elected chair and Kenneth Collins of Monroe was elected vice chair. Tom Crooke Sr. of Wingate will serve as secretary.

A native of Anson County, Leavitt is owner of Leavitt Funeral Home. He has been an active member of the SPCC Foundation Board of Directors serving as lead gifts co-chair for the Investment for Tomorrow campaign. Leavitt is active in the First United Methodist Church of Wadesboro, the Anson County Chamber of Commerce and the Anson County Arts Council. Leavitt serves on the board of the North Carolina Cemetery Association and is a past president of the N.C. Board of Funeral Service and the N.C. Funeral Directors’ Association.

Collins is a charter member of the SPCC Board of Trustees. A certified public accountant, Collins is managing partner of the Monroe CPA firm Collins, Boike and Moore. He has served as board secretary and as a member of the board’s Executive Committee since his initial appointment in 1999. Collins has been chair of the trustees’ Finance and Legislative committees. He has been an active part of the SPCC Foundation’s Investment for Tomorrow campaign serving as lead gifts co-chair.

Crooke retired from Allegheny Teledyne as corporate director of safety and health. A former member and past chairman of the Union County Board of Education, Crooke joined the SPCC Board of Trustees in 2003. He is a very active member of Wingate Baptist Church.

Henry “Punky” Morton of Wadesboro has most recently served as vice chair of the trustees. After 13 years of service as a trustee, Morton completed his final term on the board June 12, and was presented a framed certificate during the meeting. His wife, Chris, attended the presentation.

The board honored E. Lynn Raye of Marshville for his continuous service as board chair since 1998. Raye’s service began with Anson Community College and other trustees credit him with leading a transformation process that solidified the future of a new regional community college to serve Anson and Union counties. Since SPCC was formed by legislation in 1999, the Old Charlotte Highway Campus in Monroe has been developed and the L.L. Polk Campus in Polkton has been expanded.