This year, the Heartland Community College Foundation strengthened current connections and found new ones across our community. We are honored to partner with new and old friends who see the value in supporting the College and our students.

Over the course of the year, a number of donors stepped forward in support of new Student Services renovations with gifts coming from some long-time individual supporters, including the Penn family; the Woodruff-Feicke family; the Styczynski family; the McManus family; and the Chadwick-Walter family. Their gifts are helping to create welcoming and supportive spaces that will enrich the lives of thousands of students for years to come. 

COUNTRY Financial built upon their long history of support, which includes scholarships and their College Now program. The COUNTRY Financial Trail project, which broke ground along the bank of Heartland’s Birky Pond last spring, connects the main campus with Bloomington-Normal’s Constitution Trail. This project adds over a mile of trail for walking, running, and biking, bordered by the natural prairie and wildlife adorning the East edge of campus.

Helping people find innovative certificate pathways that lead quickly to employment has also been warmly received by many of our community partners. State Farm and others have contributed to “work ready” programs that are powering an increased number of program completions and student success.

We continue to see expanded giving in support of programs that help students outside of the classroom, including the student emergency fund, the Career Center, and Project RISE.

Our donors are seeing the value in providing both access to higher education through scholarships and the tools they need to find success.

We appreciate everyone who supported the Foundation this year and in years past. We value the spirit of philanthropy that connects us all.

Respectfully,

Melissa Marx

Chair, Heartland Community College Foundation Board

Jon Astroth

Jon Astroth led Heartland Community College as president for the school’s first 20 years. He came to Heartland from Rend Lake College, where he wore the hats of English instructor, student services officer, chief academic officer, and finally, president. Astroth’s vision for Heartland took it from a scattered set of class spaces around town supporting 800 students, to a sprawling main campus in Normal and sites in both Lincoln and Pontiac, which taken together, serve more than 5,000 credit students every semester. Before retiring in 2010, Astroth was able to shepherd in campus expansion that included an increased student life offering, the addition of an athletics program, and bringing the National Guard facilities to campus.

______________________________________

Alan Bedell 
and Deanna Frautschi

Deanna Frautschi and Alan Bedell are no strangers to community involvement. The couple has been recognized by the McLean County Historical Society as History Makers due to their philanthropic leadership. Deanna served on over a dozen non-profit boards, including her tenure as Chair of the United Way of McLean County. She is also deeply involved in the Multicultural Leadership Institute, Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, Parklands Foundation, and Miller Park Zoological Society, the latter of which she served as a past president.

Alan mirrors Deanna’s volunteer efforts by being involved with the Cornbelt Chapter of AMBUCS, the organization in which he was instrumental in founding 10 chapters in Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. He is also an active Midwest Food Bank volunteer. Together, the pair has chaired numerous fundraisers, including Zoo Doo, Red Cross Evening of Stars, and Carle Cancer Center events. They also sponsor scholarships for AMBUCS physical therapists, Illinois State University, Heartland Community College, and the Multicultural Leadership Institute. 

______________________________________

Ruifang Cao

Ruifang Cao was an early member of the Heartland Community College faculty, teaching among the first classes in computer science at the College. Cao started a Chinese school on weekends to teach language and culture programs about China. She also helped create an exchange program of students and professors from Chinese universities to Heartland, laying the groundwork for Heartland's international program. This eventually led to expanded experiences for local students studying abroad and brought international students to Heartland, expanding the diversity of our classrooms and enrollment opportunities for the College.

______________________________________

Dolan Dalpoas

Dolan Dalpoas has dedicated his professional life to keeping his community healthy. As President and CEO of Lincoln Memorial Hospital, he has been recognized for his excellence in leadership. He has been named one of the top 50 critical access hospital CEOs in the United States, and in 2000, received the Southern Illinois Regent’s Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives as the Early Career Healthcare Executive of the Year. Dalpoas had a crucial role in building a free outdoor fitness center to combat obesity, an initiative that became a national best practice for hospitals. He serves on the HCC Lincoln Advisory Council, and under his leadership, the hospital partners with Heartland by serving as a clinical site for our CNA program as well as by donating several pieces of healthcare equipment. He has also served in various community organizations in Lincoln, including Lincoln College, Lincoln Rotary, the Lincoln Area YMCA, and Lincoln Economic Advancement & Development.

______________________________________

Colleen Kannaday

Colleen Kannaday‘s extensive contributions to the community are evident in the organizations to which she lends her leadership. As the President of Carle BroMenn Medical Center and Carle Eureka Hospital, she was a recipient of the Grassroots Champion Award from the American Hospital Association, an honor that is awarded to only one person per state. She is also a recipient of the Malcomb Baldrige National Quality Award, the American College of Health Care Award, and was honored as a YWCA Woman of Distinction. Kannaday serves as a Trustee on the Illinois Wesleyan University Board of Trustees and the Illinois State University Foundation Board.

______________________________________

Mike Matejka

Mike Matejka is a dedicated community member, lending his time and talents to many causes. He serves as the Downstate Vice President of the Illinois Labor History Society, Co-Chair of Not in Our Town Bloomington-Normal, and as a board member of the McLean County Children’s Christmas Party. Matejka also works with the Historic Pullman Foundation Board, McLean County Historical Society, the Stevenson Lecture Committee, and the local Autism Friendly Community Committee. He is a sought-after speaker and has written countless journal and magazine articles as a scholar of the labor movement. In 2024, Matejka won the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation Philanthropist of the Year award with his wife, Kari Sandhaas, and in 2021 was named the Normal Citizen of the Year.

______________________________________

Drake Zimmerman

Drake Zimmerman is a philanthropic leader and a shining example for our community. He is passionate about causes near to his heart and “leads out loud” by acting both locally and globally. One such cause is working through Rotary on malaria prevention. He was the founding Vice Chair of the Rotarians Eliminating Malaria Action Group and received the AMP Global Top Award of Alliance for Malaria Prevention for lifetime contributions to malaria control. Zimmerman also co-founded the Community Foundation of McLean County (now known as the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation). With his wife, Jan, he has also helped Friends of Kickapoo Creek, an organization that works to protect the local watershed. Zimmerman is the author of Enduring the Darkness, a compilation of the inspiring letters of South Korean human rights prisoner Kim Seong Man.

______________________________________

“We are proud to recognize these individuals who helped elevate Heartland to what it is today,” said Heartland President Keith Cornille. “Each recipient of these awards exemplifies the College’s mission to enrich our community.