VGCC Alumni Reorganize, Elect Officers, Schedule Next Meeting
Vance-Granville Community College’s Alumni Association has elected a new slate of officers who are devoted to injecting new life into the organization.
New officers elected Jan. 28 are Danny H. Mangum Jr. of Henderson, president; Julie Rollins of Youngsville, first vice president; Beverly Byrd of Creedmoor, second vice president; Ann Taylor of Oxford, third vice president; Ronel Cook of Henderson, treasurer; and Copper Rain of Henderson, secretary.
The next general meeting of the association will be at 6 p.m. Monday, March 3, in the Conference Room of Building 8 on VGCC’s main campus in Vance County. Members will vote on by-laws recommendations that will be presented by the Executive Committee.
All VGCC alumni are invited, and urged, to attend the meeting and to get involved in the association. An alumnus is a graduate who holds either a diploma, certificate or degree from the college, a former non-graduate who completed a minimum of 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours, or an honorary member who has been selected by the association members.
The VGCC Alumni Association was formed to advance the growth and development of the college, to promote the personal, educational and professional development of alumni, and to establish beneficial relations between the college and its alumni.
James Edwards, VGCC Director of Marketing and Alumni Association advisor, called the new slate of officers, “truly an outstanding group of people with huge leadership qualities and potential.”
President Danny Mangum earned Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees from Vance-Granville in 1996-98 and degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from N.C. State University. He is employed in the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. While at VGCC, Mangum was president of the Student Government Association and was a student Ambassador. He previously served as second vice president of the Alumni Association from 1999 to 2001.
Julie Rollins, first vice president, and Beverly Byrd, second vice president, are both 2002 graduates of the Radiography program, and both are employed at Duke Medical Center. At VGCC, both were Ambassadors, Byrd serving as president. Rollins demonstrated her leadership skills as president of the Student Government Association. Rollins also graduated with an Associate in Arts from the College Transfer program in 1989, and Byrd has returned to Vance-Granville and is studying in College Transfer.
Ann Taylor is another graduate of Vance-Granville Community College who has returned to school in another program. She earned an associate degree in Business Administration in 2001 and is currently studying Human Services Technology where, she says, “I feel my life’s purpose is – helping other people.” Taylor has also served as an Ambassador and as the VGCC Student Government Association president and is active in statewide community college student affairs, currently serving as vice president of the State SGA.
Ronel Cook is a former New York City limousine driver who came south and decided he wanted to work with children. He took some child development classes at Vance-Granville and liked them so much he entered the Early Childhood Associate curriculum program and earned an Associate in Applied Science in 2001. He currently works at Murdoch Center in Butner.
Like several of his fellow officers, Cook served as president of the VGCC Student Government Association. In addition, he served two terms as president of the Student North Carolina Association of Educators at Vance-Granville.
Alumni Association Secretary Copper Rain said she returned to school at Vance-Granville as an older student because she needed to upgrade her skills so she could “retire” from house painting. She earned an Associate in Applied Science in Information Systems Technology and is currently employed as secretary to the VGCC Director of Marketing. While a student, she also was an Ambassador and was named to Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges, as were Mangum, Rollins, Byrd and Taylor.
New President Danny Mangum said he hopes all Vance-Granville Community College alumni will consider joining the Alumni Association and lend their talents to projects to better help the college serve its students and its communities.
In the photo above, newly-elected officers of the Vance-Granville Community College Alumni Association are, front, from left: President Danny Mangum, Secretary Copper Rain and First Vice President Julie Rollins. Standing, from left, are Treasurer Ronel Cook, Third Vice President Ann Taylor and Second Vice President Beverly Byrd. The association’s next meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 3, in Building 8 on the main campus. All VGCC alumni have been invited to attend.
