J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation Named Philanthropist of the Year

CONTACT: LINDA ELLIOTT, EXT. 1807

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/3/2002
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- The J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation has been named the 2002 Philanthropist of the Year by the Tri-County Technical College Foundation Board of Trustees.

"The Sirrine Foundation has been a loyal donor to the College's Textile Management Technology department since 1989 and is the College's fourth largest cumulative donor," said Tri-County President Don C. Garrison as he presented a Paul Revere bowl to Bob Coleman, a trustee of the J.E. Sirrine Textile Foundation.

The Sirrine Foundation has established Tri-County's Textile Management Technology department as a premier educator of textile management technicians through donations of state-of-the-art equipment, computer software and a Clemson University articulation study.

A $67,644 grant from the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation funded 10 new Textile Management Technology scholarships at Tri-County this fall and will support the continuing development of the College's web-based textile courses.

Specifically, $27,000 is earmarked for the 10 two-year scholarships and the remaining $40,644 is being used to fund the development of two textile courses: TEX 102, Yarn Manufacturing, and TEX 201, Textile Manufacturing and Synthetic Fibers. Eventually, Tri-County will offer all of the courses required for the Textile Management Technology degree over the Internet.

"We are happy with the continued support the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation bestows on our Textile Management Technology program," said Dr. Garrison. "Textiles remains the largest employer in our area, and the need for qualified management personnel continues. These funds enable us to offer scholarships that pay for a student's entire tuition, plus a portion of textbook costs. These 10 new scholarships are available to students who are either employed in the textile industry or who want to enter the textile industry on a first-line supervisor level," he said.

Currently, there are more than 60 students enrolled in the Textile Management Technology program at Tri-County. The majority of the students enrolled already are employed in a production capacity with area textile firms.

"Almost all of our textile students are on scholarships, and for many, the scholarship is what makes it possible for them to earn this two-year degree," Dr. Garrison said.

Lisa Harrison, a 2002 honor graduate of the Textile Management Department and a recipient of a Sirrine scholarship, told Mr. Coleman and Tri-County's Foundation Board members about her experience at Tri-County.

After 20-plus years of rearing her family and freelancing in the textile field, Harrison saw her window of opportunity for returning to college. Her youngest child was entering school, and the time was right. She was shocked when, without even seeking financial aid, Tri-County's Textile Management Technology department head offered her a two-year scholarship.

Her scholarship, provided by the J. E. Sirrine Textile Foundation, and a Pell grant took care of all college expenses, says Harrison, who is the first Tri-County textile graduate to transfer to Clemson University with a $1,500 per semester scholarship, through an agreement between Tri-County and Clemson's School of Textiles.

With a career goal in textile product development, Harrison initially wanted to go the four-year route at Clemson. Classes were full, so professors referred her to Tri-County. "I wasn't even aware of the textile department at Tri-County, but after talking with Don Shirley (former department head), who was helpful from day one, I said this will work for me," she remembers.

"The program is well planned, and it meshed so well with Clemson's curriculum. I felt well prepared to transfer to Clemson as a junior. Tri-County offered valuable tours of plants and hands-on individual attention and accessibility to instructors. Across the board, it was a smooth transition."

Harrison currently maintains a 4.0 at Clemson, where she is majoring in textiles and minoring in communications.

Harrison said, "Since 1947 Sirrine has been helping people, like me, and my son, Radge, (who was present and like his mother, is pursuing a textile management technology degree and is receiving a Sirrine scholarship at Tri-County).
It's the best place to put your resources – in humans. I'm a good example that it's money well spent. They took me, a displaced homemaker, and turned me into an enthusiastic, look-to-the-future textile innovator."

"The thrust of the department is making a different in people's lives," said Dr. Jim Wood, who chairs Tri-County's Industrial and Engineering Technology Division. "Sirrine donations have made the department what it is today," he added.

Scholarships do more than provide financial support, Dr. Wood said. "Many of our students are older and are working full time. The scholarship gives them the push and allows them to see they can do this. It gives them confidence, and they build on it in a way that you just can't imagine."

The Sirrine Foundation has endowed six scholarships that will exist in perpetuity and continues to support additional students through annual scholarship gifts. It has funded the college education of 133 students in the past 12 years.
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