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Courtesy photo South Florida State College Foundation Director Don Appelquist was awarded the Campus Impact Award for Outstanding Private Fundraising Professional from the Council for Resource Development earlier this month.

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published: Friday, November 16, 2012

SFSC's Appelquist gets national award

Special to the News-Sun

AVON PARK - Don Appelquist, director of South Florida State College Foundation Inc., was recently awarded the Campus Impact Award for Outstanding Private Fundraising Professional from the Council for Resource Development, during an award ceremony held in Washington D.C. on Nov. 10. Each year, the award is given to one person in the United States who has had the greatest impact on their campus.

Dr. Norm Stephens, SFSC president, nominated Appelquist for the award for the impact his work has had on SFSC's students, campus, and community.

"Throughout his 42 years at SFSC, Don Appelquist has been an extraordinary benefit to the college and the community in extraordinarily meaningful ways," Stephens said. "As the first and only executive director of the SFSC Foundation, Don has established and directed an exemplary Take Stock in Children (TSIC) program, mentoring at-risk students. More than 95 percent of our TSIC students graduate high school and attend and graduate from college with the support of pre-paid scholarships.

"Recently, the TSIC program was selected as an exemplary program in the state of Florida and is now part of a pilot effort funded by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) grant to demonstrate how SFSC practices could be used by other colleges and entities with TSIC programs.

"Don has also directed successful capital campaigns for the SFSC Theatre for the Performing Arts and the women's softball complex," Stephens said. "He implemented and secured funding for a planned giving initiative, has pursued funding for faculty endowed chairs in nursing, dental education, and mathematics, and has facilitated the establishment of more than 120 separate scholarship endowments within the SFSC Foundation, Inc. Under his direction, the grants development office is among the most successful in the state, bringing in funds for new programs, including Title III, Student Support Services Trio, i3, National Science Foundation, and more."

"This recognition means a lot to me," Appelquist said. "I enjoy what I do because it gives me a sense of personal satisfaction that I'm doing something important to impact the lives or our students as well as our college and community."

"Whether it's through scholarships, TSIC, athletic programs, or the new theatre, I like coming to work every day and seeing the faces of our students who benefit from them."

The Council for Resource Development (CRD) is an education and networking organization for community college development professionals. CRD connects, educates, supports, strengthens, and celebrates community college development professionals. An affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges, CRD serves more than 1,750 members at more than 750 institutions.