GCCC Procures $300,000 Grant Toward Athletic Training Renovations

[Garden City, KS] Feb. 19, 2020 – Garden City Community College is pleased to announce procurement of a $300,000 grant from the Sunderland Foundation toward renovation and remodel of two athletic training facilities.

The grant will significantly offset the cost of a $491,000 planned project to update the athletic training facilities inside the Dennis Perryman Athletic Complex and to develop an on-site athletic training facility inside an existing maintenance building at Broncbuster Stadium.

“We are thrilled to receive this generous gift from the Sunderland Foundation,” said GCCC President Dr. Ryan Ruda. “It alleviates much of the funding strain that our institution would otherwise have burdened and allows us to reallocate funds to other deferred maintenance projects. We are appreciative of the foundation’s tremendous work and outreach.”

Established in 1945 by Lester T. Sunderland, the Overland Park, KS-based organization makes grants annually to charitable and non-profit organizations for construction and special interest projects.

GCCC’s gift will be directed through the GCCC Endowment Association, a private, fundraising arm of the community college and a 501 (c) (3) organization which also serves as the grant applicant for this project.

In recent months, the Endowment Association has put a focus on acquiring grant opportunities from private foundations and charitable organizations to assist the college with fulfilling educational and capital improvements needs, according to GCCC Endowment Director Jeremy Gigot.

“While the Endowment Association has for the last several decades focused on local foundations and charitable trusts, this is the first time we’ve gone outside of southwest Kansas to acquire private grant funding,” Gigot said. “We are so excited with the success of this endeavor.”

The athletic training facility inside the DPAC was first built in 1985 and has not undergone major renovations since its inception. The remodel project will bring facilities and equipment up to date to meet industry standards while greatly enhancing academic programming and training practicum opportunities for students.

“This project allows us to tremendously increase the academic experience for both our athletic training and exercise science students,” Dr. Ruda also said.

Additionally, the major renovation of the maintenance facility at Broncbuster Stadium will allow GCCC to convert a significant portion of the building into a secondary, on-site athletic training site. The project will significantly improve the prevention and care for GCCC and visiting student athletes who use the facility on both game days and scheduled practices. The stadium primarily serves GCCC’s football, soccer, and track and field programs.

In addition to improving the quality of service that student-athletes receive from qualified sports medicine professionals on a daily basis, having a dedicated facility immediately adjacent to the stadium will also significantly improve the response time for training and medical staff, according to GCCC Director of Athletics Greg McVey.

“Student-athlete safety is our number one priority,” McVey said. “We are committed to providing the best possible athletic experience for all of our sports teams, and these facility upgrades will move us forward towards that goal.”

Ground-breaking will begin on the renovations at the stadium first, and will continue at both locations through this summer. Both renovation projects are planned for completion ahead of the fall semester, which begins in August 17, 2020.

The project is being completed by Dick Construction, Inc., of Garden City, which submitted the lowest-cost bid. The remaining $191,000 of the project cost will be covered by capital outlay funds.

The mission of the Sunderland Foundation is to improve quality of life through reinvesting in communities where the Ash Grove Cement Company has historically operated.

Lester T. Sunderland, founder, served as president of the Ash Grove Cement Company for 33 years as a respected leader in his industry. Prior to joining Ash Grove in 1909, Mr. Sunderland was a principal and founder of the Sunderland Brothers Company, a leading distributor of coal, lime, cement, and other building materials headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

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