William J. Farrell II, President of Berglund Automotive Group, has been named Chair of the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation Board of Directors. Russ Ellett, President of Excel Truck Center, also joins Board leadership as Treasurer.
Neil D. Wilkin Jr., CEO of Optical Cable Corp., will move to the position of Immediate Past Chair. Other officers include: Vice Chair Deborah L. Petrine, CEO and Chair of Commonwealth Care of Roanoke, and Secretary Tammy Moss Finley, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Advance Auto Parts. W. Heywood Fralin, Chair of Medical Facilities of America, will lead the Educational Foundation’s Nominating Committee.
Chris Carey, President of VACORP and Metis Holdings, joins the Board as an at-large member.
The volunteer Board of Directors guides the Educational Foundation’s mission of supporting student scholarships, faculty development and endowment initiatives at Virginia Western. Board members have been the driving force behind Virginia Western’s Community College Access Program (CCAP), a successful public-private partnership that provides up to three years of tuition to eligible students. Since its founding in 2008, CCAP has supported 3,124 students and is the largest College Promise program in Virginia. There is still time for students interested in CCAP to apply before the Feb. 1, 2021 deadline at: https://www.virginiawestern.edu/ccap/index.php.
