Merced College to honor ranching couple
Merced College plans its 2016 State of the College Address and President’s Medallion ceremony in April, when a Le Grand couple will be given the award.
The ceremonies are planned from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 22 at the 3600 M St. campus’s IAC amphitheater, where Jim and Carlene Cunningham will be honored.
They have been longtime volunteers, according to a news release, contributing time and money to Merced County causes.
“We believe it’s important to give back to the community,” Carlene Cunningham said in the release. “We’re part of the community, and we want to help make this a better place for all.”
The Cunninghams’ relationship with Merced College goes back to the founding of the community college district. The husband’s father, Byron, was one of the first members of the board of trustees, a seat that Jim Cunningham would later hold himself.
We believe it’s important to give back to the community. We’re part of the community, and we want to help make this a better place for all.
Carlene Cunningham
The couple sent all three of their children to Merced College, according to the release.
Married 53 years ago in the Planada Community Church, 75-year-old Jim and 71-year-old Carlene Cunningham live on the 2,000-acre Cunningham Ranch, where they raise cattle. James Cunningham, the husband’s great-grandfather, first settled there in 1853, according to a release.
At its height in 1883, the Cunningham Ranch encompassed about 16,000 acres with 1,200 head of cattle, 4,000 sheep, 200 hogs and scores of chickens, ducks and geese, according to a news release. The ranch today normally supports 300 cattle and several long barns full of chickens.
Individual tickets to the catered lunch are $50. Table sponsorships for eight guests are $500, and corporate sponsorships are $1,000 for a table of eight. Table sponsors receive recognition during the event and added benefits are provided to corporate sponsors.
Tickets are available through the Merced College Foundation at 209-381-6470 or www.mercedcollegefoundation.org.
This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Merced College to honor ranching couple."