News
Press Releases

1/05/05
For immediate release 

Contact: Marilynn Fryer
 (517) 796-8466
e-mail: FryerMarilynT@jccmi.edu

College breaks ground on new clock tower

            Jackson Community College broke ground December 20 on the new Glen and Phyllis Walker Memorial Clock Tower on the main campus. 

            Revised plans for the clock tower are for an original 50-foot high, four-sided metal structure, with carillon bells chiming the hour and over 400 melodies for special events.  The system can also be used for a collegewide public address system in case of emergency.  Sisters Jacqueline Walker and Patricia (Walker) Fenchuk, both JCC alumni, contributed the initial $75,000 toward the project to commemorate the work and sacrifice their parents made to ensure their daughters could go to college.  They want it to be a tribute to their parents and their generation, making a gift for generations of the future. 

            Total project cost is approximately $139,000, with all funding coming from private donor contributions.  "We're very pleased to break ground for this exciting new addition to JCC's campus," said JCC President Daniel Phelan.  "I'd like to thank Jacqueline Walker and Patricia (Walker) Fenchuk for their contribution, as well as all the others who have helped make this new clock tower possible.  We hope it will be a lasting tribute to your parents and to the thousands of other parents like them who worked and sacrificed to give their children a college education." 

            For the Walkers, JCC was something each member had in common.  Phyllis Walker worked at JCC for a number of years as a secretary in the purchasing department, Glen Walker had taken classes at JCC as an adult, and in his later years became a frequent patron of Potter Center performances.  It was Glen who had a lifelong love of clocks and timepieces.  Both daughters got their start at JCC, graduating from the College and continuing on to complete their bachelor's degrees, Patricia at Central Michigan University and Jacqueline at Michigan State University.  Patricia graduated with a degree in psychology and taught for several years before having children.  Jacqueline received her degree in advertising management from MSU and has enjoyed a long and successful career in television journalism.  She anchors the evening news at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. for WIVB-TV in Buffalo, New York, a CBS affiliate.

            Construction of the one-of-a-kind clock tower is currently being fabricated with an expected delivery date to the JCC campus by the end of February.  Dedication and landscaping will take place in early spring, as weather permits. 

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