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Using sports vernacular, many different players make up what is great about Glendale Community College. Ann Ransford worked behind the scenes drawing up plays on how to get things done as the Foundation Director for the past 20 years. There were battles in the trenches like football and meetings on the mound like baseball. Sometimes timeouts had to be called and new plays had to be drawn up when things weren’t working out as they should. She might have known what the right call was all along but happily shared in the decision making with others. For these and many other reasons, Ann Ransford was the ultimate team player for Glendale College. She closed the door to her office and her career at the college for the last time on September 21, but several emails that made their way through the system those last few days gave a glimpse of how she affected her “team.’’ There were words of kindness, praise and thanks for a job well done. Message after message said that she had supported this program or that project with ideas that helped them prosper for years and years. In terms of dollars and cents, she helped grow the assets of the Foundation from $75,000 in 1987 to over $9.5 million two decades later. The Foundation office has managed over 400 donor funds that have provided an average of $250,000 annually to the Glendale Community College budget to support programs, facilities and scholarships. Ann Ransford was a big reason why the Glendale College Foundation is considered a model throughout the state of how foundations should be managed. The organization thrives because the board has been proactive and visionary and the staff is dedicated. The students are the obvious beneficiaries of the results. She did not have a magic wand that conjured up successful marketing plans, just the good sense to know what was needed and the work ethic that drove the plans to be successful. Event planning was made fun, not a chore, and the volunteers who worked with her on those projects were always better off for the experience.  The annual Foundation Golf Tournament is a perfect example of people working together for the betterment of the college. Besides Foundation staff and coaches from the athletic department, volunteers from the college and community set the day aside to work the tournament at the Oakmont Country Club. The tournament field is sold out year after year and is made up of donors in and around the community, including several alumni. Funds raised from the event have supported many college projects over the past two decades. At countless events, meetings and chances to mingle with people on campus and off, she was always a great listener and a better story teller. She always remembered people’s names and made everyone feel included with introductions across the board. All of us who knew or worked on a project with Ann Ransford probably have our own take on how she contributed to what is good and great about Glendale College. She was the consummate professional who helped raise the image of the college dramatically during her tenure. And at the end
of the day, we just can’t say thank you enough. |
