Larry Hanson's Story

I am a product of the community college system and I want to give back.

In the early 1990s Larry Hanson was part of a tennis group whose leader was involved with Glendale College. Hearing that the college needed new tennis courts, the group formed the El Vaquero Racquet Club to raise funds through club dues and help the college build the new courts. Larry was the first club Chairman and later joined the Glendale College Foundation’s Board of Directors.

At the same time, Ann Ransford, now a Trustee of the college, was the Director of the Foundation. Ann knew that Larry worked for IBM and reached out to him when she was trying to develop a way to handle the accounting of the Foundation’s new Endowment Fund. Together, they designed, and Larry wrote accounting and donor database and donation tracking programs for the IBM PC.

While Larry did not attend Glendale Community College, he is a product of the community college system having graduated in 1953 with an associate degree from John Muir Junior College in Pasadena, which merged with Pasadena City College and exists today as a high school.

While enrolled at Muir, he worked part time at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was inspired by the work being done there. He took the advice of a professor and after two years in the US Army, enrolled at the University of California at Santa Barbara. After graduation, he was hired by IBM . “I had a wonderful 32 year career with IBM at the exciting time when the whole area of computers and information processing were first being developed,” said Hanson.

“If I had not received my junior college education, and the counseling and encouragement from my professor at Muir, I probably would have not gone on and had a successful career in information processing and I probably wouldn’t have the standard of living that I have enjoyed. I am a product of the community college system and I want to give back.”   

If someone is interested in giving a gift to GCC, they should consult with their attorney and establish a “Legacy” gift from their estate to the college of at least $25,000. A “Legacy” gift will cost them nothing now and will insure them that they will make a lasting contribution to the College and be remembered long after we are all gone.”

 

For more information, please contact Paola Santana, executive director, at (818) 551-5196 or psantana@glendale.edu.

The discussion herein is general in nature and may not apply to all individuals. Prospective donors are urged to consult their personal tax and financial advisors concerning the specific consequences of making gifts to Glendale College.