By Kalvin D. Perron
Staff Reporter
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BAY MILLS - Most of the country stayed glued to their television sets as the horrific stories of human suffering began to unfold in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Among those hardest hit by the devastating storm were TRiO students from the 31 colleges and universities in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. As a result, a national TRiO Hurricane Relief Fund was started to distribute funds to its members and their families affected by the storm.
Bay Mills Community College TRiO Counselor Nikki Dowd said that since BMCC has 175 enrolled TRiO students, it was only logical that they take part in the national fundraising effort. Dowd organized a bake sale and a bake off competition at the college to raise money for the hurricane victims on Thursday, Sept. 22. After the bake sale, students walked to each office and department in Bay Mills selling their baked goodies. When all was said and done, Dowd said the group raised $672.98 to go into the national fund. While students and faculty at BMCC were very supportive of their cause, Dowd said the response from everyone in Bay Mills was overwhelmingly positive.
"I was very happy to see how supportive everyone was," she said. "We actually made more money by donation than we did from the bake sale. We really wanted to raise money for the TRiO students who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. It feels good being able to help them out."
Now that the check is in the mail, Dowd said the money would go to Washington, D.C., where it will be placed into the national TRiO Hurricane Relief Fund. From the nation's capital, the funds will be dispersed to TRiO students and their families from the gulf region affected most by the hurricane.
The following is a list of the bake off contest winners and their prizes: first place: Lois McKinney, $60 gift certificate to Bay Mills Resort and Casino restaurants; second place: Cindy Deuman, Dell color printer; third place: Karen Bergeron, 18 holes golf and cart from Wild Bluff; fourth place: Kathy Adair, Star Line Ferry tickets to Mackinac Island; fifth place: Samantha Jackson Cameron, BMCC sweatshirt, sixth place-tie: Betty Mitchell, BMCC tee shirt; Laura Postma, $20 gift-certificate for Looks Unlimited.
