December 05, 1995
BY OFFERING to raise $75,000 toward the construction of Carroll Community College's amphitheater, Westminster's Rotary Club has given a tremendous boost to the fund-raising effort and established an ambitious example for the county's other service groups.
Financing and building the amphitheater is also the first big project for the newly formed Carroll Community College Foundation. The amphitheater, expected to cost about $300,000, the college's first major capital project to be financed strictly through private efforts, without state or county money. With government budgets strained, Carroll's Community College will be forced to finance more of its future projects with private donations.
The amphitheater, which is to be built into a hillside on the south side of campus, should enhance the cultural and artistic life of the county. The space will be available for community use and will attract music, dance and theatrical performances that normally would bypass Carroll because the county has never had an adequate venue to stage such attractions.
Raising this sum will certainly tax the members of the Westminster Rotary, particularly because they will continue working to support the organization's other programs such as a scholarship program at Westminster High School, Little League and community tree plantings. With only 70 members, who are used to raising between $10,000 and $15,000 annually, the Westminster club will need to have a number of smashingly successful fund-raisers between now and 1998, when the college project is to be built.
In recognition of the size of Westminster Rotary Club's pledge, the Carroll Community College board of trustees voted to dub the structure the Rotary Amphitheater. The name is intended to honor all of the county's Rotary clubs, who are also expected to join in the fund-raising effort.
Despite the size of the Rotary Club pledge, the amphitheater still needs donations totaling another $150,000 to make the project happen. Other service clubs should consider contributing. It may be too late to have the amphitheater named after them, but a large donation will leave an important legacy that thousands of
Carroll citizens will enjoy for years to come.
