Feb. 28, 2003 - The business community "passed go" and took a walk on "Boardwalk" as Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) and the CCCCD Foundation Inc. presented "An Evening of Monopoly®" for the third consecutive year. The event took place at 7 p.m. at Countrywide Home Loans Corporate Headquarters in Plano.

This unique fundraiser benefits CCCCD student scholarships and academic excellence, and this year's event raised more than $157,000 from sponsorship commitments, surpassing the 2002 total.

"We appreciate the support shown by business and community leaders, especially in these difficult economic times, for this critical fundraiser," said Cary A. Israel, CCCCD president.

According to Sam Roach, chair of the CCCCD board of trustees, "With the current state of the economy, many of our students are depending on scholarships and emergency aid to help pay for their college education. We are so grateful to the generous people and businesses who support Monopoly."

Israel said, "We are also seeing a new trend today where our students are working so much that they do not have time left for studying. By offering some financial assistance, it is our hope that they can cut back on their work hours and devote more time to their college studies."

The 2003 lead sponsors, Fisher Regulators and Medical Center of Plano, were in the Mister Monopoly category ($10,000). Boardwalk sponsors ($5,000) included AT&T Broadband, Chartwells, Dill Investments-Richard & Diane Dill, Hall Financial Group, North Central Medical Center of McKinney and Telecom Electric Supply Co. The Utilities sponsor ($5,000) is Oncor.

Get Out of Jail sponsors ($2,000) included AEGON Direct Marketing Services Inc., Beck, Corgan Associates Inc., Dental Careers Foundation, Exide Technologies, MultiView Inc., Perkins & Will Architects, and Plano Profile magazine and The Hillier Group.

For a complete listing of sponsors, visit the Monopoly website.

Collin County Community College District serves more than 38,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs in a wide range of disciplines. In addition, CCCCD is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and workforce development.

Top photo: Robert Keahey (l), CCCCD Foundation Board chairman and Sam Roach, CCCCD Board chairman, stand with Mary Jo Dean, vice president of Marketing and Strategic Planning at Medical Center of Plano. Medical Center of Plano was one of this year's lead sponsors.

Bottom photo: CCCCD President Cary Israel (l), CCCCD Trustee Cindy Bauge and "Mr. Monopoly®" emcee Bob Hopkins, founder and president of Philanthropy in Texas, are pictured with the evening's grand prize winners Steve Matthews, Oncor, and his wife, Melinda.