Jul 14, 2022

Salina Tech foundation director attends development conference

Posted Jul 14, 2022 11:30 AM
<b>Brenda Gutierrez. </b>Photo courtesy Salina Tech
Brenda Gutierrez. Photo courtesy Salina Tech

Salina Tech

Brenda Gutierrez, executive director of the Salina Area Technical College Foundation, attended her first meeting of the Kansas Community and Technical College Development Officers’ Conference held at Colby Community College.

During the two-day conference, participants from across the state took part in a variety of events, including a discussion of the relationship between colleges and their foundations with Colby Community College President Seth Carter, and a presentation by Brien Stockman, a member of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation Board of Trustees.

The theme of the conference was “Producing Through Philanthropy,” with other sessions devoted to capital campaigns, stewardship, digital storytelling and board development.

One highlight of the conference was dinner and a tour of the headquarters of Frahm Farmland, Inc., a 30,600-acre farm near Colby. The Frahm family believes in contributing to the world around them and leaving the communities and the lives they touch better than how they found them.

As the conference came to a close, Gutierrez said, she reflected on everything she had learned: “It was great to learn about new strategies that are working for others across the state and how we can apply those strategies at Salina Tech. Graduates from colleges such as Salina Tech are in high demand, and generating philanthropic support to help future students be successful is an exciting challenge.”