CRC Patrons Club
Formed in 1971, 10 local residents met with CRC’s first president to organize a group to act as liaison between the then new college and the community it would serve. Calling themselves the Patrons Club, the members agreed to hold monthly luncheon meetings on campus, with programs to orient members to the operation and needs of the college. As the years passed, membership grew; but the work of the Patrons Club never varied from the original goal of raising money for student scholarships and providing funds for special projects on campus.
In 1972, the club donated $1,250 for scholarships and college needs and over the years, they offered thousands of dollars in scholarships benefiting hundreds of students as well as providing funds for choir robes, draperies, a bus shelter, library books, trophy cases, trees, helping the Child Development Center, and establishing a President’s portrait gallery. In 2020, they endowed two scholarships, the CRC Patrons Club Tatterson Family Memorial Scholarship, and the CRC Patrons Club Memorial Scholarship. These two endowed scholarships have ensured that CRC students will always receive a Patrons scholarship. In 2023, the Patrons Club dissolved but they leave a legacy of generosity that lives on.
The Patrons Club also sponsors the Evelyn Morse Memorial Scholarship in memory of former Patrons Club member Barbara Evelyn Morse.
Barbara Evelyn Morse the gracious and beloved matriarch of the Pioneer Morse Family of Elk Grove was born in 1918 to Archie and Barbara Elinor Morse (Barbara Comstock Morse Elementary and Morse Community Park) of Elk Grove where she lived her entire life. She passed away March 22, 2009.
Aunt Avie as she was lovingly called was like a second mother to all of her nieces and nephews. She was supportive and inspirational in each of their endeavors. She created a family bond that will nourish and sustain them for years ahead.
She attended the original Carroll School, Elk Grove High School, Sacramento Jr. College, San Jose State College, and was a member of the first graduating class of Sacramento State College (Alumni Association Executive Council Member) where she also received her teaching credential.
During WWII she worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” at McClellan AFB as well as driving a harvester on the family ranch, before starting her teaching career at EG Elementary School. This was followed by 30 years of teaching at Pacific Elementary School in Sacramento.
A passionate traveler, she toured Europe (by bicycle in 1953), the South Pacific, the Orient, New Zealand, as well as many places throughout the U.S. In later years she enjoyed wonderful adventures with family members cruising to Canada, Alaska, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, and the San Juan Islands.
A tireless volunteer into her eighties for EG Meals on Wheels (12 yrs.), Bruceville Terrace Senior Nursing Facility, Franklin Laguna Area Planning Advisory Council, Elk Grove United Methodist Church, the LEAD Advisory Committee and the Cancer Society. She held leadership roles in Native Daughters of the Golden West Liberty Parlor (59 years, president 4 times), EG Chapter of the Eastern Star (Worthy Matron), Cosumnes River College Patrons Club (President), the oldest West Coast Book Club of EG (President), EG Garden Club (President) and the EG Historical Society.
Hers was a life well lived with service, integrity, and love…
Impact
I am currently in my last two years of medical school, currently involved in an elective year at UC Davis Medical Center conducting ophthalmology research, and my last academic year to prepare for residency applications and interviews in 2019-2020 (just finished my 3rd year of medical school). I’d be happy to send an old group photo of the donor and I, as well as an updated photo as soon as I return to Sacramento, most likely Wednesday of next week (currently in the Bay area studying for my board exams). Steven Tran, CRC Patrons Club Communication, Visual & Performing Arts Area Award, 2008My first day of college ever was when I began CRC at the age of 37 in August 2008. I started college the same week my youngest son entered Kindergarten. I loved being able to attend on-campus classes while my kids were at school. I really wanted the in-class, sitting under a professor part of the college experience. I was blessed with encouraging professors who guided me on my journey. These included Rick Boeck, Daniel DuBray and Georgina Hodgkinson. Fortunately, the increased availability of online classes provided the balance I needed as a student with a family. Though I had to take 3 summer classes and spend 2 semesters carrying 21 units, I earned my AA in Organizational Communication in May 2010. That fall, I transferred to Sac State where I earned my BA in Communication Studies in May 2012 at the age of 40. After graduation, I began substitute teaching in my community district. Initially, I started doing it because the hours were very family friendly. However, I began to realize that the elementary school classroom was my calling. This fall, I took one more step in my educational journey and began pursuing my teaching credential through an online program, CalStateTEACH at Fresno State. I plan to have my preliminary credential after completing the program in December 2019. I have been privileged to have the opportunity to return to school as an adult. Every step of the process has been enriching but Cosumnes River College will always have a special place in my heart. One of my sons began attending in August. Another plans to attend when he graduates from high school in 2021. I am grateful and proud to consider Cosumnes River College a new family tradition. Fran Hooper, CRC Patrons Club Re-Entry Award, 2009
I am currently working in the field of Child Development for the Sacramento City Unified School District. I did transfer to Sacramento State University and Obtained my BA- Child Development. I was a mom of four who returned to school and am very grateful for the scholarships I received and to be able to reach my dream of going back to school and getting my degree. I am currently looking for a program to go back and aquire my masters in Child development and leadership. I am so grateful for Cosumnes River College and the Los Rios School District for preparing me for the University. Yolanda Joneshankerson, CRC Patrons Club Business & Family Science Area Award, 2010
I transferred and finished my education online at Ashford University getting my B.A. in Marketing/PR. I am currently working as a project manager with Luxer One and I am the host of a successful podcast. I recently have begun to put more time and energy into the Podcast and hope to transfer to that full time in 2019. Bert Beattie, CRC Patrons Club Re-Entry Award 2010.
Since graduating from the Los Rios Community College District in May of 2016, I had the immense pleasure of pursuing a history degree at UCLA. During my two-year tenure there, I embarked on a year-long thesis project that explored African American women’s scholarship and grassroots activism during the Black Freedom Movement. I received the Wellman Summer Fund Travel Award to conduct research in New York City where I explored archives at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Brooklyn College. I was nominated to present my research for Undergraduate Research Week at UCLA, during which I remarked on African American women’s engagement in welfare rights activism. I presented a second research project at UCLA’s History Undergraduate Research Conference—a paper about a South African activist named Lilian Ngoyi who campaigned for women’s rights while galvanizing domestic and international resistance to apartheid. In June of 2018, I graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with Highest Departmental Honors and College Honors distinction. After applying to graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I was nominated for and awarded the Royster Fellowship, the university’s most prestigious five-year, merit-based funding package. Now enrolled in a fully-funded Ph.D. program in African history at UNC-Chapel Hill, I study twentieth-century South African sociopolitical history and transnational anti-apartheid activism in the United States. I would like to extend my most heartfelt gratitude to the donors at CRC, whose generosity helped facilitate my pursuit of higher education and whose philanthropy has helped so many others like me advance their academic careers. It is an enormous privilege to have graduated from CRC, and I am tremendously thankful to the patrons whose largesse contributed to my growth as a budding scholar. Laura Cox, CRC Patrons Club Humanities & Social Science Area Award, 2016