ALUMNUS SUPPORTS SCC “CROSSING THE ATLANTIC” PROJECT

ALUMNUS SUPPORTS SCC “CROSSING THE ATLANTIC” PROJECT

Lanny Leonard, Sandhills Community College class of 1975, was impressed with the “Crossing the Atlantic” project created by his family friend, Denise Baker, a professor at Sandhills. He also felt strongly about giving back to the college that gave him his start, making a generous contribution to enhance the project.

Mr. Leonard grew up in Aberdeen and went to Sandhills in the early 70's. “I got a great start at Sandhills. The experience and education I received there greatly prepared me for succeeding at East Carolina University, working for a major corporation, and eventually starting my own business” says Leonard.

Mr. Leonard worked for Xerox before opening his own distributorship for them in Fayetteville. After 22 years, Digital Document Solutions has grown to cover 12 counties in North Carolina and employs over 10 people. Mr. Leonard and his wife, Deborah, have 3 sons, Ross 16, Nick 14, and Jack 10.

“The Crossing the Atlantic art project is about making a connection through communication that is lasting because it doesn't involve technology, but hand written correspondence,” says Baker. It was created to showcase letter writing as a lost art form. Baker teamed up with Jasper McKinney, art professor of the Newry Institute in Newry, Northern Ireland for the project. Baker and McKinney asked family, colleagues, and friends to send postcards to each other. Over 1,375 postcards crossed the Atlantic between the two countries, two colleges, and two communities. Faculty from both colleges have visited each other and plans are in the works for the two communities to become international sister cities.