Callaghan's gift to Terra a tribute to his parents

to aid paper

employees,

community

Given that the late Paul and Rosemary Callaghan were dedicated to community service in their hometown of Bellevue, the establishment of an endowed scholarship in their name at Terra Community College seemed the perfect tribute.

And so their son, Paul "Pete" Callaghan, has pledged $25,000 to the Terra College Foundation and its major gifts campaign to honor his parents for their desire to better their community and support their family and employees.

"With this fund, I hope to assist the employees of the Bellevue Gazette and Clyde Enterprise or any student in financial need with their pursuit of self betterment with the help of the outstanding administration and staff at the life-enhancing facility of Terra Community College," he said.

"My parents always tried to instill in me that 'It is not what you make in life that is important, but what you give back in life.'"

The Callaghan family owned the Gazette Publishing Company for three generations, according to Tom Smith, Terra trustee and former president and CEO of the company.

"From 1867 until 2007 when the company was sold to Brown Media Holdings, the Callaghan family was dedicated to community service and committed to their employees," Smith said.

In addition to publishing the community newspaper in Bellevue, Pete Callaghan's grandfather and uncle served as postmaster for the city, co-founded the community telephone company (a predecessor to GTE) and were among the founders of Industrial Savings and Loan (now Home Savings).

Pete's father, Paul, along with other Bellevue business people, established the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and was an outstanding civic leader while serving as publisher of the Gazette.

"Pete's father and mother worked tirelessly to promote the economic vitality and social development of the Bellevue community," Smith said. "During their lifetime, if something good was happening in Bellevue, Paul and Rosemary Callaghan and their newspaper were actively working to support it."

Smith, who is now a regional vice president with Brown Media Holdings, said it was through the effort of the employees and the Callaghans' commitment to the community that propelled the publishing company in growth from two papers and 20 employees to 20 publications and 100 employees.

"As a Terra trustee and past chairman of the board, I believe the Callaghan Scholarship Endowment will further the aim of Pete Callaghan and his parents to encourage growth and prosperity for our region," Smith said.

"This will allow and encourage current and future Bellevue Gazette and Clyde Enterprise employees and their families and other residents of the region to pursue educational advancement through the programs and classes offered by Terra Community College."

The goal of Terra's major gifts campaign, Investment in the Future, is to raise $2 million.

The campaign, the first in a decade at Terra, is designed to provide needed support in two primary areas:

*State-of-the-art instructional lab equipment for new and existing academic programs

*Additional assistance to students through need-based scholarship awards

Gifts to date total $1,503,500. The target date for wrap-up of the campaign is Sept. 25, 2008.

For more information on the Terra College Foundation, contact Dr. Sue Babione, Executive Director, at 419-559-2301.