- April 19, 2024
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Daytona State College announced last week that its nursing program will now be known as the Bob and Carol Allen School of Nursing, as the couple have made a series of generous gifts to the college for the past three years, including the most recent donation of $1 million to the Daytona State Foundation.
The naming decision was reached on Thursday, Sept. 23, when the College's District Board of Trustees, upon the recommendation of the Foundation Board of Directors, voted to name the nursing program after the Allens. Bob Allen moved to Daytona Beach from North Carolina in 1990 to lead Consolidated Tomoka, which is now CTO Realty Growth.
“The college is grateful to the Allens whose generosity during a time when we face unprecedented challenges is remarkable," said DSC President Dr. Tom LoBasso, according to the press release. "Thank you, Bob and Carol, for making such a transformative gift that will benefit this community with well-trained, highly qualified nurses.”
The Allens met with DSC Foundation staff and Dr. Amy Szoka, chair of nursing at DSC, in 2018. They then began to make significant scholarship gifts to support nursing students and others, such as paramedics, industrial technicians, and students in the college's new accounting program.
“Our experience is that Dr. Szoka and her team of nurse educators do a wonderful job of preparing nurses who really care about their patients. Both Carol and I have seen this up-close-and-personal as we have been the beneficiaries of their care,” Bob Allen said. “Our gratitude led us to the decision to invest in the future of the DSC nursing program, and we are grateful for Daytona State College as a leader in education for this place we love to call home.”
Carol Allen is a graduate of Hood College and Wake Forest University Law School, where she earned her juris doctor degree after the age of 40 and raising their family, practiced and taught civil law at the DSC campus for the University of Central Florida.
“To say that we are thrilled that Bob and Carol would so value our work that they would continue to make such generous investments speaks for itself,” said Szoka in the press release. “Our students, faculty and staff are overjoyed by this gift that provides for immediate program support and a generous endowment that will produce support in perpetuity.”
All U.S. veterans have access to scholarships for art education programs at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum, a cause supported by AdventHealth.
According to an OMAM newsletter, veterans must show their military ID card, Veterans Administration health care card, DD 214 or driver's license with a veteran designation in order to sign up for the 100% scholarship.
To apply, email Kristin Heron at [email protected]
Local artist Ed Siarkowicz will celebrate an opening reception for his exhibition inside Ocean Art Gallery, located at 197 E. Granada Blvd., during the monthly art walk event on Saturday, Oct. 2.
Siarkowicz will release 17 images to the public at the event after over four years of careful study, according to a press release by the gallery. He is the featured artist for the month of October, and his photos capture journeys into local wilds with artist Pierre Matisse.
"Colorful flowers and water rippling under a gentle breeze combining to form gorgeous images through the viewfinder of Ed Siarkowicz’s camera," the press release states. "That is what drives this photographic artist to find idyllic settings throughout Volusia and Flagler woodlands."
His “Impressionistic Water Reflections” opening reception, to take place from 5-8 p.m., will allow guests to meet him and gain insight into his art. There will also be live music and refreshments.
At 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7, Siarkowicz will also present "Fleeting Moments of Beauty," a personal photographic look into how he captures his images. Reservations are required. The presentation is part of Ocean Art Gallery's education forum series.
The Veterans Museum, currently located at 605 Eighth St. in Holly Hill, will soon be moving to its permanent home at 302 Vermont Ave.
The last day to visit the museum at its Holly Hill location will be Saturday, Oct. 9, according to an announcement by museum president Jose Rosa. All local veterans are welcome to visit the museum on Oct. 9 for the closing.
"It has been a tough but wonderful road to our new building, but I am proud to say we will be back home where we belong," Rosa wrote.
He thanked the community for their interest, as well as the museum Board of Directors, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 84, and museum volunteers for their support.
"Let us not overlook that with all this good news, we are now faced with another very difficult move to our new location," Rosa wrote. "We will need all the help and all the funds that we can get, from our veterans and our community, to continue with a successful Museum."
The museum has a projected grand opening date of Dec. 7.
