209 Business Journal February 2019

209 BUSINESS JOURNAL

10

FEBRUARY 2019

NEWS

Governor’s proposed budget includes funds for new ag building at Merced College STAFF REPORTS 209 Business Journal

The construction of a new Agriculture and Industrial Technology building on the Merced College campus took a major step forward last week with the release of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed $144 billion budget.

Included in the budget was a California Community Colleges facilities item, allocating an increase of $358.7 million in general obligation bond funding for 12 new and 15 continuing projects. This allocation represents the next installment of the $2 billion available for the CCCs under Proposition 51 (2016), and will address critical fire and other safety issues at campuses statewide.

The Prop 51 funds will match the funds provided by a 2002 local-bond measure, allowing Merced College to move forward on the new $21-million facility.

“Merced is an agricultural community and I am thrilled the Governor’s proposed budget includes the funding necessary to

finally build a state-of-theart Agriculture and Industrial Technology Building at Merced College,” Merced College Superintendent/ President Chris Vitelli said.

The bond fulfillment comes at the perfect time, with demand for careers in agriculture and industrial technology growing steadily. The current Agriculture and IT facilities were built in 1968 and 1976 respectively. In addition to being dated and showing ware, the facilities are too small to meet the growing demand of our students.

Newsom got to see that firsthand when he, Assemblymember Adam Gray, Congressman Jim Costa and local agricultural leaders toured the campus back in early October. Gray has been a huge advocate for the College getting the new facility built and played an integral role in getting the then Lt. Governor to visit the campus.

“Making good on our promise to this community, we are going to build one of the best agriculture and industrial technology buildings possible to re-

flect the quality of our flagship programs,” Vitelli said.

“This new facility will help our students learn cuttingedge industry skills and earn high-demand, highwage jobs.”

The proposed building will consist of 20,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space for programs in agribusiness, industrial technology, horticulture, HVAC, crop science and animal science.

The added classrooms and labs will increase enrollment capacity by 2,248 weekly student contact hours, helping to keep pace with the 12-percent enrollment bump that the Chancellor’s Office predicts from 2016-2022.

The college is in the process of working with a prominent donor for naming rights to the building and hopes to make an announcement soon. If things remain unchanged on the May budget revision and June final budget, the college hopes to break ground on the project starting in Fall 2020.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MERCED COLLEGE

Gavin Newsom and Merced College’s Vice President of Instruction Kelly Fowler visit the campus in October 2018.

Stocktonian of the Year to be feted STAFF REPORTS

209 Business Journal The philanthropic work of Duane Isetti, a graduate of the University of the Pacific, has touched countless people throughout San Joaquin County and beyond.

His service to others has been so broad that in December 2018, he was named the 65th Stocktonian of the Year. The Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce will officially give the award to Isetti at a Feb. 13 ceremony at the Stockton Golf and Country Club.

“You don’t do service to expect

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things in return,” Isetti said of the award. “That’s not the motivation. And, so, for me, it is just the most humbling experience that I’ve ever had. And I can tell you, I was fortunate enough to have a few awards in my lifetime and being inducted in a couple of halls of fame here and there along the road, but this award tops them all.”

Isetti, a Saint Mary’s High School graduate, came to Pacific on a football scholarship and earned his bachelor’s degree before receiving a fellowship that allowed him to get his master’s here. Neither of Isetti’s parents had a high school education, but

they made sure that Isetti and his brothers, Don and Ron, all attended Saint Mary’s and Pacific. Duane Isetti’s son, Derek ‘08, continued the family tradition at Pacific. He earned a master’s in speech-language pathology and is now an assistant professor in the same program.

“As I got older, I came to realize ... he has really made such an impact on so many people in the community,” said Derek Isetti.

“So, I think I realized early on just how many people my dad knew in this community, but also how many lives he affected.”

After graduating from Pacific, Duane Isetti taught at his for-

mer high school for 15 years and was the school’s football coach and athletics director. He then returned to Pacific where he worked in planned giving and was director of the Pacific Athletic Foundation. He helped create the Orange and Black Ball fundraiser for Athletics, an annual tradition that continues today.

About 10 years ago, he helped to found his “pride and joy,” the Community Foundation of San Joaquin, which works to help make philanthropic giving in the region as effective as possible.

BLUE

FROM PAGE 1 growth,” she said. “We truly are growing our reputation as the Silicon Valley of food processing.”

Jansen said that in addition to a line for the Almond Breeze base, a future line inside of the expansion will serve as a production means for an innovative product yet to be announced.

“The next big idea, like the next almond flour or Almond Breeze, will also be housed in this expansion,” Jansen said. “We’ve got a great big funnel full of products and innovations we’re continuing to evaluate and test, and one of those is likely to be produced here in Turlock within the next year.”

The project will be completed in 14 months time — something made possible by the years-long partnership Blue Diamond has forged with the City of Turlock, Jansen said, which ensured upon the original plant’s development that the Turlock Regional Industrial Park was “shovel-ready” and continues to do so today.

“This speaks to the ongoing partnership with Blue Diamond, their existence here and their commitment to the Turlock community both in terms of being part of the vertical integration for our local farmers but also in providing jobs and being a corporate member of our community,” Pitt said. “It really has put us on the map in terms of high-tech agriculture.”