The Dutchess Community College Foundation’s annual Gala, Our Community’s Bridge to the Future, will be held on Saturday, March 25 at 6 p.m. at The Grandview in Poughkeepsie. The event will honor the 2023 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees and recipients of two awards for outstanding service to the College and community respectively. The Foundation provides more than $800,000 annually to DCC to support student scholarships, emergency grant needs, student technology and other educational initiatives.
Retired Footlocker CEO Keith Daly and KeyBank AVP Rita McPeck will be inducted into the DCC Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. Michael Fleischer and Michael Francis Dupree will receive the College’s Bridge to the Future Award, and Ron Lane will receive the Bernard Handel Community Leadership Award.
Daly (’72) competed on the basketball team while at DCC and went on to oversee a multi-billion dollar footwear company. In the time between these endeavors, he coached and taught at the high school level, worked in merchandising in a subsidiary of the Woolworth Corporation, and climbed up the ranks from vice president to CEO.
An Italian who immigrated to New York will her family as a child, McPeck (’88) has enjoyed a distinguished career in finance over the past 35 years. Now AVP/SBA senior service officer for KeyBank’s Hudson Valley/Metro NY and Albany district, McPeck has won the Signature Circle award six times for significantly exceeding goals and given numerous accolades for her work in the community.
Michael Fleischer and Michael Francis Dupree have been living in Hyde Park since 1993 and devote much of their time and energy to strengthening their community and preserving its wealth of historic resources. Both serve on several boards and contribute to a variety of causes and public projects; Dupree is currently board chairman and trustee at DCC. Fleischer and Dupree have been significant supporters of student housing at DCC.
Ron Lane (’75) spent 35 years in medical sales and business consulting at McKesson Corporation until his retirement in 2014. He has been volunteering and serving on boards in support of a variety of causes for just as long —from his enduring commitment to Dutchess County SPCA (since 1991); to college sports, as a former tennis player then volunteer coach at Marist; to arts and culture as board president of New Deal Creative Arts Center; social services at Grace Smith House, and more.
Lead gala sponsors include Bonura Hospitality Group, Michael Dupree & Michael Fleischer, Pepsi-Cola of the Hudson Valley, Nuvance Health, Royal Carting Service Company and VIVO Creative.
Tickets are $225 per person. Call Burnelle Roser, DCC Foundation assistant director, at (845) 431-8402 for more information.
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