Bill Southern's association with Barton County Community College began in 1967 when he assumed chairmanship of the BCCJC Endowment Association Board of Trustees. He served as board chairman through June of 1970, and then remained on the board for two additional terms, 1970 through 1973, and 1984 through 1987.

Southern helped coordinate the association's first fund drive in 1968 and has worked with all three foundation executive officers. As a regular financial contributor, he established a memorial to his grandson, Ryan Pivonka, in 1989. Southern was honorary campaign chairman for the Academic Enrichment Fund Campaign in the fall of 1992, during the foundation's 25th anniversary. He owns Southern Insurance in Great Bend. He has three children, Bill, Jr., Hutchinson; Joni, Ellinwood; and Nancy, Eastsound, Wash.

 

Jim Heaton was a member of the original faculty/staff at the college during the 1969-70 academic year. He served as director of public information and taught broadcast journalism. He also established student-operated radio station KBJC-FM. In June of 1970, he became vice president of marketing for Security State Bank, retiring in December 1988. Heaton was elected to the Board of Trustees twice, serving eight years from 1981 to 1989, and served as Board Secretary from 1983 through 1989.

Jo Ann Heaton is a long-standing member of the College Community Women.

Their two children, David, Tampa, Fla., and Jane Heaton-Rees, Colorado Springs, Colo., are BCCC alumni. The Heatons began contributing to the foundation's Academic Enrichment Fund Campaign in 1987. They have been actively involved with the women's basketball and volleyball programs for the past 12 years, providing a home-away-from-home for student athletes.

 

 

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