Paul D. Camp Community College Real Estate Foundation

A thriving economy depends on a well-educated workforce, and Paul D. Camp Community College is helping to ensure that Suffolk, Franklin, and the surrounding counties have the workforce necessary to remain vibrant and prosperous. 

The college offers programs in a variety of areas, ranging from education, business, and science to healthcare, computer and information technology, and training in the trades and public service and safety.  

The community college is preparing students for the rapidly changing job market, but offering this diverse range of programs requires building and land to accommodate them. That’s where the Paul D. Camp Community College Real Estate Foundation enters the picture. 

The foundation helps the college raise funds to purchase real estate to accommodate these areas of study. Now, thanks to the foundation’s efforts, students studying healthcare or preparing for technical careers in the trades attend classes in up-to-date, freshly designed buildings.  

Meghan Councill, who has served on the foundation’s board of directors since its founding in 2022, points out that the real estate foundation is separate from the Paul D. Camp Community College Foundation, which started in 1980 and provides scholarships and helps support academic programs and faculty development. 

Paul D. Camp Community College held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Nursing & Allied Health building in Franklin. TowneBank was honored to make a donation to the building’s renovation. TowneBank Suffolk & Western Tidewater president Thomas Woodward is at the far left.  

Meghan, who is a senior vice president with Davenport & Company LLC, says the springboard for the foundation was a donation of 20 acres and six townhouses on College Drive in Franklin.  This property is now used for college functions and faculty housing. Paul D. Camp Community College has also acquired the building that formerly housed The Tidewater News.  

After the ribbon cutting, guests toured the new facility and learned more about the nursing and allied health programs. 

Since its start, the foundation has helped the college acquire the real estate for the Nursing and Allied Health Building and the Workforce Trades and Innovation Center, where students are trained for technical careers. “They work closely with the United States Navy,” Meghan says. 

The foundation relies on state, federal, and private grants for much of its funding, with additional funding from private donors. “We receive grants from both public and private funds,” Meghan says.  

Meghan credits TowneBank for facilitating the process, and she particularly appreciates the financial guidance that she receives from Ashley Fisher, assistant vice president and branch manager at TowneBank in Courtland. 

Ashley enjoys her working relationship with both the Paul D. Camp Community College Real Estate Foundation and the Camp Foundation. As a local resident and a former student, she feels a connection to Paul D. Camp Community College and the students it serves. 

“As a former student, I understand the important role that community colleges play in the community and in the lives of their students,” Ashley says. “My heart is in this community where I live, and it is rewarding to see that our youth have these educational opportunities.” 

“TowneBank has been a wonderful partner,” says Meghan.  “Working with them has been one of my joys.  It’s a true feel-good relationship.” 

For more information, visit PDC.edu.