Winter Haven News Chief
March 22, 2007

BARTOW - Polk Community College received a $12 million donation and a parcel of land from the Clear Springs Land Co.

The funds, which will be matched by the state, will be used to build an Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center that will serve as a permanent home for PCC's Corporate College.

Tom Dowling, the college's spokesman, said the funds will be matched by the Dr. Philip Benjamin matching program, which matches funds that are contributed to the PCC Foundation.

The donation was formalized in a letter from Stan Phelps, chairman of Clear Springs, and presented to PCC President Eileen Holden on March 8.

"This donation means we can serve the business community," said Dowling.

Clear Springs President Jura Zibas said the donation was made with the idea of recruiting businesses to the community. "We are proud to have PCC's Corporate College and the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center as a core part of the overall plan for our property," Zibas said.

The corporate college is a key provider of business and industry training in Polk County, school officials said. It will be located in Bartow on a portion of land Clear Springs owns.

The company sits on a total of 18,000 acres of land with approximately 11,000 of those acres within the city limits of Bartow.

The corporate college, created in 2002 in response to the needs of the county business community, delivers industry-specific training, officials said. Since then, thousands of Polk County workers have been trained with standard and customized training programs which focused on safety, security, manufacturing, supervision and advanced leadership.

"We are extremely grateful and excited to receive this generous donation," said Holden in a written statement. "It's a wonderful example of a public and private partnership that will benefit the entire community."

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