To the editor:

Just 50 years ago, Iowa Central Community College was a bare piece of land on the western portion of Fort Dodge. The newly formed board of directors and the college’s first president, Dr. Ed Barbour, envisioned the Iowa Central Community College of the future which will serve students of Area V (Buena Vista, Calhoun, Greene, Hamilton, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster and Wright).

Iowa Central has been an integral part of the growth of Fort Dodge and Webster County over the past 50 years not only as a place where students can receive their degree or career skills, but also it is one of the largest employers in the region. For the area businesses, the college has grown in stature by partnering with a number of companies in the responsibility of developing programs that will provide the companies with an educated workforce and men and women who have had on-the-job training.

Iowa Central’s roots are deeply embedded in the several acres it now enjoys in the western portion of Fort Dodge. But it is not alone, for it shares this integral part of Fort Dodge with UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center (formerly Lutheran Hospital) and Friendship Haven, a residential facility for the aged.

Iowa Central Community College is now asking for our support so they can position themselves for the next 50 years. If you have not seen what the college has accomplished, I strongly encourage you to drive out to the campus, look around and see for yourself how the once-barren ground is now the college that the founders envisioned and subsequent administrators made real. It is clear that the nine-county region is now and will always be the ultimate benefactor. The Dec. 6 referendum is but a small price tag for the benefits the college has provided and will continue to provide us for the next 50 years.

Albert Habhab

Fort Dodge