Foundation News

Gala to Feature Coro Wineries with Appetizer Pairings

Friday, 10 May 2013 14:17

The countdown is on and the menu is planned for this year’s Gala on the Green Vine & Dine, June 1 on the Ukiah campus of Mendocino College. Fine wines and delectable appetizers will be present in abundance prior to an extraordinary dinner.  This year’s event is building on the success of last year’s Gala which set a record for financial support of student scholarships and programs at the college.

This year, the event has come “home” to the Mendocino College campus.  The festivities will be held in the Student Plaza and the brand-new Library/Learning Center building, and a completely remodeled Student Center. Guests will appreciate the thoughtful design of this new area which takes advantage of the campus setting with scenic views of the western valley’s rolling hills.

Bringing back a very popular feature from last year, organizers have arranged a wine and appetizer hour, featuring top caterers and wineries from the area. Appetizers will include offerings from Assiagiare Mendocino, Mendocino College Instructors Leslie Banta & Vivian Varela, Bellissimo Wine Country Catering, Jim Stuart, and Mendocino Bridal & Tux. Rounding out the appetizer stations will be contributions from celebrated local dining establishments Oco Time, Patrona, Tallman Hotel/Blue Wing Saloon, and Uncorked Wine Bistro.

Every appetizer station will be paired with a wine station where one of the ten Coro group producers will be pouring their distinctive, locally-produced wines. Coro producers at the Gala will include Barra of Mendocino, Brutocao Cellars, Claudia Springs Winery, Fetzer Winery, Golden Vineyards, McFadden Vineyard, McNab Ridge Winery, Mendocino Vineyards, Parducci Wine Cellars, and Philo Ridge Vineyards.

After guests enjoy the wine and appetizer hour, previewed the live auction and placed their bids on silent auction items, dinner will be served by the Culinary Arts department of the college. Nicholas Petti, Culinary Arts instructor and proprietor of Mendo Bistro in Fort Bragg, has fashioned a menu featuring roasted asparagus and sherry vinaigrette, crab cakes with cabbage salad and tarragon aioli, avocado panzanella, zinfandel braised short ribs, potato cake and gremolata, strawberry semifreddo, and more. A vegetarian option will also be available.

The crab cakes, an especially popular item during the appetizer hour at last year’s Gala, will be back this year as part of the main meal thanks to a generous donation of crab from Caito Fisheries.

“Hosting the event on campus will allow the college to highlight instructional programs in a new way, featuring campus tours, student entertainment and speakers, as well as an opportunity to meet many of the MESA students who are serving as event volunteers,” noted Foundation Executive Director Katie Fairbairn.

Major sponsors include 94.5 Kwine, Max 93.5 Radio, Skunk Train, Mendo Lake Credit Union, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Selzer Realty, TLCD Architecture, and Ukiah Valley Medical Center.

Registration for the Gala on the Green Vine & Dine is available online. Admission is $100 per person, with a table of eight for $700, or a premium table of four for $500. For more information about the event, or about the Mendocino College Foundation, visit the Gala’s website at galaonthegreen.org or call 707-467-1018.

Mendocino College Foundation Scholarship Winner: Caitlyn Hallman

Friday, 03 May 2013 20:22

by Lynda Myers, Foundation Board Member

Ukiah High graduate Caitlyn Hallman was one of 38 students to win a $1,500 Mendocino College Foundation Academic Excellence Scholarship last Spring. Hallman explained that she received $750 at the beginning of the Fall 2012 semester, and the other $750 at the beginning of the Spring 2013 semester. “The money has been so helpful,” she said. “I used it to pay for my units and also my textbooks, which are extremely expensive.”

Hallman, who is in her second year at Mendocino College (MC), has finished all the general education requirements for transfer to a four-year college.  She is now working on the pre-requisites for entrance into a nursing program. While she would love to be accepted into the MC nursing program, she is also considering nursing programs at Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College.

To begin preparing for her future career, she plans to enroll in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training, sponsored by the local chapter of the American Red Cross, during the summer of 2013. “With a CNA, I will be able to work in a doctor’s office or a hospital to help pay for my nursing education,” she said.

Hallman says that she loves the beautiful campus at MC, and she is delighted by the “awesome” professors. “The profs here actually spend one-on-one time with their students. I have a friend who goes to college in Arizona where there are 300 students in a class! She does not ever get individual time with her professors. We are so lucky here, where the professors are enthusiastic about their work and really care about their students. In my two years at MC, I have not had a bad prof yet!” she said.

Hallman's interest in the health field began while in high school when she took first aid and CPR classes offered by the City of Ukiah. Her training and quick thinking helped save a life while she was traveling with a group of Ukiah High Spanish language students in Portugal. “A man had fallen near the edge of a cliff and hit his head on a rock,” she explained. “He was taking blood thinners and was bleeding profusely. The teacher, Ezra Post, noticed and ran toward him. I grabbed the first aid kit out of the bus and followed. There was not much in the first aid kit except gauze, so another student and I used that to wrap and compress the wound to stop the bleeding. It took a full 40 minutes for the emergency personnel to arrive. We just used basic first aid, but he would have bled to death in that time without assistance.” She and her classmate received the American Red Cross Youth Good Samaritan Award in recognition of their courage and resourcefulness. “I still hear from that man,” she said, smiling.

Hallman believes most people would be surprised to learn that she was a national champion roller skater at age 14. “After that, I retired from skating,” she said.

Hallman volunteers at a local nursing home as a companion to a 95 year-old-lady “who was one of my favorite customers when I worked at BeBop's.” She also helps the Kiwanis Club with volunteer activities, such as serving at Plowshares and delivering gifts for the Christmas effort. Hallman says her mother, Jordis, the past-president of Kiwanis, has made it easy and fun for her to help out. 

In her free time Hallman enjoys playing guitar and crocheting.

For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation or to donate towards any of their programs, call 707-467-1018

MC Super Star Jamie O'Ferrall

Wednesday, 17 April 2013 17:54

Jamie O'Ferrall R.N. graduated from the Mendocino College (MC) Nursing Program in May, 2012 and now works at Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits as an inpatient medical/surgical nurse. She was one of the lucky 2012 nursing graduates to have her State Board fees paid by donor Albert Beltrami.

She is a member of the Round Valley tribe and has lived her whole life on the Round Valley Indian Reservation. “When I started attending MC, there was a program through the reservation to help students with college expenses. However, I did not have a particular goal at first, and it showed in my grades. I got to thinking about my grandparents who owned a grocery store in Covelo, and my great aunt who started the Round Valley Indian Health Center.  I decided I wanted to do something important with my life. I realized I wanted to be a nurse right before the reservation college funding program ended. I was determined, but I could not have done it without the support of my family!”

O'Ferrall says there were times during her studies when she felt she was not cut out for nursing, and she couldn't do it. “The ladies in the nursing program are the most amazing people I have ever met,” she said, referring to the nursing faculty. “They love what they do, and they are good at it. Whenever it all became too much, one of them would call me into her office, and we would work it out.”

O'Ferrall noted that Darletta Fulwilder in the counseling office “stayed on top of things” so she did not miss deadlines, and she appreciates that her counselor, Mary Holcomb, was always there for her. 

“Finances were constantly an issue during the nursing program.  I knew I had to pay $200 for the State Board fees, but when I found out about the other $200, I felt like giving up. Raising another $200 seemed impossible. Finances are so stressful. They are the most stressful thing in the world! When I learned about Mr. Beltrami's generous donation, which covered everyone's State Board fees, I cried. A lot of us cried. After two years of pre-requisites, then two years of nursing school, none of us had any money left to pay those fees. It was a huge thing for all of us!”

Now that she has graduated and passed the state board exams, how does she like nursing? “I absolutely love it!” says O' Ferrall “Howard Memorial is a small hospital, and the staff there is like a family. They have all been so welcoming to me; it is a wonderful work environment. I never know what my work day will be like, so every day is a new adventure,” she said.

O'Ferrall's plans for the future include earning a bachelor's degree in nursing while continuing to work at Howard Memorial Hospital.

When she has free time, she enjoys hanging out with her family, and doing “ranch stuff.” She is proud that her twin sister Amanda, a forest service firefighter, will graduate from the MC nursing program in May 2013.

O'Ferrall was one of the eighteen 2012 MC nursing graduates whose state board fees ($400 each) were generously paid by MC Foundation Board member Albert Beltrami.

(Pictured: Jamie O'Ferrall, left, is congratulated by her sister, Amanda O'Ferrall, after receiving her Associate of Arts degree in Nursing from Mendocino College).

For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation or to donate towards the NCLEX state board fees, call 707-467-1018 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it