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CMC to honor Carbondale residents for creation of $25,000 scholarship

Renelle Lott
Special to the Post Independent

A busy construction company and a busy college student in the Roaring Fork Valley have two things in common: the drive to achieve and a generous scholarship.

A $25,000 scholarship created by Mark and Donna Norris of Weitz-Norris Custom Homes has made the difference for Colorado Mountain College student Jennifer Stroder, who is starting her second year of studies in business.

“I wouldn’t be going to school without the scholarship,” she said.



“In the long run I will be a better person, and my self-esteem is higher from attending college. I am a first-generation college student in my immediate family, and none of my sisters have gone to college yet,” she added. “It is pushing me towards a future that makes me feel really good about myself.”

The Norrises, along with Bill Hornaday of their parent company, The Weitz Co., will be honorees at an upcoming Colorado Mountain College Foundation event.



“Their gift is a significant scholarship donation, and it has been key to offering substantial help to students reaching out towards a degree in business,” says CMC Foundation specialist Carol Brown.

Mark Norris recalls the thinking that went into creating the scholarship in 2000.

“We had been very successful in the valley, and we wanted to give back. We wanted to give a valuable tool to students reaching out for a degree in business.” Donna adds, “When we were acquired by The Weitz Co., Mark and I told them that we had made a commitment to this scholarship. All we had to do was mention it, and they loved the idea. In fact, they immediately paid the scholarship in full!”

Bill Hornaday, president of The Weitz Co. Rocky Mountain Business Unit, said, “The company believes strongly in encouraging growth of new talent, and Mark and Donna have generously supported this belief.”

Weitz-Norris Custom Homes builds luxury residential homes and is expanding nationwide. The Weitz Co. was started in 1855, and does a range of construction projects nationally. Locally, it is building the Midland Center, a commercial office building near the West Glenwood interstate ramp, and the second phase of The Timbers in Snowmass, a group of fractional-ownership residential town homes.

Mark and Donna Norris and Bill Hornaday will be honored for the Weitz-Norris scholarship on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the Jim Calaway Honor Series.

Performing will be Hired Hands, a trio offering an eclectic blend of Americana music with the roots and tangled styles stemming from Western music.

Performances are at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 and 22 at the New Space Theater in the Calaway Building at the Spring Valley location of CMC.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students. Reservations: 947-8367.


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