FUND-RAISING EFFORTS IN MALDEN A TRIBUTE

Fund raising can be a difficult task because there are so many groups out there with hands extended. But backers of the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center have seen donations grow dramatically since 1991.

The center's advisory council raised a phenomenal $400,000 for capital improvements this year. That compares to $30,000 raised in 1991.

Since 1988, Southeast Missouri State University has operated the center as part of a consortium involving Three Rivers Community College, University of Missouri Extension and four vocational-technical schools. It is a way to bring higher education closer to home. Enrollment runs about 500 students a semester, mostly from Dunklin, New Madrid and Stoddard counties.

This extraordinary fund-raising effort is a tribute to the importance of the center in Southeast Missouri and the men and women who support higher education efforts in Malden.