Posted on Oct 7, 2008

Neil Golub, president and CEO of Price Chopper, at ABC breakfast Oct. 7, 2008

Neil Golub remembers looking down State Street in Schenectady in the early 1990s. What he saw was not pretty: blighted buildings, empty storefronts, few people.

“All you could do was shake your head,” said Golub, president and CEO of the Price Chopper supermarket chain.

Today, thanks to a combination of private and public development, as well as the support of community leaders like Golub, the view of downtown includes a new hotel, a movie theater, restaurants and plenty of shoppers.

“There’s an energy that was lacking before,” said Golub, a member of the College’s board of trustees.

Golub stressed the importance of investing in Schenectady and the role of Union College as the Annual Business Campaign (ABC) kicked off its scholarship fund with a breakfast Tuesday honoring nearly 80 area business leaders.

Since 1993, businesses have contributed to the fund, which provides scholarships to students from Albany, Columbia, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie and Schenectady counties.

Sean Hartnett '12 and Eric Landry '12, recipients of scholarships funded by the Schenectady Foundation at ABC breakfast Oct. 7, 2008

President Stephen C. Ainlay touched on the partnerships between the College and the community and expressed gratitude to those who make it possible for area students to attend Union.

Those at the breakfast included Sean Hartnett and Eric Landry, members of the Class of 2012. Harnett, a graduate of Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons, and Landry, a graduate of Scotia High School, are the first recipients of new scholarships funded by the Schenectady Foundation.

The two were selected in part for their commitment to community service. Harnett was a mentor for English as a Second Language at Page Elementary School, while Landry spent four years mentoring physically and mentally challenged elementary students through the G.I.V.E. program (Governors Initiative Volunteering Excellence).

President Stephen C. Ainlay at ABC breakfast Oct. 7, 2008

The Foundation, established in 1963 to serve the philanthropic needs of the Schenectady area, has committed $100,000 over the next four years to the ABC fund in honor of two community leaders. Hartnett’s scholarship is named after the late Richard E. Roberts, a member of the Class of 1950, while Landry’s is named after John S. Morris, the 16th president of Union College.

The chairman of the ABC campaign is Richard Fuerst '96, of Higgins, Roberts, Beyerl & Coan.

For more information, visit http://www.union.edu/Alumni/Partners/ABC/ or contact Elizabeth Epstein at (518) 388-8380.