$1.8 million gift an investment in people

Calhoun Community College’s gift of $1.8 million from a local family estate is an amount of money that should turn heads.

If the late Josephine Powell of Decatur left that kind of money to the two-year college, she must have seen the potential and value in carrying on the mission at Calhoun.

Ms. Powell made the gift in memory of her late husband, Elbert Patterson and his parents, Lois and Carl Patterson.

The cash gift may be one of the largest undesignated bequests left to any of the colleges in the two-year system.

The college, of course, has a million ways it could use the funds but a college spokesman said this money probably will go for scholarships for academically deserving students.

It is difficult to think of a better use for the generous gift. Perhaps other people in search of a meaningful legacy will also see the merit in helping finance the education of people who will soon be community, state and, perhaps, national leaders.