The Edmonds Community College Foundation will honor two distinguished alumni Sept. 16. They are Lynnwood Mayor Mike McKinnon and Catherine Pike, an active Lynnwood Jaycee and nurse practitioner.
Pike chose to attend Edmonds Community College because of its cooperative preschool program, which allowed her take classes while raising a 2-year-old, she said. She took prerequisite classes at EdCC from 1981-1983 before transferring to the University of Washington for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing.
Now self-employed as an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, Pike assists physicians in surgeries – operations on everything from brains to gall bladders. Pike’s daughter, Crystal (now 24) later attended EdCC, too, said Michele Graves, spokesperson for the college.
She simultaneously earned her Lynnwood High School diploma and culinary arts degree at Edmonds. Pike’s husband, Keith Johnson, and sons, Ken and Adam, have also attended Edmonds. Pike and Johnson are active community volunteers who met through the Lynnwood Jaycees, Graves said.
McKinnon attended the college in its early years from 1968 to 1970 (the college was founded in 1967) and earned his Associate of Arts Degree, Graves said. Afterwards, he transferred to the University of Washington for his bachelor’s in accounting. He served 12 years on the Lynnwood City Council before becoming mayor. He serves on a Steering Committee for the National League of Cities and on the Board of Directors for the Washington Association of Cities. He has also volunteered time at local elementary schools, the Little Red School House and Boys Scouts of America.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16 at the grand opening for the college’s new Center for Families, a childcare and early childhood education resource center for parents and professionals, Graves said.
The Foundation established the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1991 to recognize notable academic success, professional achievement and community service by the college’s alumni, she said.
To date, 27 recipients have been honored with permanent recognition on campus, Graves said.
Last year, the college honored Don Wick, executive director of the Economic Development Association of Skagit County, and Steve Pennington, an operations manager for The Boeing Company.
To learn more about the Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports Edmonds Community College and provides scholarships to students, visit http://foundation.edcc.edu, email foundation@edcc.edu or call 425-640-1884. Go to http://families.edcc.edu to find out more about the Center for Families.
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