May Hays, local business owner, community volunteer, and CBC
advocate, was selected as CBC's Outstanding Alumna for 2010-2011.
Hays first attended CBC in the early 1970s before transferring to
Eastern Washington University, but returned to CBC in 1988 to finish her last
remaining credits and receive her Associate in Arts degree while pregnant with
her daughter Melanie.
Hays is also tied to the school through her mother, Dorthea Read,
who worked at the College for more than 30 years, and two of Hays’ children who
were CBC students.
Hays' connections don't end there; she continues to be involved at
CBC helping to create
scholarships for CBC students. As Executive Director for the West Richland Area
Chamber of Commerce, May was fundamental in creating the first ever
chamber-sponsored scholarship at CBC.
Active in the community as a local business owner, Hays owns and
operates May's Fresh Express, The Sandberg Event Center & Gardens, and The
Gathering Place Bistro in West Richland. She has also been involved in Jr.
Achievement, United Way, Kiwanis, and the Tri-Cities Chamber Alliance, and is a
member of the Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau Board of Directors and
the White Bluffs Center for Quilting & Fiber Arts Board of Directors. She
has worked for Benton Rural Electric Association for 12 years as the Community
Coordinator for Economic Development, serving from West Richland to
Grandview.
"Through many pursuits--chamber director, entrepreneur, Community
Roundtable advocate, and other roles--May Hays has demonstrated her passion for
improving the quality of life in the Tri-Cities. May is an outstanding choice
for CBC's Alumna of the Year, and we are indeed fortunate to claim some small
part in the successful life she has built as a business person and community
role model. We couldn't be happier to recognize her this way," said Richard
Cummins, CBC President.