BC3 to laud Shapiro, Steffler
BUTLER TWP — Butler County Community College will honor a township woman and co-founder of its alumni association and the school's longest-serving trustee and chairman as distinguished alumni.
BC3 will honor Lucille Shapiro and Ray D. Steffler with the awards on Saturday, at its Oak Hills Dinner on the school's main campus. The BC3 Alumni Association will recognize Shapiro and Steffler for having “given their time, their talents and their treasures to support BC3.”
Shapiro, who first attended BC3 in 1996, is a member of BC3's alumni council and a founder of the BC3 Alumni Association.
Steffler, of Valencia, first attended BC3 as a 37-year-old father of two. He is the school's longest-serving trustee and chairman. He also worked with Shapiro to help create the alumni association.
Shapiro has served continuously on the BC3 Alumni Council since its founding in 1997. And Steffler has been a BC3 trustee since 1985, and its board chairman since 1999. Both currently serve on the BC3 Education Foundation Board.
Their service and dedication to the school elicited a bevy of praise, including from Ruth Purcell, executive director of the BC3 Education Foundation, which manages charitable contributions to the school.
“Both Ray and Lucille have been strong and effective advocates for developing the BC3 alumni program,” said Purcell.
BC3 president Nick Neupauer called the alumni “examples of true pioneers.”
“I joke that they both bleed BC3 blue and white,” he said. “They are advocates, friends, mentors, and incredible supporters.
“Our history at the college is directly linked to both Ray and Lucille.”
After graduation Shapiro worked for 10 years as an office manager in the office of her husband, Dr. Louis Shapiro, an optometrist.
Steffler was employed for 45 years with North Pittsburgh Telephone Co., and has served 18 years as an aide to state Sen. Mary Jo White and Sen. Scott Hutchinson.
