Pella residents Mark and Lori Kooiker Ellingson pledged to support Central College’s endowment, ensuring its continued impact for future generations. Grateful for the opportunities they received, the Ellingsons view their support as a way to give back to both Central and the Pella community they cherish.
“Our lives were changed by our experiences at Central,” says Mark Ellingson, a 1980 Central alumnus, Central Board of Trustee member and retired senior vice president/brokerage division manager, Leighton Investment Services. “Our young people are our future. We want to support them as well as support this institution that has been so important to us.”
Lori Kooiker Ellingson, retired pharmacist at Pella Regional Health Center and a member of the Class of 1982, echoed her husband’s sentiments. For her, the gift reflects their gratitude for the Pella community.
“This community has been very good to us,” Lori says. “Communities like Pella thrive with personal involvement from the people who live here. Mark and I believe it’s important for us to look outward and support the community and college.”
Lori has six siblings and three attended Central. She reminisces how important it was for her family to go to college. Her parents were big supporters of Central and now, a generation later, the Ellingsons are supporting Central in many ways.
Central is more than their alma mater — it’s the foundation of their success and a cherished part of their family’s history. The couple documented a planned gift from Mark’s IRA account, funded several special projects and recently pledged a $100,000 gift to the college’s endowment over the next five years. This type of gift is one of the biggest blessings a donor can bestow as it will be used where most needed to support the college’s mission and the growing needs of students.
Mark brings a wealth of experience and perspective to supporting Central. He has served in many roles as a former Central administrator, basketball coach and parent of a student, an alumnus and current board of trustee and Pella resident. He recognizes the difficulties facing higher education and believes in the college’s future.
“This is a challenging time in higher education across the country,” Mark says. “Central is making the correct moves and good decisions to navigate the current situation. We feel we were supported back in the day and it’s appropriate for us to do that for the next generation.”
Mark attributes his own success to the foundation he received at Central. A first-generation student from Illinois, Mark came to Central to play basketball and pursue teaching. After several years as a teacher and coach, he transitioned into roles at Central and eventually launched a successful investment firm in Pella.
“I’m a prime example of what a liberal arts education can do,” Mark says. “I had been learning entrepreneurial skills as a student, then as an administrator and basketball coach. Those skills transferred to my ability to start a practice, going from zero to something quite nice.”
The couple also established the Ellingson Family Endowed Scholarship at Central. They view their scholarship as a way to pay forward the opportunities their son, Greg Ellingson, received at Central. Greg, a 2013 Central graduate, benefited from a full-tuition scholarship.
“Greg had a tremendous experience at Central — two trips to Europe, student body president and he met his wife, Elizabeth Cook Ellingson, 2012 Central graduate,” Lori adds.
The Ellingsons have three children — Greg, Nicole Ellingson Guthmiller, Class of 2010, and Billi Ellingson Brahn — and eight grandchildren. Their connection to Central remains strong as they now enjoy sharing campus visits with their grandchildren.
“We now bring our grandkids over to the campus. We like to check out the geese on the pond, maybe get ice cream from Fred’s and walk down Peace Mall,” Mark says. “We have so many reasons to want to support Central.”
