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Flourish Online Magazine | Summer 2007 |
Donor Spotlight: Bill and Linda Pinto
Building a Foundation for the Community
By Kevin McKenzie
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| (From left) Bill Pinto, Harvey Cholfin, Sharon Cholfin, Ed Cholfin and Linda Pinto. |
Connections: They are as
important for constructing a community as the nails that hold a building together.
As president and chief operating officer of Hardin Construction Company, LLC, Bill Pinto knows that good business relationships are built on more than bricks and mortar. Bill Pinto said understanding the needs of clients and responding to them is “how we earn their respect.”
Mutual respect and the personal touch brought Bill and his wife, Linda, to Kennesaw State University College of the Arts in 2004, a position that was further cemented by their involvement as chairpersons of the 2007 Annual Benefit Gala, which raised more than $300,000.
“I like what the college is trying to do in terms of growing itself and providing opportunities for more students,” Bill said. “It has a lot to do with walking the walk,” he said, praising both Dean Joseph Meeks and the work that COTA does in producing “good students and good contributors to the community.”
Given that the Pintos rarely have the time to attend COTA events and performances, their involvement as volunteers speaks volumes. “I’ve developed a bit of a passion for wanting to support it,” Bill said. “It provides a resource for the community to participate in the arts, and certainly at a pretty reasonable price,” he said.
Building a bridge between business and arts
Bill said there were compelling reasons for businesses to develop their own connections to institutions like the College of the Arts.
“It’s a two-way street,” he said. “We think about that in our business—we live and we build within our community, and we need to give back to the community, not just the product that we produce for a living but through being involved in its organizations and institutions.”
The connections between business and COTA can be as subtle as good building design, but Bill thinks that more potential donors should consider the promising returns on their investment. “People need to be well-rounded in the arts. Some people may think this is not pertinent to their business or to their life but once they’ve become involved, they quickly realize that they are exposed to many great things they could never have been in any other way,” he said.
Providing opportunities
“You have the opportunity to provide for somebody, whether it’s a kid who can’t afford to go to college, or someone who has access to something he or she might never have seen before,” Bill said. “Think about that when you’re asked to give and then give generously, because the concept of public education being publically funded is long gone.”
Linda agreed. “It’s really sad that the first programs cut in school budgets are music and art. Donors should give as much as they can,” she said.
The Pintos and the College of the Arts are together in the same business, it would seem: building a community in which people choose to live.
