When then-Richmond Community College President Dr. Diane Honeycutt reached out to current President Dr. Dale McInnis about returning to Hamlet in 2001, it was because she believed in his abilities.

Nine years after accepting an administrative position and returning to RCC, many others from the county also expressed their confidence in him at a reception held Wednesday afternoon to celebrate his climb to the top of the ladder at the college.

“I brought him on at RCC because I knew that he cared,” Honeycutt said at the reception. “He was great, and did a fantastic job. He knows finance better than any person I’ve ever worked with, and he knows the other parts of the job as well. I’m just glad I played a small part in RCC getting him.”

Honeycutt, who served as the college’s fifth president, predicts good fortune during the tenure of the college’s newly appointed seventh president.

“I think he’s going to be here quite awhile, and he will bring RCC to new horizons,” she said.

About 100 college officials, elected leaders and community stakeholders in the college showed up to give McInnis a warm welcome.

He milled around the room, shaking hands and accepting well-wishes for about two hours.

“This is a wonderful chance to get meet people again, and to meet some new folks, and get a chance to let them know what we’re doing and spread the message about RCC,” McInnis said.

He said the response he’s gotten from the community since being installed as president this month “has been very, very positive.”

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s a busy, busy schedule. I’ve had a lot to do, but I’m focusing very heavily on being visible in the community, being visible on campus, and there’s a high priority to get my position refilled so we can put together the whole team.

“Really, I’m just trying to acquaint myself with the people in the two counties, and get reacquainted with them, because a lot of it is just revisiting people in the new capacity and the new role.”

Few were as proud to congratulate McInnis as his uncle, Tom McInnis, who serves on the Richmond County Board of Education as vice chairman.

“We’re extremely proud of him,” Tom McInnis said. “Dale’s done a lot of great things in his life, but the greatest thing he’s done is to make his career here in this county rather than go somewhere else. He’s ingrained in this county, he wants to see things happen in this county and he’s willing to do what it takes to make things happen in this county.”

McInnis said his nephew didn’t come to RCC “as a stepping stone to go somewhere else.”

“He’s at home, and he’s not leaving,” he said.

RCC Board of Trustees Chairman Hugh Lee said he’s “been behind Dale 100 percent since the very beginning,” and the reaction he’s gotten from the community “has been great.”

“I don’t believe we’ve ever had a candidate as well prepared as Dale is,” Lee said. “He has about 17 years of experience, and he’s been in the classroom and he’s been in administration, and everything he does, he does well, and he believes others should do the same.”

Rockingham Mayor Gene McLaurin was among the elected officials from the county who took time out to drop by and shake the hand of the new college president.

“I think Dale McInnis will make an excellent president here at Richmond Community College, and as a former student of RCC, I’m pleased to see a Richmond County native get the opportunity to lead our fine college,” McLaurin said.

Richmond County Schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Michael Perry said he is looking forward to working with McInnis on an initiative to revamp the Career Technical Education, or CTE, courses of instruction at the county schools.

“Dr. McInnis is a blessing to this county, and I look forward to working with him,” Perry said. “We’ve already done a lot together, but I just look forward to strengthening the relationship between the county schools and the community college.”

RCC Public Information Officer Anne Morris said McInnis’s approach has already breathed new life into many faculty and students on campus and beyond.

She illustrated her point by recalling McInnis’s appearance at a recent open house for the Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy, where he elicited a strong response from the students.

“It is exciting to see someone who has gone to college to learn how to run a school, and has worked at other schools, be so enthusiastic about putting his ideas into place,” Morris said. “It’s a little breath of fresh air.”

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.