SANFORD — Mattalene Wicker, retired Central Carolina Community College employee, looked over the nameplates on the college’s new Employees Hall of Fame Board.

Almost all of the names were familiar to Wicker, a Sanford resident, as co-workers during her years at the college. She started in 1965, just three years after the college offered its first classes, and retired in 1997 as secretary to Vice President Avron Upchurch.

“It’s wonderful,” she said of the board. “This will help people realize all the work it’s taken and the many people it’s taken to get the college to where it is now.”

About 60 people, including 40 retirees, gathered Tuesday at the college’s Lee County Campus for the unveiling of the board, which has been installed in the foyer of the Science Building. College President Matt Garrett served as master of ceremonies for the event. He retires Sept. 1 after 21 years with the college, the last four as president.

“I have worked several years to get this board in place,” he said. “Doing that has been really important to me.”

Garrett looked around at the crowd, most of whom he had worked with for many years, and added, “There’s so much heart-warming emotion here. I love this; I love these people — they built this college.”

The college’s carpentry students at the Harnett Correctional Institution constructed the handsome 5 foot-by-4 foot oak board. Laser and photonics students at the Harnett Campus engraved the nameplates.

Currently, the Hall of Fame Board includes the names of 113 people who worked at the college for at least 10 years before retiring. Two past presidents are among that number: Dr. J.F. Hockaday (1969-1983) and Dr. Marvin Joyner (1983-2004). The names of 15 employees who passed away while working at the college are also on the board.

Prior to the unveiling, Avron Upchurch, of Sanford, retired vice president of instruction, reviewed the early history of the college. He was at the college from1965 to 1994 and has written a book on its first 40 years. He said the college opened as the Lee County Industrial Education Center, offering its first curriculum classes in 1962. Since then, it has changed names several times, becoming Central Carolina Community College in 1988. It has expanded from one building to three campuses, several centers and other locations in Lee, Harnett and Chatham counties, serving about 20,000 students at those locations as well as through distance education.

“Thank you for helping to build a great community college,” he told the retirees. “May those yet to come continue this quality.”

The honor of unveiling the board went to Charles McLeod and Merry Pittman, both of Sanford. McLeod worked at the college from 1966 to 1988 and retired as the director of Continuing Education special programs. Pittman worked from 1978 to 1990 and retired as secretary to the Nursing Program.

Frances Allen, of Sanford, who was a full-time maintenance worker at the college from 1979 to 1989, was at the unveiling. After retiring, she came back as a part-time worker and now, at almost 85 years old, she still does cleaning for the college.

Allen never expected to be a member of a Hall of Fame. She looked at her name on the board for a long time and then said with a quiet smile, “It makes me feel good.”