The annual GALACC gala was held at the Beverly Hilton to celebrate the foundation whose mission is to support Los Angeles City College through fundraising and financing student financial aid services and academic programs at Los Angeles’ oldest public community college. With one of the most diverse student bodies in the country LACC serves almost 20,000 students, most of who depend on financial aid for access to higher education. Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, Chancellor of the LA Community College District, told the assembled guests that through the efforts of the foundation, the district is now able to fully fund a full first year of study for every one of the 120,000 district students.

The soirée held in the ballroom known for hosting the Golden Globe Awards and MC’d by Today Show anchor Natalie Morales, celebrated philanthropic support for the college which benefits from numerous donations, including the $10.1 million scholarship fund funded by jazz great Herb Alpert and, last year, by a $2 million endowment by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association used by the school to establish the HFPA Center for Cinema and Television, a state of the art facility which puts LACC at the forefront of film and TV studies.

LACC Alumni include James Coburn, Alan Arkin, Clint Eastwood, John Williams  and Morgan Freeman – the latter four counting for a whopping 39 nominations and 9 Golden Globes among them! Another illustrious LACC graduate is Mark Hamill, better known by some as Luke Skywalker. Speaking at GALACC Hamill told the audience how proud he has always been to have LACC in his academic curriculum. “I’ve spoken at Oxford and Cambridge, and I always make a point of name-checking LACC” he said to applause.

Actress Lily, Collins, soon to appear in Warren Beatty’s upcoming Rules Don’t Apply, illustrated the Center for Cinema and Television, whose funding was instigated by the HFPA board under the guidance of former president Theo Kingma. In recognition of the endowment, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt presented current  HFPA President Lorenzo Soria with the LACC Corporate Leadership Award. In accepting the award, Lorenzo expressed the hope that some of current Center students may one day be back on the same stage to accept future Golden Globe Awards. We second that motion and wish al HFPA Center students the best of luck!

Scenes from the LACC Gala: Lilly Collins introduces the HFPA Center for Cinema and Television; speaker Mark Hamill: "I always make a point of name-checking LACC"; HFPA president Lorenzo Soria accepts the LACC Corporate Leadership Award; NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, Lily Collins and Lorenzo Soria at the Beverly Hilton.

HFPA/Armando Gallo, Luca Celada, Marlene Von Arx

Go inside the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom for the LACC Gala 2016.

See LA Mayor Eric Garcetti's take on the importance of LACC for the city and the industry.