Vol. 8 No. 6 June 2002
Pam Silvers Receives Regional Faculty Award
"I have to teach (students) what's possible. I give them the resources to figure out how because computers aren't going to remain the same."
Pamela J. Silvers, chairperson of A-B Tech's Business Computer Technologies Department, has been chosen to receive the 2002 Southern Region Faculty Member Award of the Association of Community College Trustees.
Awards are nothing new to Pam, who started work at A-B Tech in 1992 as an adjunct instructor of keyboarding, word processing, desktop publishing, and office applications. She was named the college's Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member in 1995, became a full-time instructor the following year, and was chosen A-B Tech's Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year in 2000. That same year, she was one of five finalists for the North Carolina Community College System's prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award. She also was one of the first instructors at A-B Tech to be recognized by her peers with a Creativity in Teaching honor.
An eagerness to learn new things and share her knowledge with others is one of Pam's trademarks. Much of her early computer knowledge was self-taught, and she says a lawyer she worked for during the 1980s was the impetus. "I had a computer in my office and nobody else did," she recalls. "My boss would challenge me to figure out how to use it. I became the "computer expert."
Now she issues that same challenge to her students. "I tell them I'm not trying to teach them Office XP, for example, because that package is going to change. I have to teach them what's possible. I give them the resources to figure out how because computers aren't going to remain the same."
Pam recently was appointed to the North Carolina Community College System State Planning Council. She also has served on numerous campus and professional committees and has authored three study guides for Harcourt Press on using WordPerfect 2000. She is responsible for all the technology questions on the certification exam of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), and serves as faculty advisor to the A-B Tech student chapter of IAAP.
As the recipient of the Association of Community College Trustees Southern Region Faculty Member Award, Pam will compete against winners from the Central, Western, Northeast, and Pacific regions for the national William H. Meardy Faculty Member Award, which will be presented during ACCT's annual convention in September. Return to top
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue addresses a conference on biotechnology at A-B Tech's Enka Campus in May. Entitled "Commencing a Future Improved Through Biotechnology," the conference featured the unveiling of a report by The Steering Committee to Strengthen Biotechnology in Western North Carolina that lists 11 imperatives necessary for biotechnology to benefit the economic, academic, cultural, and environmental life of Western North Carolina. Conference speakers also included Steven Burke of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, pictured below; A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey, Congressman Charles Taylor, state Commerce Secretary James T. Fain, Biltmore Farms President Jack Cecil, and Western Carolina University Chancellor John Bardo. Return to top
Nine Employees Honored For Excellence In Public Service
Above: Members of A-B Tech's Allied Dental Faculty accept their Outstanding Team Award. Below: Mrs. Abney congratulates Lee Spencer as he accepts the Hoyt Abney Community Service Award.
Nine A-B Tech employees were honored in May as part of the Asheville-Buncombe Excellence in Public Service Awards program. The program began 12 years ago to recognize the impact that employees of federal, state, county, and city governments have on the health, well-being, and overall quality of life of the community.
The Allied Dental faculty, chaired by Shaun Tate, was chosen for the Outstanding Team Award for the Children's Dental Sealant Program, a partnership with the Buncombe County Health Center and community organizations to address the unmet dental needs of Buncombe County's children.
Through the program, which garnered a national public health award for the college and the Health Center in 2001, 390 third-graders from Asheville and Buncombe County schools received more than $39,000 worth of sealants free of charge to help prevent tooth decay. In addition to Shaun, A-B Tech's team included Tisha Anderson, Tammy Baldwin, Robert Eldridge, Mavis Reed, Becky Sroda, and Sherry Shields.
Human Resources Development Instructor Lee Spencer received the Hoyt Abney Community Service Award in recognition of his volunteer activities for A-B Tech and the community. Almost immediately after coming to A-B Tech, Lee began volunteering for the college, serving as its loaned executive for the 2000 United Way campaign.
He and his wife, Joyce, were recognized as the top Santa Spree volunteers in 2000 and 2001 for the number of hours they spent selling tickets for the Foundation's fund-raiser. He also has logged 1,000 hours volunteering for the N.C. Mountain State Fair, and he and Joyce were named Volunteers of the Year three years ago.
Financial Aid Assistant Merion Presha was recognized as the state nominee in the Outstanding Technician, Assistant, or Aide category. Merion has worked for more than 22 years to remove financial barriers that would prevent students from pursuing their dreams of higher education. She was chosen as the college's Staff Member of the Year for 2001 and her church's Woman of the Year for 1994. Return to top
A-B Tech Local NCAEOP Holds Awards Luncheon
Left: Fran McDonald awards Wanza Davis Educational Office Professional of the Year. Right: Virginia Crisp receives scholarship from Pat Lail
The A-B Tech Local of the North Carolina Association of Educational Office Professionals held its annual awards luncheon April 23 at the Enka Campus. This was an exciting year for the local; it was able to award a $2,000 student scholarship, the largest scholarship ever awarded in its history.
Virginia Crisp, a senior at Roberson High School and dual enrollee at A-B Tech, is the recipient. Virginia has been accepted into the Associate Degree Nursing Program.
Brenda Katona, Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of College Relations, was awarded a $600 A-B Tech Local Educational Office Professional (EOP) Scholarship. She is currently attending Mars Hill College in the Business Management Program. Both she and Virginia are now eligible to compete for scholarships at the district level.
Along with the scholarships awarded, the local also recognized their fellow education office professionals and inducted the 2002-2003 officers. Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, was named Administrator of the Year and retired office professional Wanza Davis was named Educational Office Professional of the Year. Brenda Katona was installed as President of the local, with Pat Lail as Vice President, and Fran McDonald as Secretary. Return to top
Headlines
this page
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue Addresses Biotech Conference
Nine Employees Honored For Excellence In Public Service
NCAEOP Awards Luncheon
more...
A-B Tech Students Receive Tools of the Trade
Students Among Academic Excellence Recipients
EMS Students Participate in Disaster Drill
Home Builders of Greater Asheville
OD Corner
USA Staffing Turns Salary into Scholarship
STG Offers New Scholarship
College Relations links to the web
Due to the state budget crisis, Tech Talk comes to you via the web. We want to offer some helpful hints in viewing Tech Talk. Please upgrade to your most recent browser. Microsoft's newest browsers offer some of the best compatibility. Netscape 6 is also a good browser. We would like to produce an efficient e-newsletter, but it will require moving our software forward. Newer browsers take advantage of programming that encourages the speedy loading of web pages. We look forward to producing something you enjoy reading while pushing forward as an educational institution that takes the lead in technology.
Bailey Discusses Budget Crisis
President Bailey participated in a panel discussion entitled Managing North Carolina's Budget Crisis: Its Effect On Our Community Colleges at the May 3 meeting of the North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees.
Nursing Graduate Wins Award
Ernest Grant, a 1977 graduate of the A-B Tech Practical Nursing program, has received the American Nurses Association Honorary Nursing Practice Award. He is a Nursing Education Clinician II at the UNC Hospitals Burn Center in Raleigh.
Volunteers Receive Recognition
English as a Second Language volunteer tutors Libby Connell and Dave Walsh were recognized at the April 25 Annual Dovia Luncheon. The event, held at First Baptist Church, was emceed by WLOS anchors Tammy Watford and Mike Hydeck, and proclamations from both the governor and the mayor were read honoring the efforts of community volunteers.
Youth Leadership Asheville is a Go
Congratulations to Director of Counseling Debby Harmon, whose Leadership Asheville group has received funding from the Points of Light Foundation through Children First to hire a director for their group project, Youth Leadership Asheville.
McClain Graduates
Director of Student Activities and Recruiting Katrina McClain has graduated with her Master's Degree in Liberal Arts from UNCA. Her master's project was "The Institutional Struggle of Minority Males."