Lifetime Achievement: A-B Tech Trustee hikes entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine

Bill Hart, pictured here with his son, Bill III, reaches the end of the Appalachian Trail at Mt. Katahdin in Maine in August of 2002.

The first thing that hits you, besides a display of awards that depict his care for others, is the map-covered walls of wide expanses of beckoning mountain ranges, plateaus and forests amidst rushing bodies of rivers and streams.

Inside his office, Bill Hart, A-B Tech Trustee and Foundation Board member, smiles a warm, gentlemanly smile - the kind that welcomes and endears, the kind that earned him the trail name 'Gentleman Bill.' He speaks of 'trail magic' - what fellow hikers call good deeds - 'slack packing' - traveling light by mailing food bundles to destinations yet reached - and a journey of a lifetime.

"I thought it would be a great adventure to walk the Appalachian Trail. I decided to walk it in segments," Hart said, adding it took 29 separate walks, 2,152 miles over a period of 18 years. "For me, there were three dimensions of enjoyment - the logistics, seeing the land and actually walking through changing land forms from Southern rolling mountains to rugged mountains ... the sense of history. This trail crosses below where George Washington stayed."

Atop mountain ranges, past glacial lakes, and finally, through the 100-mile Wilderness, the historic Appalachian Trail stretches from Springer Mountain, GA, to Mount Katahdin, ME.

Hart completed the 'last leg' of his hike in 2002 despite obstacles such as tendonitis, imminent danger from hungry bears and a standoff with a moose. "I reached a point where I couldn't walk. I thought I wouldn't make it," Hart said, adding, "I encountered a moose in Maine; she blocked the trail, swaying back and forth, trying to size me up. When she decided I wasn't a threat, she ambled on into the woods."

It was August 10, 2002, when Bill Hart finished the Appalachian Trail. "My son met me at Mt. Katahdin and walked with me the last two days. My wife was waiting back at the hotel with a bottle of Champagne when we returned."

HART FACTS ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL - Longest hike in days? 13 days. Longest hike in miles? 194 miles. Longest time without speaking to someone? 51 hours. Most challenging part - 'Agony Grind' in New York.Return to top

A-B Tech named among fastest-growing colleges

A-B Tech is ranked among the fastest-growing community colleges in the country in a special report that appeared recently in a national publication.

With a 10.3 percent increase in its curriculum enrollment between fall 2000 and fall 2001, A-B Tech ranked 32nd nationwide among institutions with 5,000 to 9,999 students, according to Community College Week. The college grew from 4,940 students to 5,448, an increase of 508, during the period.

President K. Ray Bailey attributed the college's growth to several factors. "It's due to our quality, as indicated by our superior rating (on the state's performance measures for community colleges), and our affordability. It's also the ability of our faculty and staff to help people who are transitioning from jobs that are being phased out to new jobs and/or opportunities for the first two years of college before they transfer."

For its Dec. 9 report, entitled "To The Swiftest," Community College Week analyzed U.S. Department of Education data on 939 institutions, dividing the colleges into four categories based on their fall 2001 enrollment: those below 2,500 students, those between 2,500 and 4,999, those between 5,000 and 9,999, and those with 10,000 or more. Two hundred and seven colleges fell in the same category as A-B Tech.

Community colleges, junior colleges, tribal colleges, technical colleges and two-year campuses of four-year colleges were among the variety of campuses considered. Institutions were ranked by their percent growth in headcount, the full- and part-time enrollment in courses that lead to a formal award, certificate or degree. Community College Week said three-quarters of the 939 institutions it evaluated experienced some growth.

A-B Tech's fall enrollment has grown by 37 percent over the past five years. Spring semester classes began Jan. 8, with 10 percent more students enrolled than the preceding spring.Return to top

At UNCA's Leadership Asheville session on economic development Jan. 8, President Bailey gives an update on several new biotech companies incubating at the Enka Campus and the newly formed Western North Carolina Biotechnology Commission. The A-B Tech Biotechnology Incubation and Training Center will be able to host up to 25 biotech start-ups when it becomes fully operational. Return to top

Instructor Shares Expertise

A-B Tech Instructor Leesa Young was recently invited by Denver-based Prentice Hall Publishing to evaluate textbooks on student success. Young, a Social and Behavioral Sciences/Developmental Studies instructor will help review 'Keys to Effective Learning' over the next several months. "We are excited to get her feedback on the project," said Cecilia Johnson, assistant editor of Student Success and Career Development at Prentice.

Proud Parents

Congratulations to John T. Saunders lll, the son of Gaylen and John Saunders, who received a Ph.D. from the University of Northern Colorado in Sports and Exercise Medicine: Sports Pedagogy Dec.13. Gaylen is the secretary for Engineering and Applied Technology and John is a Computer Technologies adjunct.

Congratulations to Christine M. Fountain, daughter of Tina Fountain, who was recently recognized as a national outstanding campus leader at Montreat College School of Professional and Adult Studies by Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. Tina is an account payables clerk. Return to top