Vol. 13 Issue 8August 2007
 

Headlines

A-B Tech Culinary Team Wins National Championship

Jason Huang

Team captain Jason Huang readies an entree for judging.

The A-B Tech culinary team was named national champion in the American Culinary Federation's Student Team competition July 23 in Orlando, FL.

The five-member team bested competitors from the Culinary Studies Institute at Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills, MI; the State University of New York at Delhi; and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA.

For the first time, competitors were asked to prepare 24 plates of four courses - an appetizer, a salad, an entrée and a dessert - within four hours. Previous competitions required only five plates of four courses in 75 minutes.

The A-B Tech menu consisted of an appetizer of pan-seared striped bass with sweet pea sauce and black-eyed pea terrine with corn relish; a frisee salad with pickled beet, sweet potato Napoleon and mustard cream vinaigrette; an entrée of chicken breast and smoked beef tongue with duxelle stuffed mushroom, tourneed potatoes and asparagus; and vanilla cream on a lemon sugar cookie and fruit compote served with apricot sauce and spun caramel.

Culinary Team in Action

Knife skills are among the criteria judges consider.

Jason Huang served as captain of the team, acting as a runner for his teammates, keeping track of time, and helping "plate up" dishes before they were served to judges and guests. Team members were Daniel Gorman, who prepared the appetizer; Chambli Stuber, the salad; Matt Gruber, the entrée; and Michelle Bailey, the dessert. Hospitality Education Instructors Bronwen McCormick, Charles deVries and John Hofland served as coaches.

The team advanced to the national championship after winning state and regional contests in Charlotte and Nashville, TN. Medals are awarded based on points, and the gold medal the A-B Tech team earned in Nashville was the only gold judges awarded during this year's four regional competitions.

A-B Tech's culinary program boasts an award-winning history. A team from the College has won the state title for more than a decade and advanced to the nationals in 1997, 2003 and 2006, finishing second last year.

Huang, who prepared the salad as a member of the 2006 team, said the preparation of 24 plates made this year's competition more challenging. "This year was definitely a lot tougher because the format has changed. It was definitely more intense."

Culinary Champions

Culinary champs (l-r) Matt Gruber, Hospitality Education Associate Dean Sheila Tillman, Jason Huang, Chambli Stuber, Coaches John Hofland, Bronwen McCormick, and Charles deVries; Michelle Bailey and Daniel Gorman.

"But it was a lot of fun," Gruber added.

For more coverage and photos of the competition, visit www.abtech.edu.

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Bailey Retirement Gala Raises $100K for Endowment

Asheville City Council Members and Mayor Terry Bellamy presenting a proclamation to President Bailey

Buncombe County Commissioner and A-B Tech Trustee Carol Peterson, along with Commissioner David Young and Commission Chair Nathan Ramsey present President K. Ray Bailey a stained glass work from the Folk Art Center.

Retiring A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey received an oversized check for $100,000 for a new endowment set up in his honor during a gala July 12 at Grove Park Inn.

Called "Celebrating the Legacy of President K. Ray Bailey," the event also included an announcement by Dr. Harvey Haynes, chairman of the college's Board of Trustees, that the Azalea Building will be renamed the K. Ray Bailey Student Services Building.

The building is undergoing construction of a 20,000-square-foot, $4.7 million addition expected to open in April 2008. The addition will fulfill a long-held dream of Bailey's to offer students "a one-stop center" where they can register for classes, pay tuition, and buy books in a single location.

About 500 people attended the celebration, which featured written tributes from such luminaries as Congressman Heath Shuler, Gov. Mike Easley, former Sen. John Edwards, former Gov. Jim Hunt, Asheville Citizen-Times Chairman Virgil Smith, and Phil Fulmer, coach of Bailey's beloved University of Tennessee Vols. Trustee Richard Hurley served as emcee of the event.

Officials read proclamations designating two dates as K. Ray Bailey Day - July 12 in the City of Asheville and July 24 in Buncombe County. Proclamations also were presented from Madison County and the State of North Carolina.

Joe Brumit presenting a check for $100,000 to the K. Ray Bailey Endowment for Student Success

Foundation Board Chair Joe Brumit presents a check for $100,000 for the K. Ray Bailey Endowment for Student Success during the retirement gala for President Bailey July 12 at the Grove Park Inn.

President H. Martin Lancaster brought Mr. Bailey well wishes from the North Carolina Community College System, and President Rick Lutovsky represented the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.

A-B Tech Foundation Board Chair Joe Brumit presented the check to the Foundation for the K. Ray Bailey Endowment for Student Success. The endowment will fund student scholarships, provide program support, establish new programs, and strengthen the capacity of the Foundation.

Among other gifts President Bailey received was a wrapped copy of a draft of the first novel by English Instructor Kathy Godfrey. Godfrey, who graduated from A-B Tech, thanked Bailey for his conviction that she would be a success.

For more photos from the event, visit www.abtech.edu.

 

Elizabeth Scarbrough, Criminal Justice Technology instructor; Chris Fay, Criminal Justice Technology chair; Kay Manley, Adult Basic Skills/HRD executive director; and Skye Myrick, Emergency Services Academy associate dean, at the retirement gala for President K. Ray Bailey July 12.

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Small Business Center Named Regional Center of Excellence

Russ Yelton, A-B Tech Small Business Center director, second from left, accepts an award for Regional Small Business Center of Excellence from the State Board of Community Colleges. With Yelton, are from left, Ken Dillo from Wake Technical Community College; George Millsaps, Small Business Center Network director; and Mark Council of Southeastern Community College.

A-B Tech's Small Business Center was one of three in the state recognized as Regional Small Business Centers of Excellence by the State Board of Community Colleges during its meeting July 19 in Raleigh.

Russ Yelton, Small Business Center director, and Jill Sparks, the Center's assistant director, accepted the award.

A-B Tech's Small Business Center served 298 individuals through one-on-one counseling and information services during the 2005-06 fiscal year. Clients of the Center started more than 20 businesses, and a total of 904 people participated in Small Business Center seminars and courses.

The Center partnered with the local economic development organizations SCORE, SBA and the N.C. BioBusiness Center. Memorandums of Understanding were signed with technology centers and incubators in Shanghai, China; Capetown, South Africa; and Guadalajara, Mexico.

"With the loss of many manufacturing jobs and facilities across Western North Carolina, small business are the ones who are creating the jobs of tomorrow," Yelton said.

"The Small Business Center is providing technical assistance for potential and existing business owners. We assist in evaluating current and possible business plans and assist in networking with other resources in the community," Yelton said. The Center also houses an incubator to help give small businesses a home for those first crucial years of operation.

Among the Center's success stories is assisting Superior Module Products in participating in the U.S. Department of Commerce's Gold Key Program. As a result of the agreement, the local manufacturer expects to add jobs and increase revenues after a successful Gold Key visit in Mexico to assist in exporting more of its products.

Another client, TCM Nutra Products, received assistance in importing Chinese herbs, infusing them with herbs native to Western North Carolina and selling them back to Chinese companies. Mountaintop Endeavors, a motivational speaking company, was started by Dr. Mary Sedgwick. Dr. Sedgwick lost her vision due to muscular dystrophy and received funds from the North Carolina Division for the Blind after submitting an approved business plan with help from the SBC.

The Small Business Center Network is comprised of small business centers at each of the 58 community colleges in North Carolina. The centers provide counseling and other valuable services to budding entrepreneurs. They also assist companies that are already in business, but want to become more successful.

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Pickin' and a Grinnin' »

 

Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designer: April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu