Vol. 12 Issue 12December 2006
 

Headlines

Small Business Center/Incubator Opens

Incubator Ribbon Cutting

Board of Trustees Chair Harvey Haynes helps A-B Tech Small Business Center/Incubator clients Dr. Mary Sedgwick and Zack Abuasba cut the ribbon for the official opening of the incubator.

A-B Tech's Small Business Center/Incubator held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Nov. 16 at the College's Enka campus.

"This is a historical day for our college," said President K. Ray Bailey. "One we have looked forward to for a long time."

The College, along with the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, first looked into providing the region with a small business incubator in the mid 1990s, but had trouble finding the funding and adequate space. After BASF donated three buildings and nearly 37 acres to A-B Tech, the College started creating the Small Business Center/Incubator, a Technology Commercialization Center and a Corporate Technology Training and Conference Center on the Enka campus.

"We're thrilled here at A-B Tech that we have the opportunity to provide this great economic engine for the community," Bailey said.

The facility covers 141,000 square feet and is one of the largest incubators on the East Coast. It includes an FDA-approved food kitchen, biotechnology space with 14 wet and dry labs, light manufacturing space and executive office space.

"This project represents one of the most diverse programs in the United States," Russ Yelton, Small Business Center/Incubator director, said. "We have business programs literally around the world, and are implementing a well-structured program that will yield living wage jobs for the people of Western North Carolina."

Incubator Tour

Community members tour the biotechnology lab during the Small Business Center/Incubator ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Nov. 16.

The Incubator program is designed to provide companies maximum flexibility while working closely with them to identify areas of improvement and to assist in locating needed resources. The program is for a term of two years for companies to grow in the incubator and then relocate into the surrounding community.

"Because small business truly is big business in Buncombe County and Western North Carolina, it's truly about changing lives," said Nathan Ramsey, Buncombe County Commission chair. "Without A-B Tech, I don't know where we would be. A-B Tech can really change peoples' lives. Hopefully, small businesses of today will be the big businesses of tomorrow."

The Incubator is currently home to eight clients and has room to hold 40 to 60. It also has a professional services office staffed with an attorney, accountant, marketing consultants and web design people who provide pro bono services. The Incubator has signed agreements with incubators in China, Mexico and South Africa to help clients export their products.

"This is truly a significant day because it is indicative of what our College is all about. Ever since we started, we have had one goal in mind and that is to create better jobs and a better quality of life for the people of Western North Carolina and today is a part of that," Dr. Harvey Haynes, Board of Trustees chair, said.

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Foundation Scholarship Connects Nurses

Beth Fender and Bill Sabo

Beth Fender, left, received the Theresa Sabo Memorial Nursing Scholarship, at the A-B Tech Foundation Scholarship lunch. Bill Sabo is on the right.

After losing her husband to cancer, Beth Fender realized she wanted to be the kind of health professional who gave her husband such wonderful care during his final weeks.

"I knew when he was sick and watching the nurses and doctors give him the care he got, I wanted to be a part of it," Fender said. "I wanted to give back what was given to him, to have it come full circle."

One of the nurses in the Oncology Unit at St. Joseph's Hospital providing care for Fender's husband was A-B Tech graduate Theresa Sabo, who was known for her compassion and personal empathy.

This was the driving point for Fender to return to school in 2002 to become an oncology nurse so she could make the same differences. "I was absolutely scared to death," Fender said. "I'm definitely the older student. It was an adjustment to say the least."

While Fender was taking her nursing classes, Sabo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and died in 2004. Her children created and endowed the Theresa Sabo Memorial Nursing Scholarship to honor her devotion to the profession.

The A-B Tech Foundation scholarship selection committee had no idea of the connection between the two women when they decided to award Fender the scholarship. When she found out she had been selected, she burst into tears. "When I heard I had been awarded the scholarship, I was moved," Fender said. "It was a privilege and an honor to carry out dreams that Theresa may have had. I knew about the Theresa Sabo Scholarship, because we as a class planned to make a donation to it."

John Wirtz of Eaton presenting a check to Presient K. Ray Bailey

A-B Tech President K. Ray Bailey receives a $25,000 check from John Wirtz of the Eaton Corporation for Eaton Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Fender was recognized during the Foundation Scholarship luncheon Nov. 9, where 78 A-B Tech students were honored with scholarships.

During the luncheon, the creation of the Eaton Endowed Scholarship Fund was announced. John Wirtz of Eaton presented a $25,000 check to President K. Ray Bailey.

The Shapiro-Green Scholarship was established by a donation of more than $100,000 to assist Latino and African-American students from Asheville High.

 

The 2006-07 Scholarship recipients are:

A-B Tech Community College Foundation Golf Tournament Scholarship $1,200 A-B Tech Foundation Scholarship $1,200 Altrusa International Asheville Chapter Scholarship $1,200 Joe and Janice Brumit Scholarship Endowment $1,250 Robert F. Burgin Scholarship Endowment $1,000 Mary Louise Carpenter Scholarship $1,000 Children's Welfare League Scholarship Endowment $1,500 Dr. H. D. and Kay Crews Scholarship Endowment $1,200 College Bridge Scholarship $1,200 Community Foundation of Kentucky Scholarship $1,000 Ruth Denham Memorial Scholarship $1,250 French Broad Garden Club Scholarship $500 GEM Fund, American Association of University Women Scholarship $500 Johnathan Giardina Memorial Scholarship $1,000 John and Leona Graham Scholarship $1,000 Green Certified Nursing Assistant Scholarship Lacy T. Haith and James V. Miller Scholarship Endowment $1,200 Health Professions Scholarship $1,000 Sgt. Jeffery Hewitt Memorial Scholarship Endowment $500 Hospitality Education Scholarship $500 Hutchinson/Candler Lions Club Scholarship Endowment $600 Jessie Copp Kramer/Hominy Valley Scholarship Endowment $1,000 La Chaine des Rotisseurs Scholarship $500 North Buncombe Extension Community Association Scholarship $500 North Carolina Retired School Personnel Scholarship $500 North Carolina State Trust Fund Scholarship $1,500 Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship $250 Mark Rosenstein Scholarship $500 Grace Joan Love Schneider Endowed Scholarship $1,500 Shapiro-Green Scholarship Endowment $1,000 Square D Scholarship Endowment $1,000 State Employees Credit Union Scholarship $2,500 Theresa Sabo Memorial Nursing Scholarship Endowment $1,200 UnitedHealthcare Endowed Scholarship $500 Volvo Construction Equipment Technical Scholarship $1,000 William P. Warren Scholarship Endowment $1,000

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