President Emeritus K. Ray Bailey has been appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to sit on the North Carolina Credit Union Commission. Bailey was appointed to a four-year term to represent Western North Carolina. The seven-member commission works with the Credit Union Division of the N.C. Department of Commerce to discuss statistics, training and current legislation initiatives through semi-annual meetings.
Dr. Joseph Fox, Business Administration chair, was featured in an article in the Spring 2008 edition of Western, the magazine of Western Carolina University. The story was about the university's doctoral program preparing the next generation of community college leaders. President Emeritus K. Ray Bailey was used as an example of the many leaders retiring.
Dr. Deborah Harmon, director of Counseling, and Deborah Lonon, adjunct English/Communications instructor, had a feature article titled "Inviting and Disinviting Classroom Moments: What the Movies Can Teach Us About Teaching" published in the March 2008 edition of the Invitational Education Forum, the newsletter of the International Alliance for Invitational Education.
Jan Caldwell, English/Communications instructor, received a note from Celia Miles, retired English instructor, praising her for the Reader's Theater performance from "My Antonia" during the Big Read program May 1 in Ferguson Auditorium. "Of course, you did a great job, but I especially want to commend the Madison High Students," Miles wrote.
Capt. Mike McCoy of Asheville Fire and Rescue and a student, was named the 2008 Firefighter of the Year by the Optimist Club of Asheville. He also was named the Outstanding Fire Protection Technology student at A-B Tech.
Joseph Adams, Associate in Arts and Fine Arts student, wrote a letter to express how pleased he is with his education at A-B Tech. "The instructors who stand out most for me are Lisa Johnson, English/communications; Valerie Watts, Spanish; Valerie Martin, mathematics; Ron Layne, mathematics; Sharon Trammel, art; and Dr. Deane Merrill, physics," he wrote.
"I chose to write this letter specifically for the purpose of commending Dr. Merrill. The other instructors that I have mentioned truly are equally deserving of praise, but Dr. Merrill's class has been phenomenal. I never would have imagined myself to have become so enthralled with the world of physics. I am an artist to my core, but I all of the sudden ... I want to be a scientist! I will not be changing course in terms of my career, but, in the future I will undoubtedly create curriculum specific lesson plans that will incorporate art and science. I have been impressed with his teaching skills on many levels."
The A-B Tech Arts and Sciences Plant sale led by Joe Allawos, Biology instructor, generated $2,400, half of which was given to the Foundation Scholarship Fund and the other half to the A-B Tech Arboretum. Plants that were left were donated to MANNA and Habitat for Humanity.
The A-B Tech Drama Club is holding a yard sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 7 behind the Elm Building on the Asheville campus. Tax-deductible donations will be accepted the week of the sale, and Drama Club members will give receipts for them. They are also selling space for anyone who wants to sell their own things at $20 a table, with a discount for multiple tables. Contact Penny Gamblin, Drama Club treasurer, at 253-3829 or by e-mail at priscillajgamblin@students.abtech.edu.
Tech Talk is published by the Communications Office for employees and friends of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
Editor: Mona Cornwell, Writer: Martha Ball, Designers: Justin Page, April Sides
Send submissions to: Mona Cornwell, Director of Communications, at mcornwell@abtech.edu
Publication of the next issue
is scheduled for July 1.
Deadline for submissions is June 20.