Free Asheville Art Museum passes are available for employees and students. They can be reserved up to a week in advance for a one-week checkout, based on availability. There is a limit of six passes per person. A set of 25 passes is also available for instructors to take a class. Contact Sue Donato at Ext. 7572 or sdonato@abtech.edu for more information.
A-B Tech's BioNetwork BioBusiness Center was featured in the November/December 2008 issue of "Impact: advancing the business of biotechnology and life sciences" in an article on cultivating entrepreneurs. Incubator tenant Dr. Deanna Hatch, CEO and chief scientific officer of OrganoFuels, was featured in an "Entrepreneurs in the Marketplace" piece.
A-B Tech hosted a healthy cook-off competition Jan. 24 in the Magnolia Building as part of Mission Hospital's Lighten Up 4 Life initiative, being held for the second year to encourage healthy living. Bronwen McCormick, Culinary Arts and Hospitality Education chair, served as one of the judges in the competition.
Michelle Bailey, a 2007 A-B Tech Culinary Technology graduate and member of the national award-winning hot food team, has been promoted to the position of executive chef at The Market Place restaurant. She will complete two weeks of training in Naples, Fla., at the Ritz-Carlton under 1984 A-B Tech graduate Lawrence McFadden.
A-B Tech's 28 first-year Emergency Medical Science students had a 100 percent pass rate on the EMT-Basic exam. The December Basic Law Enforcement Training class also had a 100 percent pass rate.
Vickie Heidinger, executive director of Community Action Opportunities, and Leslie Hennessee, Family and Community Partnerships program manager, wrote a thank you letter to Michele Hathcock, director of Recruitment, Student Activities and A-B Tech at the Mall, on behalf of the Lonnie D. Burton Center, Glen Arden Elementary and Leicester Elementary Head Start children. "Your efforts to ensure the children have a safe and fun experience is appreciated by our children and staff. I believe this year's party was the best we have ever attended. Everything ran very smoothly and the children had a great time," they wrote.
The newest addition to the A-B Tech family, Isabella Kathleen Harshman, was born Jan. 11 at 9:59 p.m. and weighed seven pounds and 10 ounces. She is the daughter of Heather Vaughn, English/Communications instructor, and Cris Harshman, Educational Technology Services coordinator.
Sheila Tillman, associate dean of Hospitality Education, was appointed to a one-year term on the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association's board as a member-at-large. This is the first time non-restaurant owners have been appointed to the board.
Russ Yelton, executive director of Entrepreneurial Ventures and Business Incubation, made a presentation for a Clean Energy Business conference call Jan. 27 as part of Land-of-Sky Regional Council's Clean Energy and Alternative Fuels Business Development Project. The session, "Growing your clean energy business with local incubators," also featured two A-B Tech incubator clients.
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 March 2.
Deadline for submissions is February 16.