October 30, 2009

October 30, 2009


I read a quote this week that is very timely: “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” (Mahatma Gandhi) Probably those who appreciate that quote the most right now are those who are suffering with the flu! Our student attendance is actually running just slightly below normal, but seems more staff are being hit themselves or are taking care of family members who have the flu. Please continue to take good care of yourselves!

I spent all of Wednesday morning in the Allen/Hardin County area in preparation for the opening of our Adult Education Practical Nursing Program in Hardin County. Amy Main, Adult Ed. Health Occupations Coordinator, and I visited a medical/dental clinic in Lima which will hopefully be replicated in Hardin County. They’re excited about partnering with us for clinical sites for students. Amy and I also looked at some potential sites for the nursing program, which will open its doors in January. (And then Amy and Lori Ludwig continued to look at sites all afternoon!) We’re really excited to be able to take this training opportunity to residents in the north end of our District!

Our Board Meeting Wednesday night was really a fun one. In addition to our Students of the Month and regular reports from administration, Shelly Swaney made a presentation to Donna Beale, who has earned culinary ProStart certification both individually and for her program. I don’t know all of the details of the certification, but I know it has required a lot of training and testing on Donna’s part and a lot of additional hours on the part of her students. Congratulations to Donna and her students—this will certainly open many new doors for them as they move into their culinary careers!

We also heard from Richard Johnson, Adult Ed. Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning instructor at South Campus, and one of his students (also Richard). I wish you all could have heard the comments this student made! He’s a 38-year-old displaced worker who expressed his gratitude for the training opportunity, told us how he’s already using the skills he’s learning in a part-time job, and also told us how his young son thinks it’s really neat that his dad is in school and asks him every day if he “earned any A’s today”. This gentleman embodied what, to me, lifelong learning is all about. Life throws us curveballs, but we can readjust. And when we do, we teach all of those who are watching us, especially those with young, impressionable eyes, the tremendous value of learning and gaining skills. I wish Richard the very, very best of success.

It’s going to be an eventful weekend! We’ll have a holiday (Happy Halloween!), a time change (don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour—and enjoy that extra hour!), and a new month. Here’s a useless but interesting bit of trivia—according to the National Confectioners Association, $2.225 billion dollars will be spent on Halloween candy this year. Parents, brace yourselves!

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to vote next Tuesday!