November 2018 Central Connection
November 2, 2018
New VMRC name honors Hartley family
By Scott Miller
Public Relations and Marketing Director
 |
|
Retired Central Community College employee Al Hartley |
The Central Community College Foundation has announced a significant gift from Alan Hartley and his wife, Dorothy, to Central Community College.
The planned gift celebrates and honors the Hartley family’s lasting commitment to the nation’s armed forces and Alan’s 40-plus years of service and dedication as a CCC employee.
During a renaming and room dedication ceremony on Sept. 28, the Veterans and Military Resource Center (VMRC) on the Hastings Campus was changed to the Hartley Family Veterans and Military Resource Center. The naming honors not only the Hartley family, but all those who serve in the U.S. military.
Hartley said that initially he wanted to recognize his father, Cpl. Kenneth Hartley, who was a World War II veteran and a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 17th Airborne. The more he thought about it, however, he realized he also wanted to recognize the service of his sons. Then his wife reminded him he had served, too.
“We just wanted to recognize the fact that our family has a rich family service history, as do many families,” said Hartley. “What better way to recognize that than to have a center here at a community college which serves the community and veterans?”
A commemorative plaque in the VMRC includes the names of Alan, his father and sons, their respective branches of service and a brief detail of their experience.
Hartley, who was an instructor and staff member at CCC for more than four decades, served for 12 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. Called to active duty during Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War, he served for six months with the 295th Ordinance Company in Germany.
His sons are Lt. Cmdr. Michael Hartley, U.S. Navy, served in the Persian Gulf War and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; Staff Sgt. Kendall Hartley, Nebraska Air National Guard; and Senior Airman Christopher Hartley, U.S. Air Force, served in Operation Southern Watch in Iraq.
The VMRC serves veterans and military service members throughout their studies at CCC and acts as a liaison with the Veterans Administration for students claiming benefits. In recent years, the VMRC has been recognized nationally and has earned the top ranking among two-year colleges on the Military Times’ Best Colleges survey for five consecutive years.
“It’s a big transition to go from military life to civilian life,” said Hartley. “It’s a big cultural change when you go in and it’s a big cultural change when you come out so that extra support, I think, really helps the students be more successful.”
The college established VMRCs in 2011 at the Columbus, Grand Island and Hastings campuses. A fourth VMRC was opened at the Kearney Center in 2017.
Program blends web, classroom
 |
|
People involved in making the new blended business |
Central Community College-Holdrege has been selected for a pilot program designed to afford educational opportunities for working professionals, which ultimately aims to keep them in the area instead of moving to larger communities.
Through the blended business program, which combines web-based and in-classroom instruction, students will take two three-credit courses per semester. They also will meet one Saturday per month in two four-hour class sessions. If they keep on schedule, they could earn their associate’s degree in three or three-and-a-half years.
Bradley Keasling, associate dean of business and skilled and technical sciences, began formulating the blended business program one year ago in response to Holdrege area businesses asking for CCC’s help with employee retention.
“Becton Dickinson (BD), Allmand Brothers, Phelps Memorial Hospital and other area businesses were seeing their people leave to take other jobs because they didn’t have options for education to increase their skills or to earn a degree,” said Keasling.
Another unique aspect of the business blended program is that the curriculum is designed for students to learn real-life concepts in a cohort or cadre group setting.
“It’s not that they’re going to sit there and just lecture, lecture, lecture for eight hours in a day,” said Keasling. “The students should ask themselves: ‘What are those real-life scenarios that we can help each other with?’ The hope is that they stick together and hold each other accountable.”
The advisory committee for the program includes individuals from economic development, the chamber of commerce and human resources.
“What we have in that group are some great people who really believe in the Holdrege area as a community and are anxious to continue that momentum,” said Keasling.
In particular, Keasling credited Diana Watson, who leads the Holdrege Center, and Elena Olson King, learning center manager, for getting all of the people on the advisory committee together.
“Both of those ladies over there love the Holdrege community, know the community and have really been reaching out,” said Keasling. “They understand that the economic environment in the Holdrege area is awesome, except for people leaving and we don’t want that.”
The program will be evaluated after one year. If it is successful, then it could be implemented at another CCC center in the fall 2020 semester.
“I’ve already kind of been talking with the Lexington Center,” said Keasling. “They’re always willing to look at other opportunities of what we can do to grow.”
NSLS students attend leadership retreat
Five Central Community College students recently attended the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) Regional Leadership Retreat at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas.
The retreat gave NSLS officers an opportunity to attend workshops on such topics as building communities, engaging people, managing stress, resolving conflicts and understanding bias. They also were able to give back to the local community through five different community service opportunities. The CCC students participated in Meals on Wheels and Honoring Our Heroes community service projects.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to experience first-hand what the organization was created for,” said Jenna Kuck of Bertrand and vice president of the CCC-Hastings NSLS chapter. “Meeting and conversing with fellow members of the organization has opened up numerous ideas for how we can better our chapter.”
Also attending from CCC-Hastings was NSLS President Odeth Mendez-Peraza of Hastings.
CCC-Grand Island NSLS officers who attended the retreat were Eric Bredthauer, secretary; Aily Cortes, community service chair; and Michaela Dehart, vice president. They are all Grand Island residents.
The NSLS is the nation’s largest leadership honor society with 644 chapters and 945,696 members selected for either their academic standing or leadership potential. NSLS provides them with a step-by-step program for building their leadership skills and gives them access to such benefits as scholarships, exclusive on-campus events, and employer recruitment through an online job bank.
 |
|
Students attending a Health Careers Club meeting gather around a table at Central Community College-Grand Island to watch Donald Adams, coordinator of EMS programs, give a demonstration on emergency response procedures. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Drozd) |
 |
|
Students attending the meeting practice emergency |
Learning Opportunity
Twenty students attended a CN- AHEC (Central Nebraska Area Health Education Center) Health Careers Club meeting Oct. 10 at Central Community College-Grand Island.
Attendees learned about the college’s emergency medical technician and paramedicine programs and also got to participate in hands-on activities.
Parents and a teacher attending the event were able to attend presentations on financial aid and Project HELP and a tour of the simulation lab.
The evening ended with a presentation about CCC’s EMT and paramedic program requirements by Donald Adams, coordinator of EMS programs.
“The 20 students thoroughly enjoyed the activities in the simulation lab,” said Brandon Drozd, program coordinator of the Central Nebraska Area Health Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
He added that the parents who attended the event appreciated the financial aid and Project HELP information provided. They also liked having an opportunity to get their questions answered.
The club’s main purpose is to keep high school students active and engaged through an activity related to the profession being covered. The meetings also include a short presentation on the education required for the featured profession.
The next Health Career Club meeting will be held in January at CCC-Grand Island and will focus on pharmacy technology.
Employee news
Columbus Campus
Doug Pauley has had a change in titles from training and development director to associate dean of training and development.
Hastings Campus
Dean Amundson has resigned as a diesel technology instructor.
Roxann Holliday has been hired as dean of business and entrepreneurship, a college-wide position.
NCMPR awards
Five Central Community College employees were recognized at the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations’ (NCMPR) District 5 Conference Oct. 7-9 in Rochester, Minn.
Tiffany Seybold, college web content specialist, received the Rising Star Award, which is awarded to a newcomer who has demonstrated special creativity or ability in marketing and public relations and shows evidence of a promising future in the field. Winning at the district level has qualified her for consideration for the national award.
She also received two first-place awards in the NCMPR District 5 Medallion Awards Competition. One award was in the Website category for CCC’s newly redesigned website and the other was in the E-Card category for last year’s holiday card.
Four other employees also received awards in the competition. They were:
Amanda Groff, college marketing manager, received first place in the Successful Recruitment or Marketing Program category for the 2018 spring semester advertising blitz, and third place in the Specialty Publication category for the Hastings Major Gifts Campaign Case of Support.
Deserah Janke, Columbus Campus print shop coordinator and designer, received second place in the Print Advertisement category for a Columbus Chamber Directory ad.
Scott Miller, college public relations and marketing director, received second place in the Radio Advertisement Series category for the 2018 spring semester radio spots.
Joni Ransom, communications assistant to the college president, received two awards in the Excellence in Writing category – first place for a story about a partnership between two Hastings Campus programs to make chocolate bars and second place for a story about two Columbus Campus students building a life-size R2-D2.