Student Interact Club--Haiti Project

I am pleased to blog that our 2013 Haiti team returned safely and accomplished much good work in the past week. The Vantage Student Interact Club, affiliated with the Van Wert Rotary Club, sponsors a carpentry program in the mountain village of Borde, Haiti. Our students raise funds throughout each school year to pay the carpentry teacher's salary ($100 per month) and furnish supplies and hand tools for the students. The furniture made by the carpentry program is sold in Cap Haitien, Haiti, and the funds are returned to the customer service account to buy more supplies.

Social studies teacher Peg Bollenbacher, our club's advisor, has traveled to Haiti annually for 10 years. She will retire this year, and is turning over the Interact Club to science teacher Matthew Miller. Ms. Bollenbacher will continue to return to Haiti annually on her own, as she has a deep bond with the local Haitians involved in our project. This was my first trip to Haiti, as it was for Mr. Miller also. Seeing the carpentry school and surrounding facilities, which include another school building for multiple grade levels, a church, and a small kitchen building and small administration building, was beneficial. We can better target our resources to meet their needs, one of which is some form of power and clean water. I hope to succeed in completing a green structure, or Earthship, (google Earthship Haiti) to supply solar power and sanitized water to some degree.

The addition of any power at all will allow our Haitian students to use some power tools vs. strictly hand tools, and also have better lighting in the classroom/workshop. The cinder block walls include open spaces for "windows" to allow air and light into the building. That is the only light source. All of the buildings are built in this manner, including the church, which again, has absolutely no power. Our solar project could also be routed to the church or the grade school as well to improve learning conditions.

As I expected prior to going to Haiti, words cannot express what I saw and experienced during the seven days I was there. I have memories for a lifetime, a lot of photos of the culture and people, and a renewed commitment to our Interact Club's project in Haiti. In future blogs, I will post photos taken while in Haiti. Here is one of my favorites: this small cooking fire area feeds over 120 school children. Only a wooden table and a pile of starter timber are in this small building which we call our "kitchen". There is obviously no power and the structure is lit by the holes in the cinder block wall.

Preparing for trip to Haiti

April 2, 2013

The position of superintendent has provided me with several opportunities and challenges over the years. An opportunity I will talk about today is the chance to see the small carpentry program which Vantage Career Center operates in the mountain village of Bordes, Haiti. Bordes is near Cap Haitien, on the northern coast. Our Interact program, which is a student club, and affiliate of the local Rotary club, has been active for several years. Its main project is raising funds and supporting the carpentry program in Bordes. Local Haitiens travel long distances to attend our small school, where they learn basic carpentry skills to help them provide a way to support their families.

I will visit the program and meet several of the local people who are integral to our efforts. Social Studies teacher Peg Bollenbacher has traveled there annually for the past 10 years, and will travel with first-time attendee Matt Miller and I. Matt is a science teacher at Vantage, and is really looking forward to the trip. It will be both his and my first experience there. We hope to confirm the need for a green shelter to be built in the next year, which would house medical care and free clinic services when visitors come to assist the people of the Cap Haitien area. The green structure uses solar power to heat as needed, and sanitize water. The entire structure is really a great science lesson in itself! More later in future blogs.

Upon return, I hope to engage several other Ohio Rotary clubs to assist our project by contributing funds toward this purpose. Rotary grants may be possible from the Rotary International site and the District club, which will aid, and probably expand, our project's scope. Ten clubs have given me their contact information already. It would be wonderful to provide a few of these structures in the areas which desperately need clean water and safe shelter for medical services.Hopefully a task force of people from these clubs will travel with us later on to construct the green structures.

We hope to attend a local Rotary meeting in Cap Haitien while there next week. Regardless of the outcome of the service project, I will return having met my primary goal, which is to see our students' work over the years, and meet the local people who have been involved with our carpentry program regularly. Words cannot describe the impact which I am certain to experience in Haiti, but I will try my best to do so in a blog or two after April 15. Today Matters, more than ever. Make your day a worthwhile one.

Snow, snow, snow. . .

March 25 looks a lot like January 25 today. School is closed, using the last of our five calamity days for the year. I hope we don't get hit with a lot of dense fog this spring, or Vantage will be making up days in a year already longer due to the late start last fall, required by the construction project.

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but the pace of my office has not let up following construction and the Grand Open House event. Plans are being coordinated to cut in the access drive for the solar array, for which construction will start shortly after April 1. The snow and moisture is going to hold sitework up a bit.

Other projects I am working on are getting ready for the April Board meeting and assisting with plans for the April 4 All Boards Annual Dinner, which follows the April Board meeting. News regarding the state budget and other legislation which may affect the Career Center also requires my attention, especially as legislation moves quickly in the Kasich administration. If educators don't provide feedback, we lose control and influence while others set our agendas. More later on legislation and the state budget!

As usual, administrivia is a constant in our office, and while a quiet day like today allows me to catch up a bit, there is always something that takes the place of the items I strike off my list. Yes, I am a list maker! My lists are usually to remind me of events to attend, and meetings to go to within the community. At the top of my list for this week is the Vantage FFA annual banquet. The students and instructor Mike Miller put on a great program, which is well-attended by parents and students. Also on my list is the end of Lent--I have been officially "chocolate and dessert" free since Lent began. I am into the home stretch, feeling pretty successful since I haven't even had hot chocolate or a cookie. And cookies are my favorite food! Look out after Easter--I have been hoarding a lot of Christmas chocolate. Until next time. . .Today Matters.

It's all over . . .

Were you there? Vantage Career Center hosted its Grand Open House to celebrate the end of our 18-month construction project. Tonight was also our annual sophomore open house where prospective students and their parents and families visit our school to decide if they will become a Vantage student in the fall.

So many people were here tonight! I heard alumni from years past remarking about how the school had changed, and saw staff engaged in conversations with visitors representing so many different connections to Vantage. Several of our partners in the community were here tonight--Chamber of Commerce Director Susan Munroe, First Financial Bank's Denise Frey, Eric Hurless from Stahl, Stoller, and Meyer Insurance, Bill and Shirley Straley of Straley Realty, County Commissioner Thad Lichtensteiger, Phil and Robin Farris of P & R Medical, and Stan and Barb Searing, and Mike Winans, all the way from Paulding . . .WOW!

We are so thrilled that so many people came out to see us tonight! Vantage is a wonderful opportunity for workforce training. Our staff makes it a great place for kids, and a terrific place to work. If you haven't experienced Vantage in some fashion--an adult class in cooking or basket weaving, or computer course, or if you don't know someone who has been a student at Vantage, you really should come out and see what we have to offer.

P.S.  if you weren't here tonight, you missed the great refreshments by Baked to Perfection in Delphos! They did a fantastic job! (WHY did I give up cookies and sweets for Lent. . .ugggghhhh!)

Oh, what a night. . .

. . . and what a week it has been! Tonight I was honored to accept the Golden Shovel Award on behalf of Vantage Career Center at the annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner. It was extra special because several of the people who have worked hard throughout our construction project were there with me. Vantage had a full table: Board President Lonnie Nedderman and Board members Kim Brandt, Linda Owens, and our administrative team-- Director Bob Vennekotter, Adult Ed Director Pete Prichard,  Supervisors Ted Verhoff, Ben Winans, and Mary Ann Hall, and Public Relations Coordinator MaryJo Wilhelm.

This week has been hectic, mostly due to the timing of the CTE testimony we were asked to give on Tuesday afternoon at Apollo Career Center in Lima. Governor Kasich's joint Workforce Committee listened to our testimony, which included two area employers, FWT and Miller Precision Manufacturing, Vantage precision machining instructor Larry Ray, and myself. Fielding the questions asked afterward by the legislators was a rare opportunity. I will say that it went well, and I was grateful to several staff members and our students who could attend and listen to the testimony. It felt good, knowing they were there with me.

Our two students who attended, Isaac and Caleb, both from Mr. Ray's Precision Machining program, were introduced to the crowd during Larry's testimony. They were beaming from ear to ear! Isaac will attend Sinclair Community College and work in Dayton for a company who will help pay for his college education. Caleb won first place in the Ohio SkillsUSA milling and turning contest and will go on to state competition in April. We are so proud of both of them! And we have many more students like Caleb and Isaac, who are why we come to work every day--it just makes sense to be a career technical educator and help kids find their way into solid occupations.

Tuesday's events weren't over though after the testimony, because Representative Lynn Wachtmann offered us tickets to the State of the State address! It really was exciting to be in the crowd, hearing "live" what progress Ohio has made and what the Governor's goals are for the year ahead. All in all, "oh what a night" pretty much sums up this whole week! But we have a great night coming up yet--Grand Open House is on Monday, Feb. 25. Try to attend the ceremony at 5 p.m. in the commons, and then take a long tour around our new school ! Light refreshments will be available. Come out and help us celebrate our new school! Afterward, maybe you, too, will be saying, "Oh, what a night"!

A little encouragement. . .

A little encouragement goes a long way. MaryJo Wilhelm, public relations coordinator, emailed earlier to tell me "good job" on blogging so frequently this year. I hesitated on typing "frequently" but I am doing much better than last year. And with her positive reinforcement still ringing in my ears, I am blogging twice in 24 hours!

We just linked this blog to our Vantage FaceBook page (yep, we have one!) and it has worked out well for us. Hopefully my blog will be read by more people, alumni, and community members alike, as well as our staff. It is a great way for people to know "the latest" happenings concerning Vantage.

I am looking forward to testimony tomorrow for the Governor's Workforce Committee. I spent yesterday, late last night, early this a.m., and most of the office hours today, compiling and proofing the four testimonials we will present tomorrow. Apollo Career Center, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. is the place to be on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Ten senators and 15 House of Representatives who make up this joint committee will hear what Vantage, Apollo, and several of our employers are doing to impact a trained workforce.

Just reading the testimonials makes me feel great that 1) I work for Vantage Career Center, and 2) that I work as a career-technical administrator. Period.  CTE is where it's at-- how can you not love helping students of all ages learn skills to find meaningful work?

Come out and see what we do in our completely renovated and expanded school! Feb. 25, 5 - 8 p.m. THAT's where you should be next Monday! Set your GPS or navigation system to 818 N. Franklin St., Van Wert, OH 45891!  (Just a little encouragement. . . )

And the heat is on. . .

Yes, I mean that! It's Sunday at 5 p.m. and I just finished all the work I can do here. The network is down, so I cannot access my doc pass files. But the heat IS on, which I wasn't expecting, since we set the new HVAC system to a conservative mode on the weekends when the building is empty.

Today I also had a scholarship meeting with the Marilyn Brandt family. She and daughter Kim, chief counsel for health care reform for the Senate in Washington, D.C., enjoyed a tour of our new school and then finalized details for the adult education scholarship. The $1000 Robert Brandt Scholarship for the high school was established almost three years ago, and plans are now set to begin an annual $1000 adult education scholarship in 2014. Vantage appreciates the Brandt family's priorirty to increase the scholarship funds shared with Vantage students of all ages. The funds are managed by the Paulding County Area Foundation.

The other reason I am in the office on a Sunday, is to finish writing my testimony for Governor Kasich's joint Workforce Committee. I have been asked to testify, as well as arrange for testimony, from a few area employers. Testimony will include instructor Larry Ray, Precision Machining, Jared Orzolek, FWT, and Jim Miller, Miller Precision Manufacturing, Inc. We will address the Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. at Apollo Career Center in Lima. Following testimony, a former student, Trent Metzger, now a welder and quality control inspector at FWT in Hicksville, and a few current Vantage students, will speak with Ohio's Senators and House Representatives informally over dessert.
Instructor Mike Miller, Ag Mechanics, and Vantage alumnus also, will attend and answer questions afterward as well. I wish I could have included so many people, however, both Vantage and Apollo will only be represented by 10 people between the two institutions.

I am looking forward to testifying to this particular Committee, because it is Vantage's chance to relay good news and solid practices and performance data to our state legislature. Ten senators and 15 representatives, as well as staffers, will be present. Following the testimony, I will attend the Governor's State of the State address at the Lima Civic Center. Accompanying me will be Treasurer Lori Davis and Adult Education Director Pete Prichard. Our thanks go out to House Rep Lynn Wachtmann for notifying me of the opportunity to testify and for lining us up with three tickets to the Governor's address.

Thus, I am in on a Sunday, because the building is a bit too noisy and busy to draft testimony on a normal school day! Finished the testimony but can't access my photos of students working in manfacturing labs, which I need to complete it. So "the heat is on" as I will be on pins and needles until tomorrow, when I hope the network is connected again. I wanted to finish it today, so I could do other work tomorrow and time my testimony. But tomorrow is another day, and Today Matters. . .I made the most of it that I could today.