The Kansas Kollator - Fall 2005

A Message From the President

What beautiful fall weather we have been having recently. The warm days and cool nights are such a nice change after our hot Kansas summer. As you can probably guess, fall is my favorite time of year.

The Fall Executive Board meeting was held on November 4th in Hutchinson. Our most pressing item of business includes an Executive Board resignation. Paula Burt has resigned and leaves the office of vice-president vacant. Pat Bryant has agreed to serve as interim vice-president until the Board can replace Paula.

The AKCCOP vice-president’s duties as identified in the AKCCOP By-Laws, Article II, Section 7, include:

The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the event of the President’s absence. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the President, the Vice-President shall automatically become President. The Vice-President shall be responsible for the official Association newsletter (the Kansas Kollator), and serve as AKCCOP webmaster. And, will serve in any such duties as assigned by the President of the Association.

The vice-president is the one who keeps us all informed, so it is very important to fill this position as soon as possible. If you have an interest in serving on the Executive Board and can assume the duties of the vice-president please email me at ssmith@neosho.edu and let me know. An official election will be held at our annual meeting.

Other Executive Board agenda items will include awarding scholarships and a possible change in our AKCCOP polo shirt. Your input on these and other items is always welcome just contact me or one of the AKCCOP Executive Board members to let us know.

Pratt Community College will host the conference in 2007 and Labette Community College will host in 2008. Openings are available to host our annual conference beginning with 2009. Hosting is a wonderful way to showcase your college and your community as well as become closer as an office professionals group. Please consider hosting an AKCCOP Conference.

Happy Holidays to you. See you at Dodge in April.

Sarah Smith

.BARTON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Tia Owens, Reporter

Since last spring, Barton County Community College Office Professionals has seen many changes occur on campus and within our organization. Barton County Community College hired Dr. Steve Maier as interim President on August 8th. Dr. Maier has done a fine job maintaining a "business as usual" atmosphere. Barton continues, like many other institutions, to say good-bye to some old friends and welcome new faces in various departments throughout our campus. However, when hurricane Rita tore at the coast of both Louisiana and Mississippi in August, Barton employees met the call for help by first identifying the many students and their families affected by the disaster, then organizing drives for donations of money, clothing and supplies, and sending out many encouraging messages and prayers.

BCCCOP proved to be quite innovative when it came to finding new ways to enjoy each other’s company. For instance, last April our Social Committee put together a Texas Hold’em instructional class and game night for members. We invited BCCC EMS Coordinator, Chy Miller, to be our guest instructor. He did a fantastic job, patiently teaching several of us the game of poker. We enjoyed pizza, laughs and fun! We also kept to our traditional events, such as staffing the Honors Brunch and Graduation Reception. For the past few years, BCCCOP has volunteered to attend and serve cookies and punch to our invited honorees at the Honors Brunch and to the graduates and their families in our Student Union following our commencement ceremony.

By the end of the semester, the organization proceeded to elect and install new officers for the upcoming 2005-06 school term. As the new executive board members took their positions, we immediately began to brainstorm fund-raising ideas. Members attending the AKCCOP Conference, hosted by Cloud County last March, discovered different fund-raising possibilities while networking with other Office Professionals from various colleges and reported the ideas to our members to decide upon. We agreed to deliver cakes ordered for students and employees by their friends and/or family for their birthday or any other occasion which might call for celebration. We kicked off the project at the beginning of the school year and since then it has been extremely successful.

Over the summer, BCCCOP members took it rather easy with fewer students enrolled for summer classes. Many of us took the extra time to organize our departments and prepare for the upcoming fall enrollment, while others incorporated such tasks into their regular busy routines. We also took the opportunity to review and update our bylaws. However, we did find time to get together socially before the students returned with an "End of Summer Bash," hosted by the Executive Board.

Along with our cake fund-raiser, BCCCOP began our academic year with our membership drive. We have twenty members. We also hosted our annual Bosses’ Day Potluck Luncheon, which was well attended. An entertaining introduction skit of the bosses was presented by the BCCCOP members and later a variety of musical numbers were performed by Barton’s Hilltop Singers. Afterwards, there was a drawing held for two beautiful door prizes which were presented to the winning bosses picked. We are planning to end the 2005 fall semester with various student projects, a Halloween party and a Christmas gift exchange for the members. We hope to send BCCCOP members to represent Barton at the 2006 AKCCOP Conference hosted by Dodge City.

BUTLER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Laura Albert, Reporter

Seems like the fall semester just started and Butler students are enrolling for Spring 06 already. "Time flies when you’re having fun."

Butler’s soccer team got an unplanned chance to help some of the Katrina evacuees when they went to Dallas over Labor Day weekend to play. When they arrived at the Residence Inn where they had reservations, they found their rooms had been given to families who had evacuated from New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane. The manager of the hotel made arrangements for the team to stay at another hotel but invited the team to eat breakfast the next morning at the Residence Inn.

The next morning when the girls arrived at the hotel, they found the dining room full of hurricane evacuees. They listened to stories from the displaced families. After breakfast, the team met and expressed to their coach, Amy Estes, the need to help in some way. They didn’t have to go far. As a designated drop-off point for food and clothing, the hotel soon found its parking lot, conference rooms and an entire floor in a neighboring office building full of donations and in need of volunteers to organize the donations and help evacuees find items they most needed.

Even though Butler and Richland (Texas) Community College were opposing teams earlier in the afternoon, they became teammates in helping with the organization and distribution of donations later on Saturday. Our girls were also given McDonald gift certificates to use during the trip, but each girl found families to give the gift cards to.

Our Butler girls came home with much more than two wins. "It was a pretty emotional trip," Coach Estes said. "The soccer was great; we played awesome. But more than that, it was a chance to help other people. Meeting those families and those people was huge for my kids. To see it first hand and be able to help was such a blessing."

The Butler family also donated enough items to fill 10 boxes to send to displaced hurricane victims.

Butler’s Marketing Communications Department and Web Services won eight awards from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations during a district conference held in October in Wichita.

Four gold medallions, the highest honor available in each class, were awarded to Butler for

the college’s television ad series featuring pictures of high-profile Butler graduates with the tagline "It’s amazing how for so many, the journey begins at Butler."

Butler’s full-color print ad featuring graduate Mikayla, a morning radio show host in Wichita

A news story featuring Butler’s fire science department that appeared in Butler’s Career Focus magazine, the El Dorado Times and the Augusta Gazette newspapers

the fourth gold went to the Web Service Department for its instructional video for Butler students, "Power of the Portal" CD.

Two silver medallions were awarded for a series of divisional brochures that highlight the different programs and areas of study at the college and Butler’s overall web site. If you get a chance, visit www.butlercc.edu and see the changes.

Two bronze medallions were awarded for Butler’s radio ad series featuring the same concepts of the television ad and For the college’s annual report.

"Women’s Work: Revisited" exhibit at the E.B. White Gallery on the El Dorado campus opened October 28 with a public reception for the artists Maha Al-Eman, Beth Cauble, Violet Love Goode, Sarah Kephart, Kristi Rucker, Pam Terry, and Holly Tompkins and will run through November 22. Three Butler students are among the featured artists. These women were selected because they all either work with traditional feminine materials or feminine themes in a somewhat subversive way. Sculpture, assemblage, and fiber arts will be on display. Sarah Kephart is displaying an entire bedroom set made from wire hangers!

Op Staff held a Halloween fundraiser October 28 on the El Dorado campus. They sold cookies, muffins, caramel apples, and popcorn balls. Everything was priced $1.00 and under. The next fundraiser will be the annual Cubs Store. Crafts and baked goods will be part of the items for sale. The money raised by the Op Staff goes into the Op Staff Scholarship Book Fund.

We’re looking forward to the Annual AKCCOP conference in April in Dodge City. See "ya all" there.

COFFEYVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Janice Lair, Reporter

Tonya Starnes auditioned for Branson’s newest and hottest show Branson Spotlight in Tulsa, Oklahoma in February. She competed against 20 other performers in a two day first round competition. She advanced to the second round and performed at the Jim Stafford Theatre in June. The grand prize winner will be notified in October with $5,000 and a two song recording demo and will be featured on the Doug Gabriel Show October 22, 2005. We are all wishing her the best.

The Raven Soundsations show choir performed at Branson Starlight Theatre in the spring semester. One of the selections was sung in Japanese.

Business Professionals of America students qualified for national competition after doing well at state competition in Wichita, Kansas. The three programs represented at the state competition were business and computer technology, computer networking technology and PC repair technology. Several students qualified for national competition in Anaheim, Ca. in April.

Coffeyville Community College received a recommendation for 10 years accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Ten years is the maximum accreditation recommendation a school can receive. CCC’s last accreditation visit was in 1994 in which we also received a 10 year recommendation.

Steven Hassenplug a member of Phi Theta Kappa was elected International Vice-President. This is the first time we have had an officer serve on the international level. This is an incredible accomplishment for Steven, our chapter and college, but for all chapters in the state of Kansas. Other chapter honors were International Fellowship Hallmark Award, Distinguished Chapter, Advisor Continued Excellence, and an Outstanding Chapter President engraved medallion.

The CCC Raven softball team placed second in Region VI tournament in May. It had been several years since our team has been competitive on the regional level.

Three theatre students were nominated for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Irene Ryan Awards for their performances. They are Nate Shaw, Jamie McCabe and Venessa Freeman. They are invited to the regional festival in Fargo, North Dakota in January 2006 to compete for scholarship money.

Former long-time Board of Trustees member Maurice Weinberg passed away in December 2004. Until he retired from the board of trustees in June 2003, Maurice had been a member for 36 years. He will be missed by his college family as well as in the community.

Two Phi Theta Kappa members attended the International Bioethics Forum in Madison, Wisconsin. World renowned researchers and leaders in the field of cloning, genetic engineering and the ethics of biogenetics engineering were among the presenters. This was the third year to send students and we were the only community college represented.

Kaci Adams-Mellen received a prestigious award from the Kansas emergency Medical Technicians Association in Great Bend, Kansas. The Eckhart Award is presented to the person who has made one of the highest and overall most substantial contributions to EMS during a person’s career. Kaci has taught EMT and paramedic courses at CCC for nearly 25 years.

Congratulations to Linda McFate 36 years, Buck Walton 38 years and John Kalert 28 years on their retirements.

The Coffeyville College Cheer Team won 3 first places and 2 third places at the UCA Collegiate Camp in August. They were introduced as one of the top Junior College cheerleading programs in the nation. Eight Ravens were nominated for collegiate All American. They competed against several four year schools.

Coca Cola Scholars Foundation awards CCC student Daniel Funk a $1,000 scholarship through the Coca Cola two-year college scholarship program. The awards are a total of 350 scholarships annually to students attending higher education institutions granting two year degrees. All recipients have demonstrated academic success and participated in community service within the past 12 months.

Mark Frank Theatre Director recently had his second volume of seven plays published. All the plays, except one have had premier productions at Coffeyville Community College and other theatres across the country. Mark is currently working on a third volume.

Richard Stephenson was hired as a performer by the Brownville Summer Repertory Company of Nebraska. Cindy Paasch received a full ride scholarship to Rockhurst University and will be starting her own improvisation comedy troupe in the fall. Both were former students.

This semester we welcomed ten new employees for teaching or coaching positions. Josh Gooch, Delice Downing, Ryan Hellenthal, Kevin Hunt, Chrystal Vega, Spencer Mack, Jeremiah Hoggatt, Tremon Kizer, Zach Binder and Salina Meek.

We now have a men’s and women’s soccer team, applied rodeo and several new online courses. The men’s soccer team got their fifth victory last week with a 5-10 overall. This is their first year and they will make the playoffs.

Three Ravens were selected to the KJCCC all Conference Team Byran Covington, Trent Lare on the second team and J. R. Reynolds was selected as honorable mention. The baseball team completed their first above .500 season in school history with a 28-25 record.

A new women’s residence hall will have space for 247 female students and is expected to be ready for occupancy by August 2006.

COLBY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Bev Anderson, Reporter

Colby Community College is in the process of change. Since last spring we have had seven retirements. Losing long-time employees causes a large hiccup in operations and we have been readjusting and realigning ourselves. One of those retirements was Office Professional Doris Anderson who was our Kollator reporter. We have missed her, but know she earned her retirement years. Another retirement occurred in the President’s office. Dr. Mikel Ary stepped down after 17+ years as president of CCC on October 14. Our Dean of Instruction Glenn "Skip" Sharp assumed the position as interim president. The Board of Trustees is taking applications and hopes to find a new president by next spring.

The CCC sports teams have had good fall seasons. Basketball and wrestling have begun. The livestock judging and equestrian teams have been all over the country competing successfully. Baseball and softball coaches are wishing for spring already. The drama department presented a comedy this fall; the vocal and instrumental departments are getting ready for their holiday concerts. Sometimes you wonder when these kids go to school!

Our Office Professional group has some new members this fall. We learned about depression at our October meeting through a presentation from the local High Plains Mental Health agency. We sponsored a Halloween costume day. On October 31 our administrative office professionals played a trick on our OPO sponsor, Dan Erbert (Dean of Fiscal Affairs) by wearing masks of his face. There were a lot of Dan look-alikes in the office area! At our November meeting, our bookstore managers will demonstrate "Tension Taming" and help us as we wind down the second half of the semester. As an OPO project we will set up and decorate for the annual Thanksgiving faculty/staff meal. At our December meeting we always have a good time exchanging Christmas ornaments. This semester is rushing by.

We wish you all Happy Holidays--and a well-deserved break over Christmas!!

DODGE CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Marge Blattner, Reporter 7

The Dodge City Community College Office Plant Professionals are busy making plans for the AKCCOP Conference April 5-7, 2006. I hope you are all making plans to attend . . . we plan to show you a real good time.

We are again sponsoring our Deserving Student this Thanksgiving, Christmas and next Easter. We traditionally give a gift card for Thanksgiving and Easter and gather all kinds of goodies for Christmas. We chose a single mom who is currently a student at DCCC.

Dodge City Community College recently celebrated their 70th anniversary. The college opened on September 10, 1935. We had a week long celebration hosting a variety of activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the college.

On Cyber Wednesday we hosted a number of activities for high school students in the business technology, graphic design, Cisco networking systems and computer information systems classes. DCCC students also voted for homecoming king and queen.

Former members of the college board of trustees were invited to attend a reception before the trustee meeting and were invited to stay through the meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m.

On Thursday, high school students learned about careers in mass communications, and there was karaoke in the Student Union Ballroom.

On Friday we hosted activities for the entire family. The list included opportunities to be a disc jockey at the college's radio station, KDCC; fitness evaluations in the Wellness Center; a business fair in the Student Union; a pep rally; travels with Becky Barnhardt and Julian Turner; 10-minute seated chair massages; a poetry reading; a free cookout; a bonfire; and cutting a birthday cake.

The New Manufacturing Technology Building on campus is nearing completion and should be ready for students in early November. The new science lab building project should be ready to go to bid in early November.

GARDEN CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Pam Caldwell, Reporter

The 2005 fall semester at GCCC is bringing exciting changes and events!

The addition to the Administration Building, referred to as the "big dig", began during the summer months and is shaping up quickly. Big steel beams and concrete walls are stretching across the expansive opening in the earth just south of the current Administration Building, and construction workers are very busy making sure the project

stays on its timeline.

The GCCC Business and Industry Institute is expanding its services to accommodate local community businesses, organizations, and individuals with specialized training in areas that are not normally offered as a college course. Currently, a pair of short courses are scheduled, one called Spanish for Office Staff and the other entitled Spanish for Retail Sales. These courses should help Southwest Kansas businesses serve Spanish speaking customers and clients.

A new documentary film focusing on a key aspect of immigration issues across Southwest Kansas was recently shown in a statewide debut screening at GCCC. GCCC co-sponsored the event with the local chapters from the League of United Latin American Citizens, American GI Forum, and the GCCC Student Government Association. The film addressed issues that command extensive attention across SW Kansas where beef packing and its industries have drawn a large number of workers from Mexico and Central America, creating unexpected ethnic and cultural diversity over the past pair of decades. The 40-minute production was made by Lawrence film-maker Ranjit Arab.

Legendary Purdue University Coach Gene Keady spoke September 29 to kick off an extended weekend of Homecoming celebrations ranging from a bonfire, a tailgate party and a parade. Keady, a Larned native, attended GCCC in 1955-56 and became an all-American football player, as well as a stand-out performer in Broncbuster basketball and track.

The GCCC Science Division is holding a "Telescope Night" on October 27 from 9 p.m. to Midnight for individuals that would like to view Mars through one of the high powered telescopes.

The Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce and GCCC Small Business Development Center are teaming up to offer a series of free bilingual business classes, in Spanish and English, for the Spanish speaking business community. The series of evening classes began September 14 and will be completed November 9.

The GCCCESP group will continue raising funds for its annual academic scholarship fund as needed, working on civic projects, holding informational meetings and trainings, and is looking forward to the AKCCOP conference! Have a great Fall semester!!!!

HIGHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Deborah Gregory, Reporter

Highland Community College OPO has been active during the Fall 05 semester. Working in conjunction with the Foundation Office, members handed out bottles of water to students attending the Welcome Block Party the first week of school.

As a fund raiser they are selling blue or yellow silicone bands with "Highland Community College" imprinted on them.

On Saturday, September 24, members Irene Covert, Deborah Gregory, Melinda O’Bryan, Diane Stewart and Shirley Twombly spent a relaxing day in James Port, Missouri visiting lots of shops and country stores. All of them came home with bags of baked goods.

As part of our September meeting they visited Judi Krew’s exhibit "Women: Selections from the Series" in the HCC Yost Art Gallery. During the October meeting they toured HCC’s New Wellness Center. What a great addition that will be when it opens in December. No more excuses not to get in shape!!!!

For Bosses’ day, to show their bosses how much they appreciate them, they held a tea serving home made pie, coffee and tea.

The HCC Foundation Office and OPO treated the students on campus on Halloween day. All members dressed in holiday attire. The students really appreciated the attention and candy.

To help out the Gross’s, a couple who were serious injured in an automobile accident back in September and are returning to work after much rehabilitation, HCC OPO made and froze several of their favorite casseroles for them to use on nights when they were too tired to cook.

HUTCHINSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Tammy Neal, Reporter

Greetings from Hutchinson Community College!

Fall semester is half over, winter is on the way and I am sure no one is ready for any of these changes. We all have those reports, finals and let us not forget those holiday events that we will be attending. Is anyone ready for Christmas yet? It looks like our Office Professionals for Christmas will be meeting at a ew restaurant called Houlihans that has opened recently here in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Our Office Professionals group has a lot planned for this year. Our October meeting was a beading party. We met at Amelia Beadelia’s, a little store in our downtown area here in Hutchinson, and our members were able to make their own jewelry of choice. It was loads of fun! Our group is planning a couple of bake sales as fundraisers.

We are starting a project called "Gift in a Jar". We have six different jar recipes that we have chosen and have put on display for everyone around the college to buy. They make great Christmas or birthday gifts. We have just started this project, so we will keep you posted on how it is working out.

We have a couple of field trips planned to our off-campus sites. We see other off-campus personnel at meetings and talk to them over the phone, but it would be a nice opportunity to see where some of our other coworkers reside. The off-campus sites we will be visiting are Newton, McPherson and South Campus. Generally for our last meeting of the year we have a BUNCO party and bring a covered dish for supper.

We have had a lot of changes to our campus here at Hutchinson Community College. Construction on the Gowen’s Stadium project is going well and being worked around the football season, with a plan for completion next summer. Click on the following link for more info and to see pictures. http://www.hutchcc.edu/PhotoBank/GowansPhaseII/gowan2.htm We have also added a picnic area called the Crimson Court that is located near the pond. This area will make it nice for those students that want to study outside while eating their lunch. We have also completed our new dorm addition. It looks really nice and has been a great addition to our campus. You can click on the link below for more information and pictures. http://www.hutchcc.edu/PhotoBank/CampusRenovation/elland.htm

We have added women’s soccer to our sports department. For their first season they are not looking too bad (7-8). Our volleyball team is having another great season, we are ranked 4th in the NJCAA polls at this time. Our golf team took second place at the Kansas City, Kansas invitational and was tournament runner-ups for the third time this season. We are all anxiously awaiting for basketball season. Our men’s basketball team has been picked 3rd in the Jayhawk poll and our women’s basketball team has been picked 5th in league poll.

In September we said good bye to our Dean of Finance, Mr. Bill Warner who decided to retired after 11 years of service at HCC. On October 1, we welcomed Mr. Carter File, previously from Cloud Community College, and he seems to be fitting in quite well here with our HCC family.

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Kathy LaBelle, Reporter

OPL 2006 Executive Board

A quote from Margaret Mead states: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world." Janie Thacker, President of JCCC OPL believes that this quote embodies the impact our OPL organization has on JCCC and our surrounding community with our involvement both on and off campus. Between our participation in community service projects, outstanding efforts to raise funds for student scholarships and our contributions to campus events and college committee work we are quite an influential and successful organization.

"So how do we improve on great?" Janie asks. "This is where ingenuity and teamwork, so frequently exhibited by our membership, come into play." Each member is encouraged to be open to new ideas, renew levels of enthusiasm and reach beyond one’s comfort zone. By doing so we stay fresh and new and continue to connect with fellow OPL members, working toward a common goal.

Talking about a common goal, what better place to start, than the annual OPL Silent Auction and Drawing, held this year on Thursday, November 17th? All proceeds from the Auction benefit the JCCC Scholarship Fund. Members of OPL are all encouraged to supply handcrafted items, baked goods, and contact business establishments for gift certificates or merchandise. Items donated or collected are gathered and members use their talents in assembling them within enticing baskets. You won’t believe how much some of these baskets go for in the bidding process! Last year we were able to raise over $5300 in scholarship money and an additional $1400 from the sale of chance tickets—monies that went toward professional development grant funding for OPL members.

To help fund the Silent Auction, an OPL Midweek Munchies Bake Sale was held on October 26th. Eager eaters purchased enough goodies to raise $348.76!

As current OPL President, Janie Thacker presides over the 2005/2006 OPL Executive Board with its officers: Betty Uko, Vice President; Shari Dowdall, Treasurer; Jackie Turner, Recording Secretary; Janele Sumner, Corresponding Secretary; Cindy Clark, Member-at-Large and Sherri Hanyz, Past-President. (Both Betty and Shari are returning officers serving a second term as Vice-President and Treasurer.)

We had a few bylaws changes this year. Committee members Mary Toepfer, Janie Thacker, Dara Ramaglia and Dee Staples proposed removing a bit of redundant wording and to redefine some of the executive officer positions to include additional duties.

Our General Meetings have been really interesting this year. Traditionally we have our business portion of the meeting first then the last half of the meeting is given over to a guest presenter. In May we had Alan Swarts, Director of Academic Computing Services talk to us about problems many encounter when using computers. One particularly good tip he gave was, "Never close a pop-up by clicking the X button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen or by answering either No or Yes to a question in the window. Select and hold the Alt key then press the F4 key. This will safely close the window without the sender knowing he/she has reached a live address.

At our Spring Luncheon this past June we had the unique pleasure of hosting a fashion show. OPL officers, our volunteer models, wowed the audience with the latest fashions from the local Talbots store’s spring and summer collection. Attendees enjoyed a wonderful lunch that had been prepared and uniquely packed in a Talbot’s bag.

In July, Rosanne Thiry, Coordinator of Day Services for Heartstrings Community Foundation talked to OPL members about the mission of their foundation. The Heartstrings Foundation assists adults with developmental disabilities to live meaningful, independent, productive lives through interactions within the community.

At our August General meeting our presenter was Terry Milford of Charlton Manley Insurance who discussed office ergonomics. Milford gave several tips on how to prevent injuries brought on by poor posture, the need for proper equipment and lack of simple exercises.

Then in September, Ginger Henderson, fellow OPL member showed us how to make personal homemade greeting cards using techniques of embossing, embellishing and a lot of cut, color and paste skills.

In October we held a baby shower for a coworker whose husband was killed while attempting to retrieve an elderly woman’s purse from the hands of a robber. Stephanie U was 8 months pregnant at the time of her husband’s death. OPL wanted to help in some way so we organized a shower. Several other fundraisers have been held on campus as well as in the community to help with the care of the Stephanie and her baby daughter.

We also celebrated our Bosses in October. On Thursday, October 13th the Bosses Day Committee hosted a dessert and coffee break. While the food and networking was great, perhaps the most outstanding part was that Ginger Henderson of OPL asked her son Devin to play the piano as background music. What a treat!

November we have reserved for helping the Ways and Means Committee put together the baskets that will be auctioned off at the Silent Auction on the 17th.

In December members will gather to celebrate the winter holidays at a winter luncheon put on by the Program Committee. This is a well attended celebration as even some of our retiree’s join in on the fun.

In addition to our monthly meetings, OPL members have been busy both on and off campus. In March, 15 of our members attended the Cloud County Community College AKCCOP Conference. Everyone came back reenergized and enthusiastic from this gathering and are already making plans to attend the next AKCCOP Conference hosted next by Dodge City Community College.

College-wide, OPL has assisted in two very large events this year. The first was the Dollars for Scholars event, held Friday, April 15—complete with a western flair. OPL rounded up $929.30 in profits from the sale of chances to win one of the many prizes we had put up for bounty. Bounty included items such as jewelry from Noble House Jewelry, a gift certificate from Oak Park Mall, and get-away stay at either the Holtze Executive Suite or the Radisson Hotel.

The second College-wide event OPL participated in was the JCCC Faculty and Staff picnic. This annual event takes place in early September and is a favorite with everyone. Starting at 5 p.m. a buffet supper was served, followed by games and activities for all ages. Then starting around 9, with the scent of popcorn in the air, people head for the "hill" with blankets in hand to find a restful place to sit and watch a G-rated movie. What fun!

Our Community Service Committee along with other members from OPL work with the Olathe Good Samaritan Center. Usually they help residents play Bingo on Bingo Night each month. On May 7th members volunteered with the Center’s "Remembering Weddings" ceremony in celebration of Mother’s Day. Wedding cake and punch were served after a slideshow of wedding photos of some of the center’s residents, and a fashion show put on by the nurses who modeled their wedding gowns.

"Getting to Know You" was the theme of the Lovely Luncheons this past spring, organized by the Social Committee. Approximately 45 members participated in this luncheon, grouped this year with "like interests." Participants were encouraged to share their interest/hobbies with each other by sharing their scrapbooks, photographs or ideas, promoting fellowship on a more personal level and meeting others with similar interests. This fall an event-a-month list was published in our OPL newsletter, The Grapevine, giving members an opportunity to sign up in advance.

This fall the Solutions Resolutions Committee, Betty DiCostanzo, Berni Freeman and Sally Gordon, hope to complete the Policy and Procedures manual. It has been a rather long and tedious job pulling together the necessary detailed information to complete this manual.

Janele Sumner, our newly appointed editor of the Grapevine, along with her staff writers Berni Freeman, Karen Mountain and Sharon Yohn and her layout editor Heidi Blake, are busy putting together the next Grapevine. These newsletters are posted on our Website for all to read. We hope you’ll take the time to check them out.

Each year members of our organization are asked to nominate up to 3 members whom they believe deserve to be voted in as Office Professional of the Year. The nominees will be announced in the next month or so, and hopefully will accept this nomination and in turn put together a professional portfolio complete with letters of recommendation which will be presented for review by an outside judge. This judge determines the person he/she deems as most qualified for this award and the winner is announced in March. With so many candidates to choose from—all of whom are deserving of recognition—you can imagine the task of paring it down to just one person!

As some of you know, our campus is expanding again. Under construction are two buildings, the Regnier Center of Technology and Business and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, each with a forecast completion date of 2007. Along side the Regnier Center of Technology and Business building will be another parking structure similar to the covered parking next to the CLB. Needless to say this is an exciting place to be, as changes are constantly in the works.

That should fill you in on what is new here at JCCC this semester. Hope to see many of you in Dodge City this spring at the AKCCOP Conference!

LABETTE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Donna Garwood, Reporter

As the weather finally moves to fall, we want to tell you about the many changes we are experiencing at Labette Community College.

First of all, the LCC Classified Group would like to thank Fran Clay for serving as Kansas Kollator reporter for the past several years. She has done a great job and we appreciate her hard work.

In other classified news, we are excited about a new book scholarship program this fall. New procedures will allow us to build our library from donations and by reusing books from semester to semester. This will allow us to help more students each semester. From the resources of three LCC book scholarship funds, the college was able to loan 73 students textbooks totally approximately $4,700. We are also continuing an employee attendance night for each team sport that began last year. We hold a pep rally the day of the game and encourage attendance by staff and students. We are always looking at ways to support the students at LCC.

LCC has completed phase one of its four-phase curb appeal project. Phase One included some new sidewalks and curb enhancement by the Student Union, repaving and new light fixtures in two parking lots. Phase Two is scheduled to begin shortly, and it will include landscape work on the north and northwest side of the college’s Main Building and redesign of the elevator lobby of the annex entry on the northwest corner of the building. It will also include installation of new architectural light fixtures that match those installed during phase one.

Tammy Fuentez was awarded the Paragon Advisor Award at the Phi Theta Kappa International Convention in Dallas on April 15 & 16. The Tau Theta Chapter of PTK at LCC received a Top 100 Chapter International Recognition among 1,200 chapters. Six other Kansas advisors received the award as well as Tammy. The advisors had to have served for 2-4 years to be eligible for the award. President Ron Fundis received his Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award at the Banquet.

Tammy is the Director of Operation Excel, a Student Support Services Title IV grant. She was successful in getting a four-year renewal of this grant this summer. Operation Excel has served over 2,500 students since 1990.

LCC welcomed their new president, Dr. George Knox, in July. His personal and professional experience is impressive. Dr. Knox is married with two grown children and has served in the United States Air Force Reserve and the Florida Army National Guard. His professional experience spans several community colleges, and he served as a sworn law enforcement officer for the City of Hollywood in Hollywood, Florida. Dr. Knox is also heavily involved with the communities in which he has lived.

Karena Curtis, math instructor, and Robert Walker, music instructor, shared the honor of Distinguished Faculty for 2005 and led the faculty processional at commencement in May. Also, Parsons native, Bill Guthridge, received the 2005 Cardinal Citation Distinguished Service Award from Labette Community College and the LCC Alumni Association at the same time. Cathy Kibler was chosen as the Adjunct Instructor for the year.

LCC faculty and staff have been busy getting healthier. We had six teams that participated in the Walk Kansas eight-week physical activity program. All the teams met their goal and made their way across Kansas. Some teams even made it across Kansas twice.

We seem to have some multi-talented staff members. Team Cardinals placed first in the Parsons Recreation Center Division II Company Olympics held this summer. Some of the events were: golf, bowling, 1.5 mile walk/run, pictionary, kickball, hotshot contest, 3 on 3 basketball, donut eating, egg toss, water balloon sling shot, pvc pipe race, 3 stage aqua challenge, round the mound, karaoke, tug of war, sand volleyball, dodge ball and the obstacle course.

Labette Community College also rallied to help Hurricane Katrina victims. Six campus groups challenged each other by contributing bottled water and it was a huge success! The Athletics Department won the challenge with Classified Staff a close second. LCC collected 3,086 bottles of water for the relief effort. With money donated by LCC employees, LCC also gave $1,500 to the American Red Cross for the hurricane victims.

The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc., advised LCC in August that the associate degree nursing program was approved for continuing accreditation for eight more years. Two adjunct nursing instructors developed two new online nursing courses for fall semester. Under the guidance of the Student Nurse Organization sponsors, a new "Service Award" was developed for all nursing students who contribute ten or more hours of service to SGA or SNO.

Seven Lady Cardinals from the women’s basketball program signed full scholarships to play at the NCAA DI and DII level beginning this fall. Eight members of the LCC 2005 Wrestling National Championship team moved to the Division III and D-II level. The overall GPA for the total athletic department was 2.82 for 2004-05. The women’s basketball team led the way with an impressive 3.31, followed closely by Softball with 3.24. Volleyball just missed the 3.0 mark with 2.88. Thirty-three student-athletes had a GPA of 3.0 or higher, of which three had a GPA of 4.0.

Hopefully, I will have even more good news share next time. I hope everyone has a successful fall semester.

NEOSHO COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Terri Dale, Reporter

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we have so much to be thankful for. The OP’s at Neosho County Community College hope that each one of you will take time to think about the blessing you have in your life!

OP News and Activities

Our office professional group held the year-end party at Jim’s Steak House in Pittsburg. Secret sisters were revealed and everyone enjoyed a delicious meal. We are continuing our monthly lunches in addition to our regular meetings. The lunch get-togethers are a time to catch up and we enjoy the fellowship.

This year the NCCCOP’s funded four scholarships for students at the College. Recipients were Amber Debler, Edie Godinez, Laurie Kerns and Dwight Smith. To fund the scholarships we are selling birthday packages to parents of students living in the dorm. We have had tremendous success with the project and this year we are extending the packages to include thinking of you packages.

To honor our bosses we held an appreciation lunch October 17th. OP’s served a variety of salads and desserts for about 30. The NCCC mixed ensemble, under the direction of David Smith, performed for the group. We have decided to make the appreciation luncheon an annual event.

Other Activities on Campus

FCIP Grant and Energy Performance Contracting Project. It was a busy summer for the employees at Neosho County Community College. As a result of a commitment to find ways to save energy, the College received a grant from the Kansas Corporation Commission in the amount of $7942. The grant pays for half of the cost of an energy audit conducted last February by Custom Energy Services, in which several opportunities to save energy at the College were identified. NCCC is the first to receive such a grant.

As a result of the energy audit, NCCC recently completed a $2.1 million project in energy-efficient facility improvements at the College. The resulting upgrades will help the College save energy while creating a more comfortable learning and working environment for students, faculty, and staff. NCCC is the first community college in Kansas to take advantage of the state’s Facility Conservation Improvement Program. The project included roof replacements for five buildings, lighting improvements campus-wide, fire and smoke detection, water conservation measures, a new chiller, cooling tower and pumps, air conditioning the gym, and complete remodeling of the Center for Vocational and Academic Excellence (CAVE).

Nursing students, instructors head to Houston. Three instructors and 23 nursing students from both the Chanute and Ottawa campuses traveled to Houston, Texas, where they set up a home-base at Willow Meadows Baptist Church to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. From the home-base, they went wherever they were needed and helped evacuees with a variety of needs, including medical screenings and counseling. The group planned to stay ten days but their trip was shortened as Hurricane Rita approached the Texas coast. Our OP group voted to make a monetary donation for their trip.

Open World Russian leadership Program. NCCC hosted five young Eurasian elected officials, political candidates, and emerging political and civic leaders as part of the Open World Russian Leadership Program last April. The program brings participants accompanied by a facilitator for 10-day theme-based visits to the United States. The visits usually begin with an orientation in Washington DC, followed by eight days in a local community. Participants were placed in host families and attended professional appointments during the day. The group attended meetings of local governing bodies, toured local business and industry, and made a trip to Topeka to visit the Department of Commerce and Kansas, Inc. NCCC was the first community college to host the Open World Russian Leadership Program in 2002.

KanEd Grant. NCCC was the recipient of a KanEd Technology and Equipment grant for 2005. Of the 114 applications, 61 were approved for funding totaling $521,076. The grant will upgrade the Chanute infrastructure to gigabit Ethernet and provide connection to the Integrated Community Access Network (ICAN) which connects the City of Chanute, Chanute Public Schools and the College. The ICAN network will share resources, expand and enhance services and reduce future costs.

Student Support Services Grant. NCCC received notification from the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC, that the Student Support Services grant application was funded. The College will receive approximately $265,559 each year for the next four years. The College received SSS grants in 1997 for a four year cycle, and again in 2002 for an additional four years. Currently the STARS program provides tutoring, mentoring, and personal counseling to 160 students enrolled at the College.

Foundation "All In" Auction and Casino Night. The NCCC Foundation held their fourth auction to raise scholarship dollars for NCCC students. This year’s event had an entertaining and popular twist added by providing a casino theme. The "All In" Scholarship and Casino Night was held at the Chanute Country Club and received standing room only attendance to bid on donated merchandise totaling over $17,000 from area businesses and individuals. In addition to the 70 silent auction items and 30 live items offered to bidders, over 20 gaming tables and machines were available for everyone’s enjoyment.

President participates in Forum. President Vicky Smith was a speaker at the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) annual conference in Washington, DC. Smith was invited to participate in the President’s Forum representing Higher Education Institutions.

NCCC received full accreditation from ACBSP last November and was recognized at the accreditation ceremonies during the conference. Linda Jones, applied science division chair and accounting instructor, and David Fewins, Marketing coordinator/instructor also attend the conference.

The Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs is the only business accrediting organization for both two and four-year institutions. ACBSP’s mission is to establish, promote, and recognize educational practices that contribute to the continuous quality improvement of business education programs, teaching of business courses, and student learning outcomes in colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad. ACBSP was established in 1998 and has 394 member institutions.

Remodeling Completed. The Center for Vocational and Academic Excellence (CAVE) has re-opened for students at NCCC. Last spring, the CAVE was closed for remodeling and services were temporarily relocated to other areas on campus. The $112,000 construction project funded by the college under the auspices of the Facilities Conservation Improvement Program (FCIP) of the Kansas Corporation Commission has been approved by the Kansas State Fire Marshall’s Office, Chanute Fire Department, and Chanute Building inspector.

The project included building an egress corridor between the front exit and new wider back exit and installing state-of-the-art safety measures which included sprinklers, smoke and fire detection, and emergency exit lights. The energy management portion of the remodeling will make the basement facility more comfortable in the summer and winter, and will also save energy. The CAVE remodeling includes the addition of a large classroom, new testing center, offices and more storage space.

The CAVE houses the STARS program, Adult Basic Education, Partner’s In Change and developmental classes for the college.

Chapman Library Renovation. The biggest event in a long time at NCCC’s Chapman Library has been the renovation which started this summer. The Library had not had any renovation to its main floor since the building was built in 1968.

The redesign project has reorganized and updated the library space to reflect modern library usage that emphasizes access to electronic information resources, provide comfortable seating and separated areas in which student can study and relax, and to incorporate space for an instructional classroom for instruction in accessing electronic information resources. The library staff moved 37,000 books at least once, and about half of them twice while new carpet and tile was installed and to complete the reorganization of the shelving. Over 6,000 books were removed from the library collection.

When the project is completed, the library will have new carpeting, tile, an entrance vestibule, computer stations, and circulation desk.

PRATT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Diane Thompson, Reporter

EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS (ESP)

Fundraising Projects

ESP traditionally sells Survival Bags for the students during finals week in both the fall and spring semesters. These goodie bags with a variety of snacks are purchased by parents and employees and compiled by ESP. During the 2004-2005 school year, approximately 200 bags were sold yielding a profit of $1150. ESP uses these funds for its service and donation projects throughout the year.

Service Projects

Throughout the year, ESP recognizes events in employees’ lives by sending birthday, anniversary, congratulations and sympathy cards.

Good-luck send offs. If departure time allows, ESP organizes an all-college send-off for athletic teams attending regional and national tournaments. Goody bags for the trip are also given to the student-athletes.

Spring 2005:

• Organized and supervised the Region VI Softball Tournament Hospitality Room

• Small gifts of appreciation were given to 40 campus office professionals during "Administrative Professionals’ Week"

• Community College Month Luncheon – ESP helped to organize this all-college luncheon in April by providing menu planning, invitations, and room set-up.

Donations

Endowed-a-chair for the PCC Foundation sponsored renovation of Carpenter Auditorium.

Donated $500 needed to purchase one of the benches between the main building and Riney Student Conference Center.

Professional Development

Six members attended the Association of Kansas Community College Office Professionals (AKCCOP) annual conference hosted by Cloud County Community College in March.

Pratt Community College/ESP will be hosting the 2007 AKCCOP conference. Committees have been formed and planning has begun.

2005-2006

ESP held its first meeting of the school year in September. A successful "Open House" was held at the end of September to welcome all eligible employees to join our organization. Four new office professionals showed interest in joining. Officers will be elected at the October meeting.

SEWARD COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Terri Barnes, reporter

Greetings from the Seward County Community College Office Professionals. (SCCCOPs) Hopefully, everyone had a great start to the fall semester.

SCCC’s Dean of Student Services, Dr. Gerald Harris, moved to central Oklahoma last year. Dr. Randy Smith from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma filled the position July 1, 2005.

Rachel Thexton was a new Admissions Coordinator for the fall of 2004. She has already "changed hats." During the summer, she became the Director of Financial Aid effective August 1. The former Director of Financial Aid, Bea Rosales, moved to North Carolina.

John McKee was hired as Admissions Coordinator effective September 26.

Michelle Kovarik was hired as the new Financial Aid secretary effective September 26.

The 11th Annual SCCC Development Foundation Scholarship Auction was held Saturday, September 24. This year’s theme was "Sail Away with the Saints" with a cruise being given away during the auction.

SCCCOPs’ members donated kitchen items and copies of the SCCC cookbook to make three kitchen baskets for the auction. The baskets brought in $101 for the auction.

SCCC was awarded a TRIO (Student Support Services) grant last year. The grant provides opportunities for Academic development, assists students with basic college requirements, and serves to motivate students towards a successful completion of their post-secondary education. Patricia Beard was hired as Director of Student Support Services and Dinora Isidoro, a SCCC graduate, as Student Support Services Secretary. Her phone number is 620-629-2760.

One of the benefits of the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) accreditation for the business division of SCCC is the opportunity to form a chapter of the Kappa Beta Delta honor society. The purposes of the society are to encourage and recognize scholarship and accomplishment among students of business, management and administration pursuing associate degrees, and to encourage and promote personal and professional improvement and a life distinguished by honorable service to mankind. Candidates must have completed 15 semester hours of credit with a minimum of six credit hours completed in business courses. The academic ranking of those being considered must place them in the upper 20 percent of their class, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. This is an opportunity to become one of the select few who earn lifetime recognition within Kappa Beta Delta International Honor Society for Business. An induction ceremony is planned for early October.

The cosmetology school has experienced growth and needs more space. Part of the cosmetology building had been housing the Work Force of Liberal for the past four years. They have vacated that space and remodeling of the area began in September. By January the school will include more classroom and clinic floor space, new equipment, and will be able to expand services and hours to include Saturdays. The cosmetology school has added a new Cosmetology Instructor course. The course is a 450 clock hour course (13 college credit hours). If a student holds a cosmetology license and has practiced as a cosmetologist for one year, the course is 300 clock hours (9 college credit hours).

To celebrate Constitution Day, SCCC art students placed the words of the Constitution all around the walls of the Humanities building. Copies of the Constitution were passed out to students and the movies 1776 and The Patriot were shown in the Student Union.

SCCC has the addition of a challenge course which was built this past summer. The challenge course is an educational opportunity intended to facilitate personal and group growth. It is a catalyst for challenging people to go beyond their perceived boundaries, to work with others to solve problems, and to experience success. Non-competitive games, group problem-solving initiatives, and low and high elements are the activities used to help individuals and groups achieve their goals. There are eleven low element and nine high element activities involved in the challenge course.

Pam Perkins, administrative assistant to the president, was elected secretary to the national Professional Board Staff Network (PBSN) at their annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, September 9. PBSN was established approximately ten years ago by those president/board staff people who regularly attend the annual Association of Community Colleges Trustees (ACCT) conferences with their presidents and trustees. This one-year position will connect her to the association for the next four years as she sits on the board first as secretary, then as vice president, president and past-president. Her responsibilities will include keeping notes from teleconference calls, taking minutes, facilitating communication between the executive board and other professional office staff, submitting information to the ACCT "Trustee Quarterly," and planning presentations for the next four ACCT national conferences. Pam highly encourages other president/board staff members to consider attending future conferences with their trustees and presidents, as the networking and knowledge gained from meeting with individuals is a professional development that matches none other. It is also a great way to get the names of the Kansas Community Colleges "up front" by the many contacts that are made. Should any of the administrative assistants and presidents of Kansas have ideas for or would like to make a proposal for a presentation at the next ACCT Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida October 2006 please contact Pam as soon as possible.

SCCC employees and students have participated in various fund raising efforts for the victims of Katrina. Our hearts go out to the people affected by Katrina and Rita.

The Singing Saints Concert Choir has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City, April, 2006. The group is very busy raising money for the trip.

Officers for SCCCOPs for the 2005/2006 year are Diane Heiers, president; Terri Barnes, vice-president; Margaret Thompson, treasurer; Devin Rodriguez, secretary; and Pam Freeman, past-president.

An end of the year lunch was held at the home of Patsy Fischer, May, 2005. Patsy fixed lunch and everyone who attended enjoyed touring Patsy’s home, a great lunch, and fellowship.

SCCCOPs members are busy planning the annual Bosses Day Lunch. A pot luck meal is being planned with entertainment and a few select door prizes to be given away. The theme for the lunch is "Puzzle Pieces" which goes along with SCCCOPs’ theme this year, "Essential Pieces." The theme denotes that each individual is an essential puzzle piece of the organization.

Karen Duncan, former SCCC athletic secretary, was awarded an honorary lifetime membership in the SCCC Office Professionals organization. Karen and her husband WR moved to Dighton, Kansas.

The SCCCOPs’scholarship committee has been busy reviewing scholarship applications. SCCCOPs awards three $100 scholarships both in the fall and in the spring. Recipients for this semester are Ana M. Dominguez, Lori Borst, and Cristian Chavez .

Cookbook sales have amounted to over $1,200 for the SCCCOPs’ scholarship fund. The members would like to continue to raise money and endow the scholarship monies with the Development Foundation.

We are looking forward to a great AKCCOP conference at Dodge City. See you there!