#VanceCoProud – We Inspire 2.0
— courtesy Vance County Schools
Vance County Schools has begun a “We Inspire 2.0” initiative for the 2017-2018 school year as the district’s second year in training local educators on how to effectively use technology to enhance daily classroom instruction with students.
The district hosted a “Draft Day” event for this year’s initiative in the Board Room of the school system’s Administrative Services Center during the afternoon on September 12. Superintendent Anthony Jackson, wearing his “VCS Proud” baseball cap, led the festivities. He individually called up the 52 local educators involved in this year’s initative. The team of educators, which includes school administrators, teachers, counselors and media specialists, will participate in training sessions throughout the school year. The sessions will be led by blended learning experts from the Friday Institute on the campus of N.C. State University.
Educators walked the red carpet at our blended learning “Draft Day” and signed a “We Inspire 2.0” pledge banner while Superintendent Anthony Jackson, background in cover photo, called their names.
Costs for the training sessions are funded through a three-year grant secured by the school system from the Golden Leaf Foundation.
During “Draft Day,” the educators walked down – and many actually danced down – a red carpet to the front of the Board Room where they signed a “We Inspire” pledge banner to commit their time and talents to the blended learning training sessions and to lead blended learning efforts with their colleagues in their respective schools. This year’s participants join another 50-member group of educators who went through the training last school year. Together the cohort groups form a strong leadership team to lead technology teaching and learning in their schools.
All educators in Vance County Schools have laptop computers to use in classroom instruction. With the presence of computers, interactive SmartBoards and additional technology devices in local classrooms, they are able to have students engaged in technology enhanced instruction that actually compliments the efforts of teachers. Many of our students also have laptop computers, iPads, smart phones and other devices they can use in their classrooms at school and at home.
McGregor Hall Opens Season With Gulf Coast Band & Fundraiser For Hurricane Victims
HENDERSON, N.C.—An award-winning eight-piece band that helped redefine the sound of “Gulf Coast Soul” opens the 2017-2018 season for the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in Henderson, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 21, and half of the ticket sales to the show will be donated to help the victims of this summer’s hurricanes.
The Suffers hail from Houston, Texas, the site of catastrophic flooding near the end of August as Hurricane Harvey became the first major hurricane to strike the United States in more than a decade, bringing rainfall amounts of 40 inches and more to the region. The band still makes its home in Houston and its members and their families were impacted by the storm.
Seats for the 8 p.m. show will be $25 and $22, and McGregor Hall will give 50 percent of each ticket sold to the American Red Cross to help the victims of the recent storms.
“This simply felt like the right thing to do since we have such a popular band from the very center of the hurricane flooding coming to entertain us here in Henderson,” said Mark Hopper, vice president of the McGregor Hall board of directors. “Not only can we help the victims of the storm with our financial contributions, we have an opportunity to connect personally with victims of the Houston crisis in a unique way and show our concern.”
The Suffers are coming to Henderson on the heels of a Sept. 16 scheduled performance at the renown Monterey Jazz Festival in California, followed by a show at the Whale Rock Music Festival in Templeton, Calif.
Established in 2011, The Suffers soul band was organized by bassist Adam Castaneda and vocalist/keyboardist Pat Kelly, who brought on trumpet player Jon Durbin, trombonist Michael Razo, guitarist Kevin Bernier, percussionist Jose “Chapy” Luna, and drummer/vocalist Nick Zamora. Frontwoman Kam Franklin tops off the group with soaring vocals.
The group describes their music as a mix of musical styles and cultures found in Houston and around the Gulf Coast area — blues, soul, country, Cajun, hip hop, and Caribbean, according to a 2015 radio interview.
Brennan Carley of Spin Magazine said in a 2015 review: “The Suffers are a ten-piece soul collective that steeps their tracks in jazzy history with a modern twist. They’re the sort of neo-retro group you never knew music was so badly missing.”
The last three years have taken the band to new heights as they have played in more than 300 shows across North America. They have also appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah, and National Public Radio’s “Tiny Desk Concert” for Bob Boilen.
Their debut album, “The Suffers,” was selected by Billboard magazine as one of the “Top 10 Anticipated Rock & Alternative Albums” and Buzzfeed included the Suffers as one of the “25 New Artists You Need in Your Life in 2015.”
They recently finished their first international tour, spreading Gulf Coast Soul across the Caribbean, Western Europe and Australia.
While they have accepted invitations nationally for featured performances at festivals and events, the band has remained a local Houston favorite, accepting 23 Houston Press Music Awards over the past four years.
The show at McGregor is one of five shows scheduled for North Carolina venues in September.
The Suffers are the opening act of the McGregor Hall Heritage! series for 2017-2018. While individual tickets to the show are available, patrons still have an opportunity to buy a package of five shows for $100, representing $25 off regular ticket prices.
In addition to The Suffers, the Heritage! package will offer “Hairspray,” Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 3-5; a new stage play, “Daddy’s Boys,” by North Carolina African-American playwright Garrett Davis, Jan. 13; the Masters of Soul Motown Revue, March 3; and Rod of God with comedian Roderick Allison, April 14.
McGregor Hall is also selling season tickets to two other series, McGregor Live! and Joy!
McGregor Live! will feature six shows: Lorrie Morgan, with 14 Top 10 Country music hits, on Oct. 8; “Hairspray,” performed and produced with local talent, on Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 3-5; the Christmas Wonderland holiday spectacular, Dec. 5; world-renowned magician and mentalist Joshua Lozoff, Jan. 6; Al Stewart, known for the Top 10 hits “Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages,” and his band, the Empty Pockets, Feb. 17; and the original Eagles tribute band, Hotel California, March 16. The six-show package, with a regular price of $160 if purchased individually, is priced at $125.
Joy! will feature three shows featuring five well-known Christian artists and groups: Dove- and Grammy-award winning Jason Crabb, Nov. 12; Karen Peck with New River, Feb. 23; and the Talleys with Tribute, April 7. With a regular ticket price of $75, the three-show package will be reduced to $50. Those purchasing the Joy! series can also add on the Christmas Wonderland show for a reduced price of $20.
All three series will have the option for spreading payments over four quarterly installments.
Tickets to The Suffers show and the series packages can be purchased online at any time at www.McGregorHall.org, by calling the Box Office at (252) 598-0662, or by visiting the Box Office at 201 Breckenridge Street in Henderson. When purchasing tickets online, patrons should make sure they are purchasing tickets through McGregor’s secure and trusted purchasing platform, eTix. The Box Office is open on Tuesdays through Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m., and, starting Monday, Sept. 18, Box Office hours will expand to Mondays through Fridays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Patrons can save online fees when ordering directly with the Box Office staff.
VGCC to hold Bone Marrow registration events
Vance-Granville Community College, in partnership with the Project Life Movement, is planning a three-day, three-campus bone marrow registration drive in October.
Members of the community are invited to join VGCC students, faculty and staff at one of the events being held on three of the college’s campuses: Tuesday, October 3, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the seminar room (G1131) on South Campus, located between Creedmoor and Butner; Wednesday, October 4, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the student center/lounge in Building 2 on Main Campus in Vance County; and Thursday, October 5, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the multi-purpose room on the Franklin County Campus near Louisburg. 
At each event, participants will have their cheek swabbed to provide DNA that will enter a growing bone marrow donor registry. The painless registration process takes only a few minutes, but could save a life if a participant turns out to be a match for someone in need of a bone marrow transplant. Such treatments are the only hope for many people diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other blood cancers and diseases. Around 60 percent of those in need of a donation currently cannot find a donor match, according to Project Life, a national movement that started with students at Davidson College and has spread to more than 25 other schools. VGCC first held a college-wide bone marrow registration event with Project Life in the fall of 2015.
Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good health to be on the bone marrow registry.
Taking the lead on this initiative at VGCC are students in the Radiography program.
For more information, contact Radiography Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles at (252) 738-3515 or soless@vgcc.edu, or Ann Henegar at (704) 299-6310 or www.projectlifemovement.org.
Anyone who is unable to attend one of the VGCC events but wants to join the bone marrow registry can find more information at www.deletebloodcancer.org.
–VGCC–
VGCC Golden LEAF scholarships Spring/Summer 2017
— news release courtesy of VGCC
A group of students from Vance-Granville Community College recently received scholarships through the Golden LEAF Scholarship program for the North Carolina Community College System. The scholarship program, designed to help North Carolinians attend the state’s community colleges, is funded through a $750,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation.
The scholarship can be used to assist with tuition, books, fees, supplies, transportation and childcare expenses related to attending classes during the 2016-17 academic year, and industry-recognized credential testing expenses that address skill gaps upon course completion. Eligible students must demonstrate financial need and reside in rural counties that are tobacco-dependent and/or economically distressed. Scholarships for both occupational (continuing education) and curriculum students are available during the fall, spring and summer semesters.
The VGCC students who were awarded Golden LEAF scholarships for the spring 2017 semester, the summer 2017 term, or both (with their respective programs of study), included:
Sally Alston of Louisburg (Associate in Arts);
Jennifer Bauduin of Louisburg (Associate in General Education – General Science);
Sonia Bishop of Stem (Computer Technology Integration – Networking and Security Technologies);
Gloria Chavis of Butner (Human Services Technology/Substance Abuse);
Whitney Cox of Oxford (Radiography);
Taylor Crisp of Warrenton (Associate Degree Nursing);
Catherine Demming of Oxford (Criminal Justice);
Emory Gant-Hawkins of Henderson (Business Administration);
Latosha Hunt of Oxford (Business Administration);
Quiana Miller-Fisher of Henderson (Human Services Technology);
Nahu Palacios of Henderson (Associate in Arts);
Crystal Satterfield of Oxford (Associate Degree Nursing);
Kimberly Vargo of Oxford (Associate in Arts); and
Tiffany Williams of Henderson (Culinary Arts).
“The Golden LEAF Foundation is proud to have awarded over 11,800 Golden LEAF Scholarships to help North Carolinians attend our state’s community colleges,” said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF president. “Our hope is that these scholarships will help build the talent, knowledge and skills of our current and future workforce, which are in demand by industry, especially in the rural areas of our state.”
The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to help transform North Carolina’s economy. The foundation receives one-half of North Carolina’s funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers and places special emphasis on assisting tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and/or rural communities across the state. The Golden LEAF Foundation works in partnership with governmental entities, educational institutions, economic development organizations and nonprofits to achieve its mission. The foundation has awarded 1,346 grants totaling more than $591 million since its inception. For more information about the foundation, visit www.goldenleaf.org or call (888) 684-8404.
Students interested in applying for a Golden LEAF Scholarship should contact the VGCC Financial Aid Office at (252) 738-3280.
–VGCC–
Vance County Food Giveaway Thurs. Sept 14
— information courtesy of NC and Vance County Cooperative Extension Service
Community agencies and the faith-based community have joined forces to help feed Vance County! On Thursday, September 14, 2017 the NC Central/Eastern Food Bank will be distributing bags of food to community members who are in need of food at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market. The distribution will begin at 10 a.m. with volunteers from various agencies from across the county. Citizens will receive disbursements using a drive through method, as bags will be brought to individual cars when citizens arrive at the site. Citizens are asked to not arrive until 10 a.m. and to refrain from lining up ahead of time blocking traffic.
This project is being sponsored locally by St. James Missionary Baptist Church, Vance County Department of Social Services, Vance County Cooperative Extension Center, and the Vance County USDA Farm Service Agency.
