Vance Charter School Celebrates New Location
On Thursday, November 3rd, the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Vance Charter School to celebrate the official opening of their brand-new building, located at 2090 Ross Mill Road in Henderson. Students & parents, faculty and Board members, local dignitary and other supporters were in attendance.
This new facility is now home to over 645 students in grades K-9. Once a dream shared by many, several years in the planning, then construction and now a facility that feels like home and will be around for decades to come.
First day of class for students in the new location will be on Monday, November 7. For more information about Vance Charter School, please contact them at 252-431-0440 or check them out on the web at www.vancecharter.org.
Event Notice from The Masonic Home for Children
The Masonic Home for Children at Oxford is building on the foundations of success. A master plan has been developed and includes options for service and program development. You are invited to the Cobb Center at MHCO on Friday 11/11/16 from 5pm-7pm for a meet and greet. Please join us to discuss possible plans, gather your feedback, and continue to build together for the betterment of our children.
VGCC Radiography students collect supplies for Hurricane Matthew victims
Students in the Radiography program at Vance-Granville Community College recently answered a call to help those who were devastated by Hurricane Matthew, collecting a massive amount of supplies for the victims in North and South Carolina.
VGCC Radiography clinical coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles arranged a partnership with Black’s Tire & Auto Service, which has 38 locations from Raleigh to Florence, South Carolina, and was founded in her home county of Columbus. The company was encouraging residents of its service area to collect supplies, which its employees would then pick up and deliver directly to those in need. Among the items being sought were diapers, children’s toys, bottled water, cleaning supplies, toiletries, non-perishable food, new t-shirts, socks and undergarments.
Students set up drop-off points on all four of the college’s campuses, in Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties. Then, on Oct. 20, Black’s Tire & Auto Service picked up the donations at the South Campus, where the Radiography program is located. Students and faculty members loaded the supplies onto the truck sent by the company, which was quickly filled, and a second truck was called. Even that truck could not hold all of the donations, so Soles took some in her own vehicle to the company’s Raleigh location.
Black’s Tire & Auto Service later delivered the items to people in Fair Bluff, N.C., and Nichols, S.C., both of which experienced extensive flooding from the hurricane.
“The Radiography students and program faculty would like to extend our thanks to everyone who helped make the hurricane relief drive a success,” Soles said. “We were overwhelmed with the generous outpouring of support from our fellow faculty, staff, students and members of the community, including several businesses around our South Campus.”
Based at VGCC’s South Campus between Creedmoor and Butner, the two-year Radiography degree program prepares graduates to be radiographers, skilled health care professionals who use radiation to produce images of the human body. For more information on Radiography, contact Dean of Health Sciences Angela Thomas at (252) 738-3397.
Northern and Southern Vance to host College/Career Days
Vance County Schools is hosting two Career/College Day events, November 9, at Southern Vance High School and November 17, at Northern Vance High School.
Both events will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and are open to high school juniors and seniors and their families.
The focus of the events is to provide representatives that are from different career pathways to be available to answer questions from students, speak about skills and training needed for jobs in their respective industries and share information about opportunities for internships/job shadowing experiences.
There will also be representatives from colleges available to speak with students about college programs and services available.
If you are interested in participating as a vendor or would like additional information contact: phone: 252-739-7120, e-mail: mstevens@vcs.k12.nc.us.
H/V Chamber and HPD to Partner for Reverse Raffle
Update 11-1-16:
Reverse Raffle to benefit Shop With a Cop is THIS Saturday. Purchase your tickets now and donate items.
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The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce along with the Henderson Police Department (HPD) are partnering to host a reverse raffle. The event will benefit a program serving local underprivileged children called “Shop With a Cop” along with the Chamber of Commerce and its efforts to help local business.
The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 5 and will be held at Henderson Country Club beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and include dinner for two and a chance at the $5,000 grand prize. Throughout the evening, guests will be given opportunities to bid on various silent auction items as well as two reserved tickets which will be auctioned toward the end of the ticket drawing. Three reserved tickets will also be raffled during the course of evening.
The “Shop With a Cop” activity will take place in December at which time members of the HPD will take local underprivileged children shopping with local retailers for Christmas. A certain dollar amount of the proceeds raised will be set aside for each participating child. “I’m so excited about this event and the good that we can do for the local community with the proceeds. The HPD is always anxious to do what we can to help children”, said Police Chief Marcus Barrow.
There are opportunities for local businesses to donate silent auction items, sponsor the event or help in other ways. Members of the HPD and Chamber staff and board of directors will be making community contacts in the very near future.
If you or your business would like to purchase tickets, donate items or get more information, contact the HPD, Chamber board members or the Chamber office at 252-438-8414.
VGCC Advisory Committees hold annual meetings
Citizens from Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties came together at the Main Campus of Vance-Granville Community College on Oct. 25 as the college’s advisory committees held their annual meetings.
VGCC’s 38 advisory committees are made up of people from the communities served by the college who have worked in the fields for which the college offers training. Committees advise not only curriculum and continuing education programs, but also VGCC’s South, Franklin and Warren campuses, the Small Business Center and other departments. Many committee members are VGCC alumni. Each fall, these committees meet on campus with the heads of the programs they advise.
At the Oct. 25 meetings, VGCC faculty and staff communicated with advisory committee members about new developments in the academic programs, about how to tailor classes and training to meet employment needs, and about changes in the workplace. Committee members made suggestions on what the college should be doing to enhance or adapt instruction.
Holding its first meeting was the advisory committee for one of VGCC’s newest degree programs, Histotechnology. Sheila Deloney, a certified histotechnologist and assistant administrative director for anatomic pathology and autopsy services at UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill, was elected as the committee’s first chair. Dr. Dianne Dookhan, a pathologist who works at Maria Parham Medical Center in Henderson, among other facilities, was elected vice chair.
Students in VGCC’s Culinary Arts program prepared a reception in the Civic Center, preceding the meetings. The menu included Dijon crusted pork loin, seasonal vegetable succotash, polenta with a mushroom cream sauce, beef roulade filled with peppers, spinach, carrots and provolone cheese, herb roasted red potatoes, various pasta selections and assorted desserts.
In remarks during the reception, Dr. Stelfanie Williams, the president of VGCC, thanked the advisory committee members for serving and supporting the college. “Our Advisory Committees are important to us, because they connect the college with our communities, meet the needs of our local employers, and maintain bonds with our alumni,” President Williams told the attendees. “Your input, your leadership, and your advocacy strengthen our academic programs.”
Employers connect with students at VGCC Manufacturing Day
Vance-Granville Community College held a “Manufacturing Day” celebration on Friday, Oct. 7, in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. An estimated 275 middle and high school students from Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties attended, along with VGCC students and other members of the community. They learned about how manufacturing has changed, local career possibilities in the field and options for education and training related to careers in the industry. The event was one of many Manufacturing Day celebrations held across the country that day.
Participating employers included Altec of Creedmoor, Asteelflash of Raleigh, Delhaize America/Food Lion Distribution Center of Butner, Dill Air Controls Products of Oxford, Eaton of Youngsville, Glen Raven of Norlina, Ideal Fastener of Oxford, Mars Petcare of Henderson, Novozymes of Franklinton, Plastic Ingenuity of Oxford, Revlon of Oxford, Shalag of Oxford, Staffmark of Henderson, Stay Online of Creedmoor, Sunrock of Butner, Superior Tooling of Wake Forest, TFS of Wake Forest and Universal Forest Products of Franklinton.
VGCC technical programs were also represented, including Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Technology, Automotive Systems Technology, Bioprocess Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, Mechatronics Engineering Technology and Welding Technology.
Attendees also learned about the North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NCTAP), which partners with colleges like VGCC and employers to prepare a skilled workforce. During lunch, Robbie Earnhardt, owner of Superior Tooling, discussed NCTAP with representatives of the other companies in attendance. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the apprenticeship I had,” Earnhardt said. An alternative to the traditional four-year college degree, the program takes a student from high school through a two-year community college program like Mechatronics Engineering Technology, with the guarantee of a job at the completion of the program. “We need more local industry partners in NCTAP,” Earnhardt said, noting that Dill Air Controls Products has already joined. “Many industries have trouble finding skilled workers. This can help.”
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program at VGCC organized Manufacturing Day, with support from the Advanced Manufacturing Skills Training Alliance (AMSTA), a partnership of VGCC and local K-12 school systems. With the help of the $1.75 million TAACCCT grant, the largest single competitive grant in VGCC history, the college has developed and enhanced innovative training programs for advanced manufacturing careers. The TAACCCT grants are part of a nearly $2 billion initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor to expand targeted training programs for unemployed workers, especially those impacted by foreign trade. For more information on TAACCCT, call (252) 738-3342.