October 2, 2014 – Meeting Roundup – James Rumsey Tech Institute
An unassuming golden shovel rests virtually unnoticed in an office corner. Penned on that historic shovel are the words, Ground Breaking Ceremony, March 25, 1969.
By August 1970, James Rumsey Vocational-Technical Center was a 2.5 million dollar functioning reality offering 13 areas of technical training. That first year enrollment consisted of 289 high school students, 110 full time post high school students and 204 part-time evening students.
The James Rumsey Technical Institute is the designated Area Technical School for Berkeley, Morgan, and Jefferson County school districts, offering career and technical education opportunities for high school students and adult learners.
The career and technical education programs at James Rumsey are designed and validated by business and industry standards and are approved and/or accredited by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges (NCA). Secondary students will earn elective high school credits and, in articulated programs, will earn college credits while still in high school. Our instructors and staff are current and credentialed in their areas of expertise by the West Virginia State Board of Education.
James Rumsey Technical Institute is where you can “put some steam behind your dream and learn to earn”. James Rumsey Technical Institute has served high school students from Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties and adult students from the four state area for over 40 years. During this time, James Rumsey Technical Institute has made a commitment to excellence in technical and academic education to meet business, industry and government needs locally as well as in our global community. Their pursuit of excellence has granted them the recognition as a West Virginia School of Excellence and as an Exemplary School. Their official business partner, Frontier, has allowed them to recognize those students who are dedicated to excellence.
James Rumsey Technical Institute’s dedicated faculty and staff bring experience and innovation to the learning experience. High school students have the opportunity to enroll in one of our 17 programs which offer industry credentialing. Students are able to earn college credits through various partnerships, including EDGE (Earn a Degree, Graduate Early) through local higher education institutions. Post-secondary students may enroll in 9 post-secondary programs as well as the Jill S. Weekly Learning Center in order to further advance in their current job skills or to pursue new career options. Students at James Rumsey Technical Center have the opportunity to participate in various student organizations, which have been recognized at the state and national levels.
Donna Van Metre, Director/Principal JRTI, will be our speaker and she will talk to us about “The Evolution of CTE.”
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Catholic Charities WV
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Trina Bartlett, Eastern Panhandle Director of Catholic Charities West Virginia, began by pointing out she is Lutheran. This was her way of saying that Catholic Charities is a non-religious relief organization operating under the Catholic Church.
Catholic Charities West Virginia’s mission is to alleviate poverty, distress, and injustice by providing comprehensive social services to the poor and vulnerable, advocating for social justice, and calling all people of good will, especially those of the Church, to service.
They help people to become self-sufficient and do not provide money directly to individuals, but rather to the provider of prescription drugs, housing, utilities, etc.
Cogwheels
Answer to last week’s question:
October is designated as Vocational Service Month to emphasize the involvement of all Rotarians and clubs in the everyday practice of the ideals of Vocational Service.
This week’s question:
What is the Declaration for Rotarians in Business and Professions?
Our student guests from Musselman High School were Kirsten Campbell and John Michaels.
Walter Duke, a retired high school business teacher and a former delegate in the WV House of Delegates, was a guest of Billy Lopp and John Lucas. Buzz Poland brought his son, David. Eric Brown, who is in technology sales with a focus on information security, was a guest of Jon Bodwell. Kathy Mason brought Jim Davis, who is with Augmentation, Inc providing staffing services in the Martinsburg area. Craig Bartoldson, Publisher of the Journal, was a guest of his wife, Elaine.
The new member orientation is set for October 9th at 4:30 at the Holiday Inn. All new members are required to attend one of these sessions before you have a full membership. It’s a chance to learn more about Rotary and our club. You might even find out the secret handshake and password (of course, we would actually have to have those to find out).
Vickie Elliott, co-chair of the Dictionary Project, told the club they were $2,400 short of the amount they needed for the dictionary purchases. She appealed to those at the meeting for help and 24 members pledged $100 each. Rotarians don’t think twice about helping such a wonderful project.
It was great to see Jim Smith back at the meeting. It’s been a long time and he has been missed.
The final accounting is in for the golf tournament and Mike Hite and his committee raised a little over $5,200. Congratulations to all those who helped!
The Bob Elmer Sports Breakfast is October 18th and rapidly approaching. We still need a couple of high school sponsors and there are plenty of tickets for sale. Tickets are only $15.
There are only 240 seats available for the Taste of the Panhandle, so plan on being a sponsor or buying your ticket quickly once they go on sale.
Larry Pitzer won 50/50, but no luck in finding the Queen of Hearts. He will sell tickets this week.