Athens State Announces Its Annual Flag Day Ceremony

For Further Information

Guy McClure

Guy.McClure@athens.edu

For immediate release

June 4, 2015

Athens State Announces Its Annual Flag Day Ceremony

Athens, Ala. - Athens State University will be hosting its annual Flag Day Ceremony sponsored by the Athens State Alumni Association on Friday, June 12 at noon in the Sandridge Student Center Ballroom.  A free hot dog luncheon will follow.  Major General (retired) Vincent Boles will serve as this year’s speaker.

Boles served as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G4 on the Army Staff in the Pentagon, where he oversaw Logistics Operations and Readiness for the 1.1 million Soldier force to include the surges into Iraq and Afghanistan. Retiring in 2009 to Huntsville, Alabama, he established Vincent E. Boles, Inc. A leadership and logistics consulting practice. Where he works with organizations around the world to ensure their “best gets better”

Boles is the author of “4-3-2-1 Leadership…What America’s Sons and Daughters Taught Me on the Road from 2d Lieutenant to 2 Star General”, a recent review of the book stated: “He didn't write this book exclusively for the military audience and he does us all a great service by putting these leadership lessons into one volume and sharing them”

In 2011 Boles was inducted in the US Army Ordnance Corps and Niagara University  ROTC Halls of Fame. His military decorations include 2 awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, 3 awards of the Bronze Star Medal, and the Legion of Merit.

Boles has a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Music for the event will be provided by the Athens State University Community Band under the direction of Dan Havely.

"This has become a very-much anticipated annual event,” says Lisa Payne chairperson of the Flag Day Committee.  “We look forward to hearing from Major General Boles and taking part in this day that celebrates our flag.”    
                                                                              
The Flag Day Celebration at Athens State is free and open to the public.

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Attached picture:  Last year’s Flag Day celebration.

CALHOUN'S EMS AND NURSING STUDENTS TO CONDUCT MASS CASUALTY TRAINING DRILL APRIL 23

April 13, 2015

CALHOUN'S EMS AND NURSING STUDENTS TO CONDUCT 

MASS CASUALTY TRAINING DRILL APRIL 23

Students from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Nursing programs at Calhoun Community College will conduct a mock mass casualty training drill on Thursday, April 23, 2015, beginning at 9:30 am in the area of the Health Sciences Center and Kelley Gymnasium on the Decatur campus.

The mock disaster will simulate a scenario involving a threat to persons/property which has just occurred on campus. Approximately 25-30 simulated casualties will be a part of the exercise and will be portrayed by Calhoun Allied Health students, who will have a full range of mock injuries.

Calhoun nursing students will receive the “patients” from the EMS students for treatment at the college’s “hospital”, located in the Health Sciences Center. In addition to Calhoun EMS and Nursing faculty, Calhoun Police and Security personnel and area fire, EMS agencies, area police departments and air medical flight services from MedFlight will participate with the students in this endeavor.

The specific circumstances of the mock disaster will not be announced in order to preserve the “realness” of the event. Past mock drill scenarios have included a bus crash, bomb threat, and an active shooter incident.

So that students, staff and visitors to the campus will not confuse the drill with a real situation, notices will go out across the college and signs indicating a training drill is currently underway will be posted in the area of the activity.

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Athens State Business Professor Honored at U of A’s Honors Day Convocation

For Further Information

Guy McClure

256-233-8296

Guy.McClure@athens.edu

For immediate release

April 6, 2015

www.athens.edu

Athens State Business Professor Honored at U of A’s Honors Day Convocation

ATHENS, Ala. - Kim Roberts, Assistant Professor of Operations Management in Athens State’s College of Business was selected as the 2015 Outstanding Research Student in Instructional Technology at The University of Alabama.  The award was presented at the institution’s College of Education’s annual Honors Day Convocation on April 3rd.

Roberts states, “I would like to use my studies to help achieve my teaching vision mission statement of preparing students to be successful, problem-solving business professionals who value lifelong learning.” 

Roberts is a PhD candidate at the University of Alabama in Instructional Leadership with concentration in Instructional Technology program.  She completed 63 hours of doctoral coursework with a 4.0 GPA and is currently working on her dissertation on the efficacy of electronic textbooks.  

“Dr. Roberts is an exemplary faculty member and mirrors the ethos of the academic community at Athens State,” remarks Athens State President Bob Glenn.  “Her success at the University of Alabama is certainly evident in the popularity of her classes with our student body.”

Roberts was also selected as a recipient of the 2015 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, presented by the Office of Research on Teaching in the Disciplines in the College of Education at The University of Alabama.  The goal of this award was to recognize exemplary teachers for their outstanding efforts in making learning engaging, interactive, and memorable for students.  Its intent is also to acknowledge the impacts teachers have on students’ lives, their discipline, and the teaching profession.  

For this award, Roberts submitted a lesson plan involving application of operations management topics in a local business setting, where students collaborated with their classmates and the business owner to develop improvement opportunities in areas such as strategy, capacity management, and process analysis.  

“This is a practice many faculty members in Athens State’s College of Business use to engage students,” says Roberts.  “I’m very fortunate to be able to work with and learn from the top-notch faculty we have here at Athens State.”

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Athens State’s Athenian Players to present Modern American One Acts

For Further Information

Guy McClure

256-233-8296

Guy.McClure@athens.edu

For immediate release
April 6, 2015
www.athens.edu

Athens State’s Athenian Players to present Modern American One Acts

ATHENS, Ala. - The Athenian Players of Athens State University present productions of a grouping of modern American one act plays by Susan Gaspell and Eugene O’Neill.  The plays will include “Trifles” and “The Outside” by Glaspell, and “The Web,” “Before Breakfast,” and “The Rope,” by O’Neill.     These vignettes, directed by Assistant Professor of Drama Dr. Hugh Long, will be held in McCandless Hall on the Athens State Campus.

Gaspell was as an American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actress, novelist, and journalist who is known to have composed nine novels, fifteen plays, over fifty short stories. O'Neill was the first American dramatist to regard the stage as a literary medium and the first U.S. playwright to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Performances will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday April 16, 17, and 18 and Thursday, Friday and Saturday April 23, 24, and 25 at 7:30 p.m.  A matinee performance will be held on Sunday April 19 at 2:00 p.m.  Admission will be charged at the door and is $10.00 per person, $7.00 for students and seniors.

Dr. Kimberly Jack will design costumes; Tracy Szappan will serve as Stage Manager; and Victoria Cochran as Technical Director.

More information can be found at www.athens.edu/athenianplayers.

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Athens State Art Students Take Top Prized in State Contest

For Further Information

Guy McClure

Guy.McClure@athens.edu

For immediate release
April 3, 2015
www.athens.edu

Athens State Art Students Take Top Prized in State Contest

Decatur, ALA. – Winners have been announced in a statewide 2015 Ability Counts Poster Competition sponsored by The Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. For the second year in a row the top three awards in the Postsecondary Division will be presented to Athens State University art department students.

Receiving 1st Place in the Postsecondary Division was Allen Meeks. 2nd Place was awarded to Patricia Jones. 3rd Place went to Drew Davidson. All three students will receive cash prizes, are juniors, and are Art majors with a graphic design track.

The purpose of this competition is to reward artistic ability and to promote awareness of the talents that people with disabilities bring to the job market.  This year's theme was: Expect. Employ. Empower.

"Every student enrolled in the course completed an entry to the competition as part of the course lessons, " said Pamela Keller, Professor of Art at Athens State who taught the students in her  Adobe Illustrator Design course. "These are three outstanding examples of poster design and reflect the overall high quality of every member of the class."

The Athens State University art department is housed in the Alabama Center for the Arts in Decatur, Alabama.

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Attached picture:  Winning poster by Allen Meeks.

Calhoun Student Named 2015 Coca-Cola Gold Scholar

April 1, 2015

CALHOUN STUDENT TAYLOR PETERS NAMED 2015 COCA-COLA COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACADEMIC TEAM GOLD SCHOLAR

Ms. Taylor Peters, a student at Calhoun Community College, has been named a 2015 Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Gold Scholar. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation sponsors the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program by recognizing 50 Gold, 50 Silver and 50 Bronze Scholars nationally and providing nearly $200,000 in scholarships annually. As a Gold Scholar, Peters will receive a $1,500 scholarship and a special medallion.

With a perfect 4.0 grade point average, Peters is very active in a number of student organizations and activities at Calhoun.  She currently serves as Huntsville campus SGA president, is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, as well as a member of the Warhawks, Calhoun’s official student ambassadors.  She was also selected from over 11,000 students at the college to serve as a student representative on Calhoun’s Presidential Advisory Search Committee.  Peters also serves as a mentor/tutor for first-time freshmen at Calhoun and is very involved in various activities within her community.  While at Calhoun, she has been listed numerous times on the President’s List for top academic achievement and is the recipient of several academic scholarships.

“As one of the nation’s Top 150 Community Colleges, we know that many of our students at Calhoun are among the top community college students in the country.  This recent honor which Taylor has very deservedly earned is further evidence of the quality of our students,” commented Calhoun President Dr. James Klauber, Sr.

“I know that I speak for the entire Calhoun family when I say how very proud we are of Taylor’s recognition.  Her award adds to the growing list of Calhoun students who have been honored on the national level for their academic accomplishments,” Klauber said.  

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society administers the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Program and recognizes Coca-Cola Community College scholars during All-State Community College Academic Team Recognition ceremonies held in 38 states. Student scholars also receive recognition locally during ceremonies held on campus and internationally for those who are able to attend Phi Theta Kappa’s Annual Convention.

Community college presidents or their designated nominators may submit no more than two nominations per campus for this award. An independent panel of judges considers outstanding academic rigor, grade point average, academic and leadership awards, and engagement in college and community service in the selection process.

“We thank the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for their vote of confidence in community college students by investing in their futures,” said Dr. Rod Risley, Executive Director of Phi Theta Kappa. “Their support is especially welcome during this challenging economic climate, as more and more community college students need additional resources to help them complete their degrees.”

“The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to outstanding students at community colleges,” said J. Mark Davis, President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa and make it possible for deserving students to achieve their educational goals.”

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, is the largest honor society in American higher education with more than 1,285 chapters on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States, Canada, Germany, Peru, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. More than 3 million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 134,000 students inducted annually.

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Guided Walking Tours of Athens Historic District Offered Each Saturday in April

Athens, Ala. (March 23, 2015) –Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association proudly announces the return of free, guided walking tours beginning each Saturday only in the month of April. Residents and visitors are invited to take part in a casual stroll through historic Athens and/or Mooresville and learn about their history and heritage.

The one-hour walking tours are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on April 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th at the Athens’ Visitor Center meeting room. In Mooresville the walks will begin at 9:30 and will meet at the Post Office each Saturday. Teresa Todd, President of the Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association said, “Athens was ranked number 3 in attendances last year and we hope to have the largest attendance this year.”  Knowledgeable guides escort participants through historic neighborhoods and landmarks where they will share the history of the city and amusing accounts of the city’s storied past. They will share the history of the local businesses, architectural styles of the homes, and acrimonious accounts of the Sacking of Athens by Col. Turchin during the Civil War.

The Athens tours features four different routes each week, each with a different theme.
Mooresville is the oldest town in the State of Alabama with the oldest continuous working post office. You can tour the six streets of homes and the famous 1818 Farm during your tour. The entire town of Mooresville is on the historical registry.

The four areas of tours in Athens are:
Historic Beaty District
Historic Houston District
Old Athens Cemetery
Historic Downtown Square

Reservations are not required and tours are held rain or shine.

Athens and Mooresville’s guided walking tours are part of the April Walking Tours coordinated by the Alabama Tourism Department. Athens and Mooresville are two of 26 towns across the state participating in the annual event.

For more information, call the Athens-Limestone County Tourism & Visitor Center at 256-232-5411


About The Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association, Inc.
The Athens-Limestone County Tourism Association, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization promoting tourism and economic growth in Limestone County.  For information on special events and attractions in Limestone County, contacts the Visitor Center located at 100 N. Beaty Street, at 256-232-5411 or visit our website at www.VisitAthensAL.com

CALHOUN TO HOST 2ND ANNUAL “SAMPLE A DAY AT THE ACA” EVENT

February 9, 2015

CALHOUN TO HOST 2ND ANNUAL “SAMPLE A DAY AT THE ACA” EVENT

The Fine Arts Department at Calhoun Community College will host the 2nd Annual "Sample a Day at the ACA," on Thursday, March 12, 2015, beginning at 9:00 am.  The event is designed to showcase the Alabama Center for the Arts as well as Calhoun’s numerous programs housed at the Center.

The free event is open to all students, potential students and the community and will be held at the Alabama Center for the Arts, 133 2nd Avenue, NE in downtown Decatur.  Planned activities will include art and graphic design classes, tours of the facility and downtown Decatur, and opportunities to meet members of the Calhoun Fine Arts faculty, academic advisors, and college administration.  

For more information, call 256-306-2699.

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New Calhoun Community College President Klauber Shares Plans for Future Growth

February 2, 2015

MEDIA ADVISORY - REMINDER

New Calhoun Community College President, Dr. James Klauber, Sr.,
to share immediate, long-range plans during February 4 news conference

Dr. James Klauber, Sr., Calhoun Community College’s new president, will discuss immediate and long-range plans for the college and take questions from the media during a news conference scheduled for this Wednesday, February 4, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in the President’s Conference Room, third floor of the Math, Science and Administration Building on Calhoun's Decatur campus.
As Calhoun’s fifth president, Klauber officially begins his duties on February 1. His first day on campus is today.

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TVA Sponsors Elk River Cleanup and Team Challenge

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
February 3, 2015

Contact Information

Lynne Hart, Executive Coordinator

256-233-8728

KALBCares@gmail.com

TVA Sponsors Elk River Cleanup and Team Challenge

Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful is pleased to announce that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will support the annual Elk River Canoe & Kayak Trail Cleanup schedule to be held on March 7, 2015.

KALB invites groups and individuals to join with them to help rid the river and surrounding land areas of trash and debris.  "The Elk River brings so much to Limestone County.  It provides lots of opportunities for recreation and is the main source of water for our communities," said Lynne Hart, KALB Executive Coordinator.  "Those who participate in cleanup events like this and see the type and amount of trash collected are most likely to become advocates for a clean community."

All volunteers will meet at 8:00 a.m. at the put-in spot off Highway 99 just west of the river bridge (also known as the old fish hatchery).  Supplies and instructions will be given out and volunteers will then disperse to their cleanup locations.  All trash and recyclables must be brought back to the starting location to be weighed and loaded up.

Lunch will be served to all volunteers at noon.

TVA's sponsorship will allow KALB to offer cash prizes in a Team Challenge.  Groups are invited to register to compete for prizes of $250, $150, and $100 which will be awarded to the top three teams removing the most pounds of trash and recyclables from the river and surrounding land areas.  No weights will be added after the noon deadline.  The West Limestone Fishing Team won the top prize in 2014 bringing in over a ton of trash!  The Athens High School Beta Club came in a close second with over 1,700 lbs.  A total of 8,800 lbs of trash and debris were removed from the river and land areas last year.

Financial support will not be TVA's only role in this cleanup.  They will also man a boat and provide bags, gloves, and some pickup sticks for volunteers.  Fort Hampton Outfitters will provide kayaks to anyone wishing to scout the river; however, the kayaks must be requested in advance and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Staff from the Athens-Limestone Recycling Center, a division of KALB, will be present with scales to weigh debris for the competition.  They will also provide trucks to transport recyclable materials back to the plant for processing.

Ben Harrison, Limestone County Commissioner from District 4, will provide trailers for the collection of debris which will be taken to the transfer station.  Harrison, as well as the previous District 4 commissioner, have supported this event since its inception.

For more information on participation and the Team Challenge, visit KALBCares.com, call 256-233-8728, or email KALBCares@gmail.com.  You can also follow Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful on Facebook.