Inside Story for Friday, April 10, 2009

Utility Line Technician College Rodeo

The 7^th Annual College Lineman Rodeo will be hosted by MCC and take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  at the Applied Technology Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Participants from community colleges across the nation have been invited to participate. Six community colleges will compete in this year's competition. Following a written examination, the students will perform various work procedures required for their trades. In addition to the rodeo events, there will be pole climbing demonstrations, an exhibition of OPPD's hybrid bucket truck and an electrical safety presentation with OPPD's high voltage Respect Trailer that demonstrates the dangers of electricity.

MCC Awarded OPPD Tree Grant Award

MCC was recently selected to receive a tree-planting grant through OPPD's 2009 Tree Promotion Program. Winners will be officially announced during an award ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, April 24 at Lauritzen Gardens.

Copy Center Update

MCC's Copy Center has a new alias email, CopyCenter@mccneb.edu. Use this alias when sending copy jobs to print. This alias email is delivered to several individuals located in Bldg. 25 ensuring that jobs are completed. If you have any questions, call MCC's Copy Center at (402) 457-2302.

Diversity Matters Book Series

MCC presents the Diversity Matters Book Series on Wednesday, April 15, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the South Omaha Campus library conference room. The third book of the series will be The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. The book discussion will be facilitated by MCC Reading instructor Melissa Zimmer. The book discussion is free and open to the public.

The Importance of Nonverbal Communication

On April 1, more than 300 MCC students, faculty and staff attended Jan Hargrave's presentations on Body Language. She shared how our body communicates with the world around us. Since most of our language is nonverbal, it is very important that we take a look at the signals we send out to others as our body talks.

Hargrave has written several books including Let Me See Your Body Talk, Freeway of Love,  Judge the Jury and Strictly Business. 

Twentieth Annual International Fair

With the support of the Nebraska Arts Council, MCC presents the 20^th annual International Fair. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at MCC's South Omaha Campus, Connector Building Commons. The fair is free and open to the public. For more information, contact bvelazquez@mccneb.edu or (402) 457-2253.

MCC Students Earn 26 First Place Gold Medals at State SkillsUSA Leadership Conference

Twenty-six MCC student participants won gold medals in their respective contests at the SkillsUSA Leadership Conference in Columbus, Neb., March 26-28. More than 900 students participated in 87 contests at the state level. MCC received 48 medals for first through third places. MCC received the Builders Award for the largest number of college students participating at the state conference. Twenty-six students from MCC will continue on to Kansas City, Mo., June 22-26, as delegates and competitors at the 45th National Leadership and Skills Conference sponsored by SkillsUSA. 

SkillsUSA is a national organization that serves trade, industrial, technical and health occupation students in public schools, career and technical centers and two-year colleges. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. It helps each student to excel. This year SkillsUSA has more than 302,000 high school and college students and professional members enrolled in training programs. SkillsUSA has served more than nine million members.

The first-place winners and their advisors:

Community Forum: An Evening with Former State Senator Ernie Chambers

On Thursday, April 16, the College will host former Senator Ernie Chambers who made his mark on Nebraska politics and history. Following comments by Chambers, a moderated forum will occur as Chambers responds to participants' questions. This promises to be an evening of sharing a vision of social justice and civic engagement.                               

The forum will be held at MCC's Fort Omaha Campus, Bldg. 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Donate Blood at MCC, Make a Difference

Nearly five million people need blood transfusions each year; giving blood is an easy way to help ensure blood is available for these patients in need. Blood transfusions are needed for the treatment of many diseases and conditions and for surgeries. The stability of our nation's blood supply is in the hands of healthy, volunteer blood donors who give generously for others in need.

Give the gift of life by donating blood in honor of National Donate Life Month and join a family of blood donors across the nation. You could change a life, starting with your own. Visit www.givebloodgivelife.org or call 1-800-GiveLife to schedule your donation appointment at:

• Fort Omaha Campus: Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
(search by sponsor code: 68)
• Elkhorn Valley Campus: Thursday, May 7, 2009, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
(search by sponsor code: 594)

Thank you in advance for being a part of helping MCC make its goal of collecting more than 100 units of blood this spring!

Call for Volunteers: Cinco de Mayo Parade

Volunteers are needed as MCC representatives for the Cinco de Mayo parade on Saturday, May 2. Interested staff, faculty or student groups may contact Maria Vazquez for details at mvazquez@mccneb.edu or at (402) 738-4600.

2009 Excellence in Teaching Award

MCC Mathematics instructor Connie Buller was recently awarded the 2009 Excellence in Teaching Award by the Nebraska Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (NEBMATYC). The award winner was announced at the NEBMATYC Spring Conference in Grand Island, Neb., on Friday, April 3.

Mel Mays accepted the plaque on Buller's behalf, as she was not able to attend the conference. Buller was formally presented the award on Monday, April 6, at MCC's Elkhorn Valley Campus.

Thank You from Steve Leichleiter

"I would like to extend my appreciation to my friends and coworkers at MCC for their cards, memorials and emails with the recent death of my mother."
- Steve Leichleiter, Public Safety supervisor

History Service-Learning Project

Ten students from Tom Angle's American History course at the Fort Omaha Campus are volunteering at the Douglas County Historical Society's (DCHS) Library-Archive Center. With each student committing ten hours of community service throughout the winter quarter, these students are supporting the society in its historic preservation efforts while also benefitting from an enriched learning experience. The students are currently assisting the DCHS by digitizing clipping files such as Omaha WWII casualty lists and newspapers such as the Fort Omaha Gas Bag and the Florence Tribune.

MCC student Caleb Hewit volunteering at DCHS.

Dan Spegel, MCC's partner and director of education at the DHCS, said, "The students have demonstrated an eagerness to participate in the society's preservation efforts, and two of them have even offered to continue volunteering after their service-learning obligations have been met! Their hard work is greatly appreciated and will help preserve a part of Omaha's history for future generations."

Professional Development

Professional development training is available to MCC staff via Corporate Education & Training (CET).  The MCC training/staff development survey results are in, and CET is now offering workshops to address the areas ranked as the highest training priority by employees. Beginning next week, watch for workshop announcements that focus on communication, customer service, leadership, technology and wellness. Currently, CET has scheduled Excel 2003 to 2007 workshops and is accepting names of employees interested in attending additional workshops. 

Excel 2003 to 2007
09/AP COMP 036N WI14       April 16         1-5 p.m.       FOC, Bldg. 8, Room 202   

Online Training
CET's noncredit online courses are also open to MCC staff as part of professional development training.  More than 150 online courses in the areas of business management, information technology, interpersonal skills, leadership and Command Spanish^© are available. Register now. A new series of online courses begins April 15.

To register, contact CET at (402) 457-2491. Tuition waiver/remission is available for full-time employees/faculty and part-time regulars using the Employee Tuition Waiver Form. Part-time temp employees and adjunct faculty who want to register should contact their dean's office to arrange for the cost center to be billed the $99 fee before registering. Deans should send cost center billing information to Adam Smith in FOC Bldg. 5 or by email to asmith102@mccneb.edu so the adjunct faculty and part-time temp employees will not be billed personally. Reference the Employee and Dependent Tuition Waiver Procedures Memorandum for more information.

More workshops are being scheduled; however, a minimum of five participants is needed to conduct each workshop. To have your name added to the contact list for future training sessions, email Cheri Vossberg at clvossberg@mccneb.edu.

Need for customized training for your division? Contact CET at (402) 457-2491.

Fast Defense Workshop

CET and Public Safety have collaborated with Signal 88 Security to provide a FAST DEFENSE^TM workshop to MCC  full-time employees. 

The May 6 FAST DEFENSE^TM workshop will be offered tuition free to a limited number of MCC participants on a first-come basis. The following requirements apply for this College-sponsored, tuition-free, self-defense workshop:

• Open only to full-time MCC employees
• Offered only on the weekday evening from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
• A minimum of 10 participants are needed in order to conduct the session

Anyone who is registered to attend and is a no-show will personally be billed $65 for the class.

FAST DEFENSE^TM Workshop:
09/AP BSAD 028N WI05       May 6        6- 9:30 p.m.        FOC, Bldg. 7, Room 107

Those interested in attending should register by April 29. To register, call Adam Smith at (402) 457-2566.   

If the response to this tuition free workshop is greater than the availability, a contact list will be created for future workshops. Contact Cheri Vossberg at clvossberg@mccneb.edu to have your name entered on the contact list. 

Future FAST DEFENSE^TM Workshops
Future workshops may be scheduled when a minimum of 10 interested participants are identified. These sessions will be open to all MCC employees and their family members ages 13 and up. (Children under age 16 must attend with a parent.) Full-time and part-time regular employees may complete an Employee Tuition Waiver Form to participate. Family members will each be invoiced $65 for the workshop.

Part-time temp employees and adjunct faculty who want to register for future workshops should contact their dean's office to arrange for the cost center to be billed the $65 fee before registering. Deans should send cost center billing information to Adam Smith in FOC Bldg. 5 or by email to asmith102@mccneb.edu so the adjunct faculty and part-time temp employees will not be billed personally. Reference the Employee and Dependent Tuition Waiver Procedures Memorandum for more information.

For more information about the workshops, visit www.signal88security.com/docs/FAST%20Defense%20Brochure.pdf.

HR News

New Employees
Valentyna Johnson    Accounts Receivable Technician  FOC, Bldg. 30  (402) 457-2486
James Kuester          Financial Aid Specialist               EVC                (402) 289-1309

Changes
Kathy Collier             FOC, Bldg. 30        (402) 457-8528
Jennifer Ingraham     FOC, Bldg. 10        (402) 457-2731
Denise Korb              FOC, Bldg. 30        (402) 457-2785
Roberta O'Neil           FOC, Bldg. 30        (402) 457-2704
Silvia Santiago          FOC, Bldg. 10        (402) 457-2724
Helen Tanderup         FOC, Bldg. 30        (402) 457-2694  

Name Changes
Karrie Hamby                     Karrie Hamby-Scott
Carol Kuhlman                   Carol Moore

MCC Job Openings

For information about the College’s open positions and how to apply, visit www.mccneb.edu/hr or call the jobline at (402) 738-4050. Applications are also online at www.mccnebjobs.com.

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