By RHONDA SIMMONS

The Culpeper Star-Exponent

09/10/10

Officials at Germanna Community College will host a jazz benefit concert at the Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper Saturday night.

The fundraising proceeds will go toward scholarships for students in the Germanna Center for Workforce.

The Jennifer Kirkland/Bert Carlson Quartet will take the stage around 7:15 p.m. The doors open at 6:30, featuring drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

The $50 tickets are limited to keep the show intimate.

One listener describes Kirkland’s voice as a blending of Julie London, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney and Norah Jones. A graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, Kirkland began performing professionally during the late 1970s. She moved to Virginia in the 1980s and has worked in Georgia and Florida.

Before moving to Washington, D.C., in 1985, Carlson, a guitarist, started playing jazz gigs in Illinois in 1976. He also taught classes at Illinois State University and Lincoln College.

Because of their talent, the Virginia Commission of the Arts has selected Kirkland and Carlson among the state’s elite touring artists, making them eligible for commission funding from 2006 to the present.

Kirkland said her audience is often surprised at the music the band combines with jazz.

“We are very eclectic,” she said. “We realize audiences today are incredibly diverse in their styles and ages. We really try and draw from all different kinds of raw material and give it a different kind of arrangement and sound.”

A self-described Kirkland fan, Russell James, Germanna’s dean for business and workforce, said he likes her “sultry jazz vocals.”

“The Sept. 11 show is a fundraiser, and the fact that Kirkland and Carlson make different genres work together will help Germanna’s Center for Workforce help area people find work by providing scholarships that will allow them to sharpen their skills or change careers,” said James.

As a child of the 1960s, Carlson always knew the fusion concept would work.

“I remember seeing the Beatles when they first came on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ when I was a little kid,” Carlson recalled. “I’d have a great time watching the Beatles on Sunday night, and then on Monday night I’d have a great time watching Louis Armstrong. In my mind, there was no delineation. It was all music, and I loved it all.”

Want to go?

What: Germanna Community College’s jazz benefit concert

Where: Daniel Technology Center, 18121 Technology Dr., Culpeper

When: Saturday; doors open at 6:30 p.m.; concert at 7:15

Admission: $50 (tickets may be purchased by phone and will be held at the door)

For more information about tickets or the fundraiser, call Germanna’s Center for Workforce at 937-2900 or 891-3012.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

By Rhonda Simmons

The Stafford County Sun

09/10/10

At the age of 18, many foster care children in Virginia "age out" of the system.

They are considered adults and have the opportunity to either stay with their foster care families or take advantage of the independent living program, which starts well before they turn 18 and prepares foster care children with the tools to become self-sufficient.

They actually "age out" of the independent living program at 21.

During these vital, formative years, Germanna Community College is also providing valuable educational opportunities for at-risk young adults to transition into college and/or a career through the Great Expectations program.

This initiative consists of a two-day on-campus program, as well as a six-month mentorship program for foster care children aging out of the system.

The free program will be held at the community college's Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania on Sept. 17 and Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Great Expectations program provides students with the opportunity to learn about Germanna’s programs of study, receive college, career and financial-aid guidance, learn about writing about resumes and the admission process, meet mentors, attend college classes and more.

The students will also attend a Washington Nationals baseball game, take part in go-karting, picnics, bowling, and movie nights. Students will receive a certificate of completion in the non-credit course.

While in their early-to-mid teens, foster care children have the option of participating in the independent living program where a social worker will provide them with the essential skills it takes to transition from foster care into self-sufficient living.

Germanna spokesman Michael Zitz describes aging out of the foster care system as a critical time for at-risk youth. "They must try to work through seemingly immense changes without a parent, family member or mentor to guide them," he said. "When foster (care) youth fail to make the transition successfully, it can have devastating consequences not only for those youth, but for their communities. The statistics are grim for foster youth who age out of the system without any type of support."

According to the Virginia Community College System, more than 25 percent of foster care youth will be incarcerated within two years after leaving the system and 54 percent will become homeless or end up in an unstable living situation.

The odds are also stacked against them when it comes to pursuing a higher education.

Less than 2 percent of foster care children earn a college degree, according to VCCS.

Zitz, however, declares that Germanna's program is in place to help students that face difficult challenges when pursuing an education.

"Great Expectations increases the likelihood of success for foster (care) youth," he said. "It helps each foster youth develop an individual path forward. Coaches work with students to navigate college financial and living arrangements, and peer mentors provide support and guidance."

For more information on the program, call (540) 834-1066 or e-mail msfarris@germanna.edu.

http://www2.staffordcountysun.com/news/2010/sep/10/fostering-toward-higher-education-ar-499071/

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

iStockAnalyst.com
08/28/10

(Source: The Free Lance-Star) By Pamela Gould, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

Aug. 28--Germanna Community College officials are gearing up for a celebration of the institution's 40th anniversary in October.

The free event, dubbed Germannafest 2010, will run from noon to 7 p.m., Oct. 9, on the college's Locust Grove Campus. It will include live music from two local groups -- the Wil Gravatt Band, best known for its country and western music, and the reggae band the Transmitters. The day will also include children's activities, nature trail tours, guest speakers and refreshments.

Germanna President David Sam said the event provides an opportunity to thank the people and communities that have supported the college through the years by choosing to attend its classes, make donations, and partner with it in a variety of ways.

"In good times and bad, the communities we serve have relied on and supported Germanna Community College," Sam said. "It seems fitting after four decades that we ask our friends and neighbors to join in a family-friendly celebration."

Germanna began offering classes at the Locust Grove Campus in the fall of 1970 with just 478 students. Today, about 14,000 people take advantage of learning opportunities at sites in four counties.

In addition to the Locust Grove Campus -- along State Route 3 in Orange County -- Germanna operates at the Fredericksburg Area Campus in the Massaponax area of Spotsylvania County, at the Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper, and last year launched a site in North Stafford known as the Stafford County Center.

Germanna serves students from Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Orange, Madison, King George and Caroline.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/444844

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Germanna's center in North Stafford exceeds projections in first year By PAMELA GOULD

The Free Lance-Star

8/27/2010

When Germanna Community College officials established a center in North Stafford last summer, they hoped to hit the 1,000-student enrollment mark over the first academic year.

Instead, they approached that figure in the first term, with 875 students.

This fall, 1,121 students have enrolled so far at the Stafford County center, with more expected by the time fall registrations are finalized.

"It seems to be bulging at the seams this year," Germanna President David Sam said.

The fall semester started Aug. 19, and class offerings have grown from 43 the first term to 56 for fall 2010.

"It confirms what the county and the Economic Development Authority and Germanna thought. We were needed," Sam said.

Stafford's Economic Development Authority awarded Germanna a $300,000 grant for the center that is being paid over three years. The first two payments, totaling $250,000, have already been received, and Sam said that has been critical to getting the North Stafford site operating.

"Without that, we would not have been able to open the center in the current fiscal climate," he said.

The Stafford County Center opened last summer and began offering classes for the fall 2009 semester. The center operates out of 5,000 square feet in Aquia Park, which is on the west side of U.S. 1, just north of the post office.

Classes are taught days and evenings and include noncredit classes and credit offerings such as biology, business, health, history, political science, Spanish and information technology essentials.

The Stafford location was envisioned as serving students attending Germanna at one of its other campuses, or those attending another institution such as Northern Virginia Community College. The idea was to help Stafford residents avoid more commuting.

But Bartlett said many students have come from a different pool.

For more, click on link below

Read original ==>> Fredericksburg.com - North Stafford center 'bulging at the seams' - page 1 FLS http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/082010/08272010/571077#ixzz0ze3mrgCd

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

The Germanna Community College Educational Foundation has selected Paige Riley of Stafford County as its 2010 Commonwealth Legacy Scholarship recipient. The scholarship is given by The Virginia Foundation for Community Colleges and made possible in part by The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation.

Here are a few highlights from Paige’s story:

• 2010 Honors graduate from Stafford High School (3.84 GPA)
• Chose Germanna to continue living at home and minimize expenses
• Enrolled in the science program, Fall semester 2010
• Plans to major in physical rherapy at a four-year university after graduating from Germanna. She is interested in anatomy, physiology, and sports medicine, toward rehabilitation and prevention of further injury

“I want to be able to help people heal from their injuries to have a better quality of life, bringing happiness back to their lives. For example, I want to be able to help a grandparent be able to dance at their grandchild’s wedding after having suffered from a broken hip. I want to be able to help people, and I know the field I have chosen will require a lot of time and effort on my part, but this scholarship will allow me that time. I will continue to work hard in order to keep this scholarship in my hands and to prove to you that your faith in me was not unfounded.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Devon Geary was forced to drop out of James Monroe High when doctors said she'd spend the rest of her life bedridden or in a wheelchair because of a rare genetic disorder. She stubbornly refused to accept that. Now her story could inspire others who've been told they have to give up their hopes and dreams.

In 2008, she came to Germanna Community College in a wheelchair and got her GED.

In 2009, she began classes at GCC, using a walker, and frequently fainting.

"There was no way I could have gone to a four-year school," Devon says. "I could barely walk. I could barely stay conscious."

"I would sometimes find Devon in the fetal position," says Winford Stevens, GCC's Coordinator of Disability Services.

She was able to stick with it, she says, because at Germanna, "Nobody stared at me. Nobody laughed at me. I had been in a wheelchair for 2 ½ years. I was used to pity stares. But I didn't get that here. People were very kind and accommodating, but they didn't pity me."

Devon thrived on the kind of one on one attention students get from faculty at Germanna.

Her condition gradually improved, and though there is still pain, she now not only walks on her own, but is an assistant dance instructor. The outcome: nearly a full scholarship to Amherst College, one of the top liberal arts schools in the country.

At Germanna, instead of being pigeonholed, she decided who she was going to be.

"If anything, I'm the 6-foot-tall redhead with the 4.0," Devon says. "I was never defined by my illness here and I really appreciate that. I don't know if it would have been that way at a 4-year school," she says. "I

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

In the current economic environment, small businesses with shrinking staffs need to find ways to invigorate themselves without devoting a lot of time to retraining.

So Germanna Community College is offering a Workforce & Economic Development Regional Business Series that allows employers to enhance skills in a hurry.

GCC, which is offering the series in partnership with local economic development authorities and chambers of oommerce, is offering a two-hour course on Branding & Marketing at the Daniel Center in Culpeper from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on July 16.

There will also be a Branding course on the same day at the same time at the Germanna Stafford Center.

Two weeks later, there will be a course titled Develop a Strategic Business Plan at GCC's Fredericksburg Area Campus in Spotsylvania from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on July 30.

On Aug. 13, there will be a Legal Fundamentals course from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Caroline County Business Center.

And on Aug. 27, there will be a course entitled Develop a Marketing Plan from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the King George Community Citizens' Center. The two-hour courses cost $29. Call 540/891-3012 for more information and to register.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Nightline visited Germanna recently to capture the moment when philanthropist Doris Buffett surprised Aundrea Handy, who had been homeless before attending GCC's Middle College, which helps high school dropouts get their GEDs and prepares them for college.

Handy is a high school dropout and a single mother with two young children who lost her job because of the recession and found herself and her children living in a homeless shelter. After graduating from Middle College, she got a job at WalMart, but she was working the graveyard shift, then would come home and get her children ready for school before taking a brief nap, then heading to classes at Germanna.

"I'm so grateful for this and so happy," Handy said.

Buffett also recently donated $150,000 to the GCC Educational Foundation's Germanna Guarantee Scholarship program and donated the profits from a booksigning at the Fredericksburg Campus to the Middle College.

At a November GCC Educational Foundation dinner, Ms. Buffett heard three Germanna students on scholarships speak and decided to get involved with GCC: “I thought, ‘These are exactly the people we want to help.' I have a high regard for what Germanna's doing. They're into the real world. They're helping people to a good life through a good education." Carolyn Bynum, director of the Middle College at Germanna, wrote in a letter to Ms. Buffett:

"I can tell you that Aundrea is a remarkable young woman. I knew it from the first moment I met her. She was homeless but not discouraged; down but not out. She knew then and knows now that education is the key to a better life and she is taking on the challenge to ensure a better life for herself and her children. I have no doubt that your foundation made a wise choice in selecting her to benefit from your generosity.

"I can truly say that working with this program and helping my students find their way to a better future has been the most rewarding experience I have ever had in my professional life. So I can appreciate the warm feeling you must get when you know you have helped so many that may not have otherwise made it through whatever trying situation they may encounter." Doris Buffett is the big sister of Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men. Through her Sunshine Lady Foundation, she has donated over $100 million of her own money, much of it to individuals like Aundrea, after talking with them one on one. At 82, she says her goal in life is to give all of her fortune away to those in need and hopes that her last check bounces.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

RICHMOND — The 2009-2010 academic year, by any measure, was record-breaking for Virginia’s Community Colleges with an enrollment surge felt across Virginia.

“This is great news that should be embraced and celebrated across Virginia,” said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges. “There is a clear and present need to increase the number of postsecondary graduates in our commonwealth and in our country. More and more people are hearing that call. They are seeking opportunity at their community college. We are proud to be serving them.”

The rising enrollment comes amidst historic state budget cuts for Virginia’s Community Colleges, which have lost $64 million in funding since 2008 – a figure that is projected to grow to $105 in FY2012.

VCCS annual headcount up 7.2% since last year
With motivations ranging from taking advantage of the unique guaranteed transfer agreements Virginia’s Community Colleges hold with more than two-dozen universities to acquiring the necessary knowledge to launch a new career after losing a job, some 281,243 people enrolled last year. That official annual headcount enrollment official represents:

• an increase of 18,799 students (7.2%) over the previous academic year (2008-09);
• an increase of 31,948 students (12.8%) over the past two years (since 2007-08);
• an increase of 49,678 students (21.5%) over the past five years (since 2004-05) and;
• an increase at 22 of Virginia’s Community Colleges.

VCCS annual FTE figure up 12.8% since last year Further, the enrollment surge was also reflected in the official Full Time Equivalency (FTE) numbers posted by Virginia’s Community Colleges. A single FTE represents the enrollment of 30 hours of academic credit. The growth of FTE figures for Virginia’s Community Colleges is an indication that not only are more students attending but that they are taking more extensive class-loads and that more are attending on a full-time basis.

The official annual FTE enrollment figure for Virginia’s Community Colleges for the 2009-2010 academic year is 122,479. That figure represents:

• an increase of 13,907 FTEs (12.8%) over the previous academic year;
• an increase of 20,590 FTEs (20.2%) over the past two years (since 2007-08);
• an increase of 29,781 FTEs (32.1%) over the past five years (since 2004-05) and;
• an increase at all 23 Virginia community colleges over the previous academic year, including a double-digit percentage increases at 16 of the 23 colleges.

Fulfilling a public promise The increased enrollment in credit-bearing courses places Virginia’s Community Colleges on course to meet the access goal articulated in Achieve 2015, the six-year strategic plan approved by the State Board for Community Colleges in November, 2009.

The plan calls for increasing the enrollment of both credit-bearing and non-credit workforce training classes to an annual total of 423,000. For a one-year period ending March 31, 2010 the total non-credit enrollment of Virginia’s Community Colleges was 83,348.

The State Board for Community Colleges, in a unanimous vote, set the 2010-2011 in-state tuition and mandatory fee rate at $109.50 per credit hour. Further, the board voted to use federal stimulus money to offset that fee by $2 per credit hour. As a result of those actions, in-state students will pay an additional $7.50 per credit hour beginning in the fall for a total of $107.50 per credit hour. A full-time in-state student, taking a total of 30 credit hours, will pay an additional $225 for the academic year.

Serving record enrollments

Germanna President David A. Sam said he hates to see tuition rise, but that the alternative—cutting back on what we are able to offer our students, is worse.

Board members say the increase is essential to serving the record-setting number of traditional students and laid-off workers who are turning to Virginia’s Community Colleges at a time when the colleges are enduring record state budget cuts. More than 22,000 new students began attending a Virginia Community College over the last two years. Enrollment during the recently concluded spring semester was unusually high, up 13.7 percent from spring 2009, according to preliminary estimates. That trend is expected to continue during the summer.

“The federal stimulus money Virginia’s 23 community colleges are receiving from the General Assembly is allowing us to keep tuition affordable for Virginia families while ensuring our community colleges are able to meet their needs,” said Jeffery K. Mitchell, chair of the board’s budget & finance committee. “Without that federal money, higher tuition would have been needed just to keep the lights on and instructors in the classrooms to serve these students.”

Managing record state budget cuts

State funding has decreased for Virginia’s Community Colleges by $64 million through FY2010. That is mitigated, in part, by $52.6 million directed to Virginia’s Community Colleges under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. By the end of the next biennium, Virginia’s Community Colleges will have lost a total of $105 million in state funding.

Currently, mandatory tuition and fees at Virginia’s Community Colleges are approximately one-third of the comparable average tuition and fees charged by four-year institutions. The tuition and fee increase of $225 for a full-time student is just over one quarter of the comparable average tuition and fee increase of $838 for a full-time student at Virginia’s four-year schools.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Fredericksburg philanthropist Doris Buffett has initiated a relationship with the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation, beginning with a gift of $150,000 over three years for scholarships.

She made the decision to get involved while attending a GCC Educational Foundation event in November. The details were worked out this week.

Ms. Buffett explained: “When I came to the Foundation dinner and heard the three students there who were on scholarships speak, I thought, ‘These are exactly the people we want to help.’ I have a high regard for what Germanna’s doing. They’re into the real world. They’re helping people to a good life through a good education.”

GCC President David A. Sam said: “Doris Buffett's personal mission aligns well with Germanna’s. We both believe in second chances--the opportunity for people to turn their lives around. This generous gift is an investment in our ability to help our students gain the education that will help them empower themselves. It is also a model for all of us in giving back to our community.”

The Germanna Educational Foundation will use the gift based on the areas of greatest need, to be determined, said Mike Catell, the Foundation’s director.

“Doris Buffett’s commitment to philanthropy and to the common good is simply extraordinary,” Catell said. “Her energy is boundless–her passion and presence is transformative. The Educational Foundation is honored to have Doris and The Sunshine Lady Foundation as a partner in our mission.”

Ms. Buffett will take part in a discussion about her philanthropy and her life at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 22 at Sealy Auditorium on Germanna’s Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania, off U.S. 17, near Cosner’s Corner. The event is free and open to the public and she will take questions from the audience. Seating is limited, so RSVPs at 540/891-3012 are requested. Following the discussion, she will sign copies of her new biography, “Giving It All Away,” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Germanna’s Workforce Building on the same campus.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

This week’s cover story for Town & County, Saturday magazine of The Free Lance-Star, is about a soon to be published book Germanna faculty member Cory MacLauchlin has written about John Kennedy Toole the star-crossed author of “A Confederacy of Dunces.” It was published in 1980, 11 years after Toole’s suicide.

Toole had tried for years to get the book published, without success. When he died, his mother made seeing it published her mission in life. When she accomplished that mission, the novel won a Pulitzer Prize.

“Ken and Thelma,” a memoir about researching Toole’s life and death and his mother’s quest, had been written by Joe Fletcher, who lives in Fredericksburg, and that sparked MacLauchlin’s interest.

The Rappahannock Independent Film Festival will screen a new award winning documentary film about the Toole, followed by a special panel discussion by the film's director, Joe Sanford, Toole friend and biographer, Joel Fletcher, and Toole scholar MacLauchlin.

Because of the limited capacity of the venue, there will be two screenings of the film. They will he held at The Fredericksburg Athenaeum, 109 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg on Saturday, May 8th at 7 p..m. and 10 p.m.

“There wasn’t an adequate biography,” MacLauchlin said. “I found myself wanting to know more and to tell a fair story about his life, which hadn’t been done yet, as many of his friends I’ve interviewed would attest.”

He called “A Confederacy of Dunces”: “a hilarious book. It’s the quintessential New Orleans novel. Toole was the only native New Orleansian to write a successful book about New Orleans and somehow capture its spirit.”

MacLauchlin said that when publishers kept saying no, Toole “fell into a deep depression and suffered from paranoia that people were after him. He beleieved his work had been stolen and had been published under another name.

“The pressures in his home were very intense. His mother was a very dominant personality and his father quite weak—physically and mentally ill… His freedom was his novel. When he couldn’t revise it and to satisfy Simon and Schuster, he put it away and found himself lost in a world he couldn’t get out of.”

Toole took most of his money out of the bank and hit the road for two months,” MacLauchlin said. “On the way back home, a few miles outside of New Orleans, in Biloxi, he decided to attach a garden host to his exhaust pipe and take his own life.”

“She finally cornered a publisher and forced him to read. He sent a note saying ‘It’s a genius work’--nothing had captured the spirit of that city as well.”

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Mary Washington Healthcare has earned the 2010 Virginia Community College System Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. MWHC was nominated for the award by Germanna Community College.

“Mary Washington Healthcare has been a strong supporter of our nursing program for years,” said Germanna Educational Foundation Director Mike Catell. MWHC donated $500,000 to the program last year, bringing its total over time to $1.4 million. “We’re very grateful for their commitment to Germanna and to meeting the rapidly growing demand for quality health care in our community.”

Catell said MWHC’s latest gift commitment of half a million dollars over five years, announced in May 2009, will support various nursing and health care programs, including the Jane R. Ingalls Nurse Educator Fellowship. MWHC is Germanna’s largest corporate benefactor, he said.

MWHC Vice President for Corporate Development & Community Affairs Xavier Richardson said: “Our company is a beneficiary of the product of community colleges, and we have an obligation to support them to ensure their continued success. Community colleges will continue to identify the future needs of our communities and propose solutions to address those needs.”

The Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy honors the leading philanthropists from each of Virginia’s 23 community colleges.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Retired Virginia Sen. John Chichester has been named the Germanna Community College Educational Foundation’s Distinguished Person of the Year.

Mike Catell, Director of the GCC Educational Foundation, said Chichester was chosen “because of his extraordinary commitment to higher education--in particular his support of the mission of community colleges.”

Mary Washington Healthcare is the title sponsor of the event.

Chichester was President Pro Tempore of the Virginia Senate when he announced his retirement in 2007.

He represented the 28th district in the Senate from 1978 to 2007. He initially entered that body by winning a special election following the death of Paul Manns, who had held the seat.

In 1985, the Republican Party nominated him for lieutenant governor, but he lost to Doug Wilder, who went on to become Virginia’s first African American governor since Reconstruction.

In 1995, Chichester became co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. When the Republicans took control of the Senate in 1999, he became the committee’s chairman, a position of power and prestige.

There will be a 6 p.m. reception on Thursday, June 3 at Fredericksburg Square, followed by dinner and an award presentation.

The dinner is $100 a plate, with all proceeds going to the Educational Foundation. Contact the Educational Foundation office at 540/423-9060 or foundation@germanna.edu for more information and to purchase tickets.

For sponsorship and other gift opportunities, please contact Darla Burton, Foundation Executive Committee member at 540/371-3566 or Mike Catell, Foundation Director at 540/834-8988

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

When the final donations came in last week, the Germanna Educational Foundation's 2010 Monte Carlo Casino Fundraiser 2010 held April 9 at the Daniel Technology Center raised a gross total of nearly $98,000 – more than $30,000 over the goal.

The net revenue total of more than $80,000 was a new record. That figure is $10,000 more than one announced soon after the event.

All proceeds go to the Germanna Guarantee Scholarship Program, which assists students in need who haven't received sufficient aid from other sources to attend college.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Two Germanna Community College students, Rosana Marzullo-Dove and Pamela Petzold, have been selected as 2010 COCA-COLA NATIONAL FINALISTS. Selection as a Coca-Cola Finalist is based on scores earned in the All-USA Academic Team competition. This program is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and is administered by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. As a NATIONAL FINALIST. Each is to receive a check for $1,000.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Germanna Community College President David A. Sam is one of 40 leaders from across the Commonwealth to be accepted for Lead Virginia’s class of 2010.

Lead Virginia consists of seven monthly sessions from April to November. It’s designed to challenge preconceived perceptions. Participants increase their knowledge and understanding of statewide issues.

Kenneth Ruscio, PhD., is president of Washington and Lee University and a member of the founding board of directors of Lead Virginia. He said the program is designed to “build social capital—that intangible resource in modern society that enables people to come together in an environment of trust in order to promote the common good… If true leadership is the ability to understand the needs and interests of those we serve, then there must be opportunities for leaders to acquire that broader perspective.

“Lead Virginia,” said Helm Dobbins, class of 2008, and Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of the American National Bank and Trust Company, “… inspires a group of already accomplished leaders to learn more, do more and help solve problems that, in many cases … reach beyond an individual’s own locality.”

Dr. Sam, who has been president of Germanna for three years, lives in Culpeper with his wife Linda.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center has given the nursing program at Germanna Community College extra reason to celebrate the New Year. The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Tobin, presented the college with a check for $100,000 Friday.

“Nursing schools are the lifeblood of a hospital’s workforce,” said Tobin. “This donation recognizes the vital work being done by Germanna, and it represents the beginning of what will surely be a strong and collaborative working relationship between our two organizations.”

"We at Germanna value and appreciate this second donation from HCA as further testimony of our growing and mutually beneficial partnership," Germanna President David Sam said. "Their support for and trust in our nursing program will be a vital factor in our ability to produce the increasing numbers of nurses and other health professionals desperately needed in our area, especially as the new Spotsylvania Medical Center opens its doors across the street from our campus entrance. This is a promising start for the New Year for Germanna, and those in our community who need our help, thanks to HCA."

HCA has donated a total of $150,000 to GCC.

Construction activity on the hospital and the adjacent Pogonia Medical Arts office building continue on schedule. The office building is expected to open its doors in March, with the hospital to follow in June. SRMC will add some 375 full-time jobs to the economy at that time, with more to follow as the hospital grows. “The countdown is on,” said Tobin. “Building a new enterprise from the ground up is a challenging but exhilarating experience, and our entire team is grateful for the ongoing support we’re receiving from physicians, the business community, county officials and others.”

About Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center: This technologically advanced, 126-bed hospital will open June 2010 on a 75-acre campus near Fredericksburg, just south of Exit 126 of Interstate 95 and adjacent to GCC's Fredericksburg Campus. It will have all private rooms and provide a wide range of in- and outpatient services, including 24-hour emergency care, obstetrics, advanced diagnostic imaging, intensive care, cardiac catheterization, orthopedics, and behavioral health services. Adjoining the hospital will be the Pogonia Medical Arts office building, an 80,000-square-foot complex that will house physician offices.

About HCA Virginia: HCA Virginia is the state’s most comprehensive healthcare network with two dozen locally managed hospitals and outpatient centers in Central, Southwestern, and Northern Virginia. With a workforce of more than 10,000, it is one of the state's largest employers and healthcare providers. Each year HCA Virginia facilities provide approximately $100 million in free charity care to needy patients and pays $100 million in taxes that support vital community services.

“Nobody wants to be politically honest about what’s really happening to our country. “We’re running out of time to live in denial. This is gonna come bite us.”--Futurist William Rowley

Dr. William Rowley is available for radio and print interviews. Contact Mike Zitz at 540/846-5163 or 540/846-5163

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Dr. William Rowley, a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Navy and a futurist at the Institute for Alternative Futures, says America can’t handle the truth when it comes to the health care reform debate.

The nation can cut its health care expenses by 75 percent by making simple lifestyle changes like doing things as simple as throwing away the TV remote so we have to move around more and eating meals with sensible portion sizes.

“The reality is that our lifestyle is the biggest disease we have in America--it’s killing us,” says Rowley, who will speak at Germanna Community College’s Daniel Center in Culpeper at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and at GCC’s Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Rowley trained as a vascular surgeon and has been chief executive officer of two medical centers and a large managed care organization.

He was chairman of the Department of Defense Military Health System 2020 research project, which studied the future of health care and its possible impact on military medicine. Rowley is particularly concerned about what this is doing to our children, but is encouraged by efforts like “Drop It: The 2010 Healthy Living Challenge,” which kicks with a fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 23 at Germanna Community College’s Daniel Center in Culpeper. That will be followed by a “Biggest Loser” type 12-week Weight Loss and Healthy Living Challenge with cash prizes of up to $1,000 for kids and prizes for kids including a Nintendo Wii with Wii Fit. Children are encouraged to make healthier choices, but not required to lose weight.

Culpeper Regional Hospital and Germanna are teaming on this effort to help Culpeper live healthier. Rowley’s talk is part of the Drop It campaign.

Rowley says: ”There are a couple of things health care reform does not tell us. No. 1 is that we’re creating far more disease than our society can afford to pay for. And that’s never gonna change unless we change our lifestyle.

“No. 2 is that we all assume that somebody else is paying for our health care. The reality is we are paying for everything. We pay for it with rising health insurance premiums. And if it’s not our insurance paying for it, it’s our taxes. About 50 percent of what’s paid for health care [already] comes out of governments.”

He notes that health care cost inflation has recently run at 17 percent a year and by 2020, will be 21 percent.

“Until we start honestly talking about what’s going on in our society and putting a limit on what a third party is required to pay and change our lifestyles, we can’t change it.

“Nobody wants to be politically honest about what’s really happening to our country.

“We’re running out of time to live in denial. This is gonna come bite us. And the lobbies are incredible powerful.”

But we have the power to change things ourselves.

He says a study a few year ago asked 175,000 adults four questions:

• Are you a non-smoker?
• Are you maintaining a normal body weight?
• Are you eating five fruits and vegetables a day?
• Do you get at least 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week—including walking?

Shockingly, only 1.5 percent of men and 4.2 percent of women said yes.

“That’s really pathetic,” Rowley says. “It’s not all that hard to get 30 minutes of walking in and eat five fruits and vegetables.”

Studies show 70 percent of premature death is lifestyle-related, Rowley says.

People who follow the simple guidelines above, he says, have:

• A 60 percent reduced risk of cancer
• A 90 percent reduced risk of diabetes
• “If you’re 60 and older, 50 percent of the illnesses and injusires could be eliminated if you just did those four simple things,” Rowley says. “Seventy-five percent of our health care costs could be prevented if we got people to modify their lifestyles”

• Today, 25 percent of Virginians are obese.
• Five years from now, 40 percent of all adults in Virginia will be obese.
• By 2030, almost 50 percent will be obese.
• “It is amazing how fast this came on,” says

An overweight 18-year-old has a 30 percent chance of developing diabetes. One who is obese has a 57 percent chance. One who is very obese has a risk of getting diabetes of 70 percent.

Rowley says the growing obesity problem is draining America’s coffers due to related health care expenses and crippling the nation’s economic productivity and competitiveness.

Rowley cited a Duke University study of its own employees that showed that severely obese employess filed twice as many workman compensation claims, had seven times higher medical costs and lots a whopping 13 times more days from work.

“In other words, as an employer, you cannot afford to have severely obese employees. They’re not capable of working up to their full potential and their costs are unbelievable.”

Today there 680,000 people in Virginia with diagnosed cases of diabetes. That’s 8.5 percent of the population, and that figure is underreported and growing.

Rowley says this year in Virginia there will be:

• About 755 new cases of blindness due to diabetes.
• About 1500 people need dialysis because of renal failure due to diabetes.
• Almost 2,400 are going to have amputations due to diabetes.
• In the past, people didn’t typically develop type 2 diabetes until their 50s, 60s and 70s.

“Unfortunately, now we’re seeing it even in teenagers and it’s not uncommon for people in their 40s,” Rowley says.

They’re going to die 10 to 14 years prematurely, he said. And they will have 18 to 21 years of life in which their quality of life is essentially cut in half.

“If you have an amputation and some other problems, maybe you lived all year, but your quality of life was maybe a half a year.” He says. “Get diabetes at age of 40, you lose 20 ‘quality life’ years. That means they’re gonna have an awful lot pain and suffering and [early deaths] due to heart disease, kidney failure, amputations and things like that. So this has a huge impact on our society.”

Seventy-two percent of seniors--those 65 and over—either have diabetes or have pre-diabetes, which means they will develop it unless they change their lifestyles.

There are 977,000 seniors in Virginia, and 165,000 have diagnosed cases of diabetes, another 140,000 have diabetes but they’ve never been never tested and almost 400,000 have pre-diabetes.

“In Virginia, 540,000 seniors desperately need to get tested,” Rowley said. “Either they have it or have pre-diabetes and they don’t know it.”

Rowley says we must face reality and make simple changes in our lifestyle.

“Unfortunately, once you get a chronic disease like diabetes or cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure, it’s very unlikely you’re gonna cure it. We can manage it with a lot of expensive medicines and other therapies. But once you get these diseases, they rarely go away.

“You’ve probably seen the commercial: ‘I’m struggling with my family finances. We’re in a recession. How dare you tax soft drinks?’ “ Rowley says. “ Well, one of the biggest changes for adolescents is school vending machines filled with soft drinks. It’s not unusual for kids to drink two or three 20 ounce bottles a day. You can get 800 to 1,000 calories just in our soft drinks.”

He says it’s vital that schools only stock vending machines with low-calorie drinks and parents make sure children’s meals consist of sensible portion sizes.

The food industry, he says, has turned America into a “obesigenic” society.

The last study of the American military, in 2005, showed that 62 percent of all active duty military were overweight,” he says, and that’s in a situation where people are required to train for endurance and are weighed twice a year.

“Today, the average American adult is eating 500 calories more a day than in the 60s or 70s. Kids eat 300 more. And 3,500 calories is a pound. You could be gaining a pound a week.

“Everything is supersized. If I go to McDonalds today and get a standard meal, that’s got 800 calories more than when I went to McDonalds in 1960 and got a standard meal. Eight hundred calories takes about three hours of vigorous physical activity to burn off.”

“We have no idea what we’re doing to our bodies,” he says.

“You can go to a restaurant and have a 1,000 calories as an appetitizer before you ever eat your meal.

“And we’ve redesigned out environment so you don’t need to get any physical activity and our work life so there’s no time anyway.

“Kids ride the bus to school and back, gym is eliminated to save money, then they go into the house and play video games and watch television,” he says.

“If 50 percent of the adults in Virginia are gonna be obese in the next 20 years, that shows you what’s going on. Society doesn’t want to deal with it.”

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Gov. Tim Kaine will cut the ribbon on Germanna Community College's new Stafford Center at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, July 29.

The fourth location of Germanna Community College-which will have four classrooms, computer labs, and office space-is expected to offer 52 classes this fall and serve approximately 1,000 students.

The Center is a partnership between GCC and Stafford Economic Development Authority, which has invested $300,000 over three years to promote economic development through Workforce training. The center will also meet anticipated needs associated with the BRAC expansion at Quantico and the new Stafford Hospital Center.

The event is open to the public Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. at Aquia Park, located at 2761 Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1) in North Stafford.

Germanna has been the fastest-growing college in Virginia for the past two years and now serves a total headcount of about 14,000.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

When Gov. Tim Kaine cut the ribbon to open Germanna's new Stafford Center on July 29, he said Virginia is rated the state best positioned to rebound from recession in part because of community colleges like GCC.

Kaine said he's counting on GCC and rest of the Virginia Community College System to help the Old Dominion recover from the recession --and to give its workforce an edge going forward.

"Community colleges play an important role, especially in a challenged economy," Kaine told a crowd of 200 at the opening of the GCC Stafford Center.

Germanna hopes to open a similar center in Caroline County in the not too distant future, school officials said, where it can make low-cost and transferrable academic classes and Workforce training more accessible to county residents.

The Stafford Center, which is the fourth Germanna location--has four state of the art classrooms, computer labs, and office space--is expected to offer 52 classes this fall and serve approximately 1,000 students.

The Stafford Center is a partnership between GCC and Stafford Economic Development Authority, which has invested $300,000 over three years to promote economic development through Workforce training. The center will also meet anticipated needs associated with the BRAC expansion at Quantico and the new Stafford Hospital Center. It's located at Aquia Park, just south of the intersection of U.S. 1 and State Route 610 in North Stafford, which is one of the fastest-growing and congested areas in the region.

GCC President David A. Sam said opening the Stafford Center during lean times signals Germanna's commitment to help the area bounce back from tough times and help build a new prosperity.

"This area needs us in bad times and in good," Sam said. "We promise that, no matter what happens, we will try to meet the needs of our area's students, parents and businesses."

Kaine said Virginia has been rated the state best positioned to rebound not just because of a positive business climate, but because of the competitiveness of its workers.

And when it comes to companies deciding where to relocate, the quality of Virginia's workforce is key, Kaine said.

"Whatever the price of oil is, talent is the most valuable asset," Kaine said. "Workforce is now the most important thing," and community colleges play a vital role in educating and training Virginia's workers to keep them competitive in the global economy. "Nothing else is even a close second."

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Germanna Community College continues to see measurable effects of the recession in terms of a surge of students applying for financial aid.

Michael Farris, Germanna's Financial Aid Coordinator, reports that applications for financial aid this year are up 67 percent as of Aug. 6 over 2008 at the same time. This is 104 percent increase over the same point in 2007.

Despite no increase in staff in the Financial Aid office because of state budget cuts, Farris and his colleagues have managed to keep up with this tremendous growth in demand.

Farris reports that students may still apply for financial aid right up to the start of classes. However, he notes that students' awards may not be ready in time to pay for classes. the longer that they wait.

Therefore, "... [the student] needs to be prepared to make payment at the time of registration. After the August 12th tuition due date has passed, payment is due at the time of registration. For these students, financial aid is used to reimburse for courses already paid for and cannot be processed quickly enough to reserve courses."

This dramatic increase in applications for aid is due to two things: 1) the economy is causing many more students to need assistance; and 2) Michael, his staff, and counselors and student affairs staff have done a tremendous job of reaching out to students and informing them in a timely way," GCC President David A. Sam said.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Germanna Community College’s 15th Annual Monte Carlo Casino Night returns to the Joseph R. Daniel Technology Center on April 18, 2009.

  The popular black tie event, which is the College’s biggest fundraiser each year, has firmly established itself as a highlight of the area’s social season while providing scholarship funds for the Germanna Educational Foundation’s Germanna Guarantee Program. That program ensures that students with financial need who cannot gather enough financial aid from other sources will get the funds necessary to fill in the gaps in paying for tuition and books.

 Doors and the bar open at 6:30 p.m. and gaming tables open at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $75 for the first person in a group, then $50 for each additional person. Sponsorship packages are available.

“Monte Carlo is the premier event in support of the Educational Foundation,” said its director, Michael Catell. Because of the economic downturn, he said, this year’s Monte Carlo event is especially important.

This year's goal is to raise $60,000 for Germanna Guarantee Program scholarships.

“As students’ financial needs continue to increase, the generous and loyal support of friends is more important than ever, and we are most grateful for that support.”

For more information contact the GCC Educational Foundation at 540.423.9060 or e-mail foundation@germanna.edu.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Dr. James Groves, Assistant Dean for Research and Outreach School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia will be presenting a program called "Produced in Virginia" that uses the community college system as

a pipeline for students into UVA for their Bachelor of Science

degree in engineering. Germanna plans to offer an Associate of

Science in Engineering starting in the Fall of 2009 and that it will

be aligned with the UVA program.

The "Produced in Virginia" presentation will take place on:

Thursday, April 9 6:00 – 7:30 PM at DTC in Room 221 and on

Tuesday, April 14 6:00 – 7:30 PM at FAC 1 in Room 212.

The "Produced in Virginia" program can be accessed at the

following web site. http://www.seas.virginia.edu/producedinva/

engsci.php. For more information contact Mark Gibson,

Engineering Program Director at (540) 834-1063 or E-mail:

mgibson@germanna.edu.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Germanna Community College will launch a new arts program at its Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2009 in cooperation with the Rappahannock Film Club.

 The Germanna Rappahannock Cinema Series will open with the classic 1962 French "Purple Noon."

The series is open to the public and there is a $3 registration fee.

The films will be offered in Sealy Auditorium in the Workforce Building of Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus, located just off U.S. 17 near Cosner's Corner in Spotsylvania County.

Mike Zitz
Director of Media and Community Relations
Germanna Community College
540/846-5163 mobile
mzbeckham@germanna.edu

Germanna President David A. Sam had asked Rep. Rob Wittman for help and the congressman responded.

"Regardless of where you may stand on earmarks," Dr. Sam said, "the good news for Germanna is that Congressman Wittman included an earmark in support of our nursing program and that it was approved by both houses and the president. We greatly appreciate Congressman Wittman's support. He recognizes what a critical need there is for nurses in our communities and that Germanna is the primary source of nurses for both the Fredericksburg and Culpeper areas. I have already spoken directly to Congressman Wittman expressing my thanks, and will send all of our Washington delegation letters of thanks."

"We will use these monies in support of our efforts to renovate and equip [Locust Grove Campus] building 800 as a Virtual Hospital, and other needs as suggested by the nursing department and approved by administration, " Dr. Sam said.

With 13,000 students, Germanna is the fastest-growing community college in Virginia and the ninth-fastest growing in the United States.

The following was approved for VCCS:

• $285,000 for Germanna Community College for nurse training, including purchase of equipment
• $95,000 for the Great Expectations program (statewide VCCS) including GCC.
• $190,000 for Danville Community College for the center of advanced manufacturing in wood products technology
• $190,000 for Eastern Shore Community College for purchase of equipment
• $95,150 for Northern Virginia Community College for an Alternative Energy project