Members of SkillsUSA visit Byesville Rotary

Pictured: George Bell, SkillsUSA advisor; Courtney Griffith, President Mid East SkillsUSA; Alicia Harper, VP Mid East Skills USA; and Becky Brunner, Speaker Host.

Two students from Mid-East Technical and Career Center, Buffalo Campus, explained to the Byesville Rotary how the student organization, SkillsUSA, helps develop student skills and encourage all members to become active examples of the organization’s motto “Champions at Work.”
 

Courtney Griffith, president of the Mid East club and treasurer for the south east region, and Alicia Harper, vice president of the Mid East club, described SkillsUSA as a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. They explained that the skills they are able to develop through the Skills USA programs help each student excel.

   

The students, wearing distinctive red, SkillsUSA sports jackets, talked about a recent trip to Washington DC. Harper said, “The trip was life changing.” They met people such as the state Senator, made new friends, and learned from each other. Harper stated that she is able to apply skills learned through SkillsUSA in her current job. Some of those skills included time management, showing effort on the job, and arriving on time for work.

Griffith added that Skills USA also works to prepare students for leadership roles and prepares students to make a good first impression during an interview. She said that in their labs at Mid East, students are evaluated on the occupational skills they are learning, how they communicate, appearance, and how they interact with others.

More than 300,000 students and advisors join SkillsUSA annually. The organization is organized into more than 17,000 sections and 52 state and territorial associations. SkillsUSA's mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens.

 

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chair Jim Vaughan, 740-260-2969. More information about the Byesville Rotary can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283

 

Young business professionals speak to Byesville Rotary

Pictured: Alex Calvert, VP Business Professionals of America; Robey Bates, President Business Professionals of America; and Becky Brunner, Speaker Chair for October.

Two students from the Mid-East Career and Technical Center Buffalo Campus who are members of the Business Professionals of America (BPA) organization spoke to the Byesville Rotary at the Tuesday meeting.

Robey Bates, President of the Business Professional of American at Mid-East, and Alex Calvert, Vice President, explained that the aim of their organization is to develop leadership, academic, and technological skills for the workplace in students. They pointed out that BPA is the leading Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students preparing for careers in business management, office administration, information technology, and related fields. The organization currently has 43,000 members in over 2300 chapters in 23 states.

Bates and Calvert are good representatives of BPA’s motto, “Today’s students. Tomorrow’s business professionals.” Bates intends to take classes in computer programming, and plans to attend Kent State. Calvert said that he, “…loves computers especially fixing and repairing them." He plans to attend Kent State or Hocking College and become a computer programmer. His long-term plan is to own his own computer repair shop. 

Bates pointed out that students in the computer program at Mid-East are already involved in the business of repairing computers. They will fix computers for a $5.00 fee. Turnaround time is typically 24 hours. The students can repair any Apple product. Repairs are limited to software only. 

When asked what computer problem was the most common, Bates immediately replied, “Viruses.” 

Members of BPA are preparing to take part in local competitions which will test their skills and knowledge in various areas of computer technology such as their knowledge of computer terms or ability to troubleshoot a computer problem. Mid East students hope to do well locally and qualify for state competition. 

Sharon Miller, Interact advisor, announced that the Meadowbrook Interact Club plans to hold a Halloween dance on October 25. The dance will also be the kick-off for the club’s Christmas food drive.

Rotary District Governor encourages Byesville to extend their Rotary family

Pictured: Bart Mahoney, District Governor 2013014, and Dennis Harding, President Byesville Rotary.

Bart Mahoney, District Governor of Rotary District 6690, spoke at the Byesville Rotary morning meeting. Mahoney is a member of the Whitehall-Bexley Rotary Club. He was accompanied by his wife Kathleen who is president of the Pataskala Rotary Club.

Mahoney stated that he is excited about the 2013-14 Rotary year and eager to continue the momentum created by previous District Governors Rosenthal and Brown. The 2013-14 Rotary theme is “Engage Rotary. Change Lives.” Mahoney admitted that at first he was not sure what the theme meant. He has come to realize that the theme encourages Rotarians to become engaged beyond Rotary and work with non-Rotarians and other organizations to change lives.

Mahoney encouraged club members to consider Rotary an extended family. Club members can do this by changing their definition of family to include other Rotarians, by doing business with fellow Rotarians, by reaching out and supporting Rotarians who are facing challenges, by setting an example of service to their children, and by developing personal relationships with other Rotarians that are similar to relationships between family members.

As District governor he has asked that each club president in the district make a donation to the Rotary Foundation. Donations to the Foundation are used to support Rotary service projects. People who donate $1000 to the Foundation become Paul Harris Fellows in recognition of their commitment to Rotary. The 2013-14 class of club presidents is the first group of club presidents that have been asked to make a personal donation. Mahoney is proud that District 6690 is 1 of 42 districts world-wide to have achieved the distinction of having every club president in the District make a donation to the Paul Harris Fellow program. He awarded Dennis Harding, the current Byesville Rotary president, a “1^st Class” button in recognition of his participation.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chair Jim Vaughan, 740-260-2969. More information about the Byesville Rotary can be found at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283

Byesville Rotary learns honey is more than a sweetener

Pictured: Darrell Hopps, guest speaker, and Jamie Hopps, speaker host.

Guest speaker Darrell Hopps, a local bee keeper, told the Byesville Rotary that beekeeping is one of the world’s oldest professions. Bee keeping is mentioned in the Bible and in some of the earliest know written and pictorial records. Hopps reported that archeologists in Egypt discovered a 2000-3000 year old jar of honey. When the jar was opened, the honey was edible. Honey is almost indestructible and many people consider it the perfect food.

Hopps described the contributions bees make to humans. Honey is an important and healthy sweetener that contains many vitamins and minerals needed by humans. He explained that because honey sold in stores has been heated to 160˚, the vitamins and minerals are destroyed. Honey has traditionally been used to treat coughs and burns. Doctors are rediscovering honey’s effectiveness to treat burn victims.

Hopps stated that bees pollinate 65% of the food plants humans use for food. Without bees, food production would go down and costs could go up.

In spite of their usefulness to humans, bees are struggling to survive. Humans are a bee’s most dangerous enemy. Humans use deadly sprays to kill weeds or insects they consider pests. Bees become collateral damage because the poisons in the sprays migrate to the plant pollen and are taken back to the hive where the poison kills bee larva.

Hopps pointed out that people—including beekeepers—do not like to be stung. When a bee comes to investigate people who smell nice, people tend to swat at the bee. The bee feels threatened, and, since every bee has a stinger carry permit and a stinger, the bee will take action when it feels threatened.

Hopps advised people to avoid looking or smelling like a flower. Do not wear flowery perfume, lotion, or hair preparations and do not wear bright or flower patterned clothing. Do not swat at the bee. Let it smell you and go back to its hive where it will tell the rest of the bees that you are not a good food source.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chair Jim Vaughan, 740-260-2969.