The Superintendent’s Leadership Class (SLC) at Northwest Technology Center participated in a session on business etiquette in the NWTC Seminar Room in Alva on November 20. The session entitled, “Dress for Success and Basic Business Etiquette” was led by Dianna Waldschmidt, retired Business and Industry Health Services Coordinator for NWTC. Waldschmidt presented the importance of professional attire and behavior that should be used in a business setting.

Before the presentation began the students participated in an ice breaker. This allowed students to get acquainted with other SLC students.

During the seminar, students learned about the different types of business attire. Topics covered included interview attire, business meetings, and business casual attire. NWTC Alva student, Dianna Gonzalez said, “I learned the importance of putting yourself together and appropriate conduct.” Several faculty members also participated in a style show to demonstrate different types of business attire. This allowed the students to see “real life” examples of what is appropriate in different work settings.

After the seminar the students gathered in the Ranger Room on the campus of Northwestern Oklahoma State University for the dinning etiquette portion of the day. “ I enjoyed the dinner, and learning about the proper use for knives, forks and napkins” said SLC Member, Marshall Whitley. A five course meal and formal dining utensils were presented to the students along with proper dining skills.

In the photo above, Conner Whitely, Marshall Whitely and Brandy Nunn learn the proper way to pass bread during the Dining Etiquette Seminar held for Northwest Tech’s Superintendent’s Leadership Class.

SLC students from NWTC Alva, NWTC Fairview, and High Plains Tech Center in Woodward participated in this event. They included (Alva Campus) Dianna Gonzalez, Matt Appleton, EmmaRae Cook, Kelsey Miller, Kelsi Starks, Taelor McClure, Brieanna McClure, Tanner McGehee, Shane Murrow, Connor Whitley, Marshall Whitley. (Fairview Campus) Jessica Zweifel, Charlie Hess, Skylar Kerr, Brandy Nunn, Brittany Pester, Braden Smith, Nataly Trejo, Connor White. (Woodward) Kali Watson, Aubrey Clark, Braton Cloyd, Shivani Gandhi, J.W. Goldmith, Heather Gunn, David Gutierrez, David Johnson, Katherine Lemcool, Breanna Nerr, Tony Ramirez, Kristin Ramos, Brittany Roberts, Tanner Schmitz, Clayton Schroeder.

Twenty-two area first responders participated in Anhydrous Ammonia Training. The training was provided by Northwest Technology Center and Woods County Emergency Management. The following area entities sent representatives to the training: Jett Emergency Management, Woods County Emergency Management,
Alva Farmers Co-op, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Waynoka Fire Department, Alva Fire Department, City of Nash, Hawley Fire Department, American Red Cross and the Freedom Fire Department.

The course was created by Transcaer in cooperation with BNSF Railway. It is a training program that helps to prevent or mitigate an incident involving Anhydrous Ammonia. It is designed for first responders in
communities where the chemical is manufactured, stored, shipped or transported. The training included both classroom and hands-on training.

The classroom portion of the training was held at Northwest Technology Center. The hands-on portion of the training was held on the railroad tracks near the location of the former Alva Roller Mills.

What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s a question often asked of kids, and recently, Northwest Technology Center’s Fairview Campus hosted a Career Fair in an effort to inspire area students begin to thinking about the answer to that question. Recently, over 100 sixth grade students from Fairview, Ringwood and Aline-Cleo attended an event designed for them to explore and learn about career options.

Students spent the day rotating through seven career clusters that included Agriculture, Construction, Healthcare, Personal Service, Business, Communications and Transportation. Facilitators presented information about their careers and students were then invited to try out some hands-on skills in each career cluster. During the break between the a.m. and p.m. career sessions, students burned off some energy in an exercise session led by Northwest Tech’s Health Careers class before being served lunch by Northwest Tech’s Culinary class. In the photo above, students in the Construction Career Cluster learn about how technology is used in this career field.

Facilitators for the seven career clusters included KOFM radio, Farmers and Merchants Bank of Fairview, Major County EMS, Northwest Tech Center’s Ag Business Management program, Major County Commissioners District 2, Major and Dewey County Sheriff’s Department and Northwest Tech’s Construction program.

The Career Fair was coordinated by Patty Lovell, Guidance Counselor/Financial Aid Director, Jane Harris, Career Center Instructor and Debra Button, Health Careers Instructor at Northwest Technology Center.

A Ringwood student’s thank you note to the tech center summed up the event well. “It was really fun, and everyone had a great time from learning about the medical industry, to getting the chance to be on the radio. And the lunch was good too.”

Next year’s event is already on the calendar for October and the Career Fair Committee is excited about getting even more area sixth graders involved in learning about career opportunities.

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Congrats to Elaine Hutchinson who was selected Oklahoma's Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Hutchinson was one of twelve finalists who were recognized at a luncheon yesterday at the Oklahoma State Fair. She was presented the award during the luncheon. She will go on to represent Oklahoma as the National Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Hutchinson teaches Math at Fairview High School and also teaches for the Oklahoma School of Science and Math.

Dr. Carl Newton of Cherokee was appointed to the Northwest Technology Center Board of Education and approved at the recent September School Board Meeting. Newton will complete the term of Max Ott, who is moving out of the school district. He will represent the Cherokee area. Pictured are (l to r): Stan Kline, Board Member, Dr. Gerald Harris, NWTC ‘s Superintendent, congratulating Dr. Newton. Other board members include: Dean Meyer of Cleo Springs, Butch Edingfield of Fairview and Tom Russell of Freedom.

During the last week of May, middle school students from throughout the area gathered at Northwest Technology Center in Fairview for Tech Camp 2012. The two day camp allowed students to select one area of interest and explore career options in that field. These students participated in the Jr. Chef Camp facilitated by Jon Buller, Culinary and Landscaping instructor at Northwest Technology Center in Fairview. These young ladies took a break from preparing marinara sauce to pose for a photograph. They are left to right: Taylor McKinney (Fairview), Sarah Steinbach (Fairview), Madison Souter (Fairview), Lauren Cox (Canton), Kylee Pameticky (Fairview), Brooke Burnett (Ringwood) and Ryli Powell (Ringwood).

As the oil and gas industries are booming, the demand for qualified truck drivers is increasing, with fewer candidates available to meet the demand than is needed.

“I know one oilfield company who is looking for over 500 drivers right now,” said Dan Case, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Trucking Association. “The US needs about 200,000 more full-time drivers this year – the trucking industry is overwhelmed.”

As a result of this need, Central Technology Center’s Truck Driver Training program began partnering with technology centers across the state. “We were approached by Northwest Technology Center in Alva about the possibility of providing driver training for specific companies in their area,” said Robert McClanahan, Director of Transportation & Safety Education at Central Tech. The oil industry in Oklahoma has experienced tremendous growth, especially in Northwest Oklahoma.

Central Tech began training with Northwest Technology Center in Alva in March 2011.”

“Since the program began, we have trained 65 drivers,” said Charlotte Hadwiger, Business and Industry Service Director, Northwest Technology Center in Alva, Okla. “The starting salaries for these individuals are between $40,000 per year to $125,000 per year. The companies that we work with are thrilled with our students.”

The program has also expanded training to Northwest Technology Center’s Fairview campus, to Autry Technology Center in Enid, and High Plains Technology Center in Woodward will be starting training in the next few months.

“We are in desperate need of truck drivers in our area and we have continual inquires on how to enroll in the truck driver training classes,” said Steve Kliewer, Business and Industry Services Director at Northwest Technology Center in Fairview. “The training comes from an organization with a great reputation for training truck drivers and this curriculum has been specifically developed to address the needs of oil and gas industry in our area.

The ability for Central, Canadian Valley, Autry, Northwest and High Plains Technology Centers to work together to provide training for area businesses is a testament to CareerTech’s dedication to serving business and industry. “To become a professional driver, it’s absolutely necessary to go through formal training to get the basics, learn the industry, equipment, rules and regulations of the trucking industry,” McClanahan said.

Options like the Truck Driver Training class are popular for adults looking to learn a new trade and start a new career. The short timeframe of 23 training days, with more than 50 hours of driving time, enables students to get to work quickly.

The demand for qualified drivers is high, and graduates of Central Tech’s Truck Driver Training program have a 98 percent placement rate. Graduates can expect to earn $40,000 annually in general industries, with salaries reaching $50,000 to $90,000 plus annually in the oil and gas industry.

Full-time graduates of the Oklahoma CareerTech system elevate the Oklahoma Economy by more than $2.4 Billion annually. Full-time graduates account for a small percentage of total enrollments in CareerTech programs, as it does not include individuals who choose to continue their education, or those who take advantage of Business and Industry Services, or those who participate in short-term courses.