Announcements

Press release:

Genesee Community College celebrated this year's Alumni Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on  Wednesday, March 19 at a reception that filled room T119 of Conable Technology Building with family and friends, some who arrived as a surprise from as far away as Alaska.

"We were delighted to have so many visitors join the celebration that recognizes the success of our alumni and extols their many accomplishments and community service," Jackie Christenson, alumni affairs coordinator said. "It was a moving moment listening to memories and how these GCC graduates find their way in the world with so many incredible achievements."

Lawrence Saupe, a 1989 GCC graduate, is now a Major in the New York Air National Guard, and anticipates being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in September of this year. He began his military service after graduating from Pembroke High School in 1982. He served as a crew chief for C-130 transport planes in Germany, graduating with honors from Flight Engineer School. After four years of active military service, Larry came to GCC in 1987, earning his associates degree in Engineering Science in 1989. He continued his studies at the University at Buffalo where he earned a bachelor's Degree in Aircraft Systems and bachelor's and master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering. His senior year was delayed when he was deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm. He earned two air medals and his crew received a special honor for rescuing three critically injured Marines under hazardous conditions.

Larry was a research and development engineer at Graham Corporation in Batavia for 10 years before taking a position in 2002 with General Electric in Schenectady, NY. After five years with GE, he joined the Knolls Atomic Power Lab in Niskayuna, NY, in 2007 where he currently serves as a thermal test engineer. While pursuing his professional career, Larry has remained in the Air Force as a reservist and currently serves as an Air Operations Strategist with the 174th Attack Wing in Syracuse.

"Overall I have always strived to build on previous education and experience and also to share what I have learned with others," Larry said. During his time at Graham he taught a Physics course at GCC. He is currently president of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Adirondack chapter and speaks often to groups about aircraft performance and weather.

Larry lives in Galway, NY, with his wife, Shelli, and stepdaughter, Allison. Besides flying, he also enjoys biking, kayaking, sailing, boating and snowmobiling. He will be introduced by his sister, Jeannie (Saupe) Burdick, a 1981 GCC alumna who is a professor/counselor at GCC.

Stephen Tarbell took to heart the advice of his Criminal Justice Professor Ronald Hallman who told his students to know their community, get involved, volunteer and be part of the problem-solving. After earning his Criminal Justice degree from GCC in 1978, Tarbell went to work for the Wyoming County Sheriff's Department. Over a 23-year career, he served as a deputy sheriff, scientific evidence technician, technical sergeant and investigator specializing in crime scene and fire investigations.

While working for the Sheriff's Department, Steve earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice/Public Administration/Accounting from Empire State College and a master's degree from the Nelson A. Rockefeller School of Criminal Justice at the University of Albany.

At the same time Steve began his career in public service. He served on the Warsaw Central School Board, on the Village Board and as deputy mayor of Silver Springs and as Wyoming County Youth Court coordinator. He served as town councilman for the Town of Castile and currently serves as the town supervisor. He is also a member of the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors and the Wyoming County Community Hospital Board of Managers.

Steve completed Leadership Wyoming and in 2013 received the program's Alumni Leaders Award. He has received numerous other awards including Wyoming County Deputy of the Year and Wyoming County Sheriff's Department Commendation Award, local, state and national awards for his service to youth, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice FBI Commendation.

Steve lives in Silver Lake with his wife of more than 30 years, Mary Pamela, who says "he still finds time to be a great father, husband and grandfather to his granddaughter who he adores." Steve's son and daughter-in-law, residents of Alaska, made a special surprise trip to Batavia for this ceremony.

The GCC Hall of Fame featuring photos of all inductees is located in the Conable Technology Building of the Batavia campus on the second floor corridor. For more information visit GCC's Hall of Fame Web site: http://www.genesee.edu/alumni/halloffame/

The YWCA's farmer's market is seeking vendors for the season.

"The Market @ North Street" runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday July to October.

Seeking vendors, crafters, entertainers. $10 per week or $7.50/week for full season commitment.
Phone (585) 343-5808.

 

The 2014-15 Genesee County Dairy Princess will be crowned at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 25, in Room T102 of the Conable Technology Building at Genesee Community College.

The public is welcome to learn about the county's dairy industry and watch the crowning of the Princess.

There will be cheese, ice cream, cake and punch served, too!

The Genesee County Dairy Princess Court is comprised of:

• Georgia Luft
• Emily Mikel
• Becca Slattery
• Mary Sweeney
• Carolyn Sybertz
• Kayla Wormut

The Le Roy Parent Teacher Service Organization will host a weeklong Scholastic Book Fair beginning Monday, March 24, at Wolcott Street School.

Hours will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 24-25; from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 26-27; and from 4 to 8 p.m. March 28.

Wolcott Street School is located at 2-6 Trigon Park. Find the Book Fair in Room 103.

Students, faculty and the community are invited to attend the event, which helps inspire children to become lifelong readers. Funds raised will help purchase books for classroom libraries at the school.

The Book Fair offers specially priced books and educational products, including popular series, award-winning titles, new releases, adult bestsellers, and other great reads from more than 100 publishers.

The Book Fair helps celebrate the monthlong Parents As Reading Partners initiative. Parents As Reading Partners — or PARP — is a collaborative effort among parents, staff, and community to build a reading partnership between the home and school. PARP programs encourage parents to read with their children for at least 15 minutes per day. Experts say learning to read is the single most important activity in a child’s education.

Book Fair customers may help the school build classroom libraries by purchasing books through the Classroom Wish List program. In addition, the Book Fair will feature the “All for Books” program, which allows youngsters to share the thrill of reading by donating loose change to purchase books from the Book Fair for students who can’t buy books and for classroom libraries.

Scholastic matches monetary donations with a donation of up to 1 million books, which go to national nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping families in need, such as the Kids in Distressed Situations and Kids In Need Foundation.

Byron Presbyterian Church will partner with FoodLink of Rochester to host a Mobile Food Pantry from 10 to noon this Saturday, March 22, at Byron Presbyterian Church, 6293 W. Main St. (Route 262), Byron.

The exact food items available are not known, but fresh produce will be available. No financial documentation is required to receive food items, but those receiving food will be asked to sign in. The food items must be for your household unless you have signed documentation from an individual to pick up items for them.

The Mobile Food Pantry is available to residents of the Byron Bergen School District, but we will distribute to anyone who resides in Genesee County. There is no income verification required, but you must be 18 years old to pick up food from the pantry. Please provide your own bags/cart/vehicle to transport items to your home.

For more information, call Byron Presbyterian Church at (585) 548-2800.

The little lasses from the McMahon School of Irish Dance perform on St. Patrick's Day, Monday, March 17, at the following locations:

• 9 a.m. / Oakfield-Alabama School, 7001 Lewiston Road, Oakfield
• 10 and 10:40 a.m. / John Kennedy School, 166 Vine St., Batavia
• 1:15 p.m. / Jackson School, 411 S. Jackson St., Batavia
• 2:15 p.m. / Manor House, 427 E. Main St., Batavia
• 6 p.m. / Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia

Press release:

Sign-ups for the Alexander Youth Football & Cheerleading Program -- the Tri-Town Trojans -- will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, in the foyer of Alexander Elementary School. It is located at 3314 Buffalo St.

On this day only entrants can save $20, so football will be $80 and cheer $130 on March 29.

There are no weight restrictions.

Teams, with ages as of Dec. 1, 2014, consist of:

• Beginner -- Ages 6-7
• Mini -- Ages 8-9
• Junior Varsity -- 10-11
• Varsity -- 12-13

Tri-Town is proud to be a part of the NOFA Youth Football/Cheer League. Our coaches are trained in heads-up football, and teach the proper tackling techniques to our athletes. We are looking forward to an exciting 2014 season.

For questions or more information, contact Ken Proefrock at (585) 794-6034, or Kris Kramer at (716) 892-1441.

The Second Annual Collin Crane Memorial event to raise money to help young hockey players is at 9 a.m. Saturday March 15 at Falleti Ice Rink, located at 22 Evans St. in the City of Batavia.

The scholarship fund helps pay fees for Ramparts hockey when a child's family is financially strapped.

There will be basket raffles for a Chinese auction, including special raffle items such as autographed sports memorabilia and gift certificates, 50/50, a bake sale and concessions.

Press release:

The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (a.k.a. GO ART!) is proud to present "COMFORT ZONE," a new feature-length documentary exploring the effects of climate change on Upstate New York, to be shown at 3 p.m. on on Saturday, April 12, in the Conable Technology Building at Genesee Community College.

This will be following the Kids ECO-fest, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day at GCC.

The film was produced and directed by Upstate New York residents Kate Kressmann-Kehoe, Sean P. Donnelly and Batavia native David S. Danesh. The screening (67 mins.) will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers.

GO ART! is delighted to be partnering with Genesee Community College on this special screening. Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members and will be available for sale at GO ART! and online at www.goart.org <http://www.goart.org>. For more information, contact GO ART! at 585-343-9313 or info@goart.org.

"COMFORT ZONE" takes an in-depth look at what happens when global climate issues come to our backyard. It candidly examines the pragmatic reality of climate change’s effect on everyday life in a Northeastern setting.

“There are a lot of things here we take for granted that could be gone, and it would be a very different place,” said co-producer Kressmann-Kehoe.

The film highlights how New York residents' daily lives will be affected, from winter sports to apple picking to gardening.

“If we take New York and we warm it up four degrees that’s like moving it to almost Virginia,” said Art DeGaetano, professor of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University.

John Tarduno, professor of Geophysics, University of Rochester, said: “I used to teach my students in introductory classes that when we had climate change issues, that these were things that could take hundreds of thousands of years. We now know from the ice core records that decade time scales can be involved, which changes everything.”

Arming the community with the right information was a goal for the filmmakers.

“I want to see us do the right thing as a society and we are not going to do the right thing if we don’t have the right information,” said co-producer Donnelly.

The film doesn’t shy away from the difficulty of changing course.

“The threat to our way of life is huge," said Rochester-based author Bob Siegel. "Everything we do is completely dominated by the use of fossil fuels. It’s pulling the rug out from under all of us."

Despite the serious topic, the film has a light touch. Viewers are coming along on a journey of discovery with the filmmakers, not being lectured at or told what to do. Humorous animated sequences provide both information and relief.

The film also explores deeper spiritual and psychological dimensions of our responses to the issue.  “If the people on this planet need to change the way they live, how will they? I believe this is the burning question of our time,” said co-producer Danesh.

"Comfort Zone" is an independently produced documentary. It was funded by the three filmmakers and a crowd-sourcing campaign via Indiegogo. No organization or outside funder had input on the content or message.

Press release:

The Coalition for Healthy Children and Families asks for your support for an afternoon of bowling and fun to support a healthy, active lifestyle and prevent childhood obesity. Individuals, businesses and organizations -- please consider sponsoring the "Get Fit Bowl-A-Thon" on Sunday, March 23, at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia.

There will be two bowling sessions: 12:30-2:30 p.m. or 3-5 p.m. The cost to bowl is $12 per person or $60 per lane (group of six). Included in the above costs are shoe rentals, food, and beverage. If you are interested in sponsoring a lane, the cost is $100 for one lane or $150 for two lanes.

There will also be raffles and a grand prize drawing for participants. If you’re interested in donating toward our raffles or sponsoring a lane, please contact Holly Sharpe via phone at 344-1664 or e-mail at hsharpe@glowymca.org

“Get Fit” is a 12-week healthy lifestyle program offered by the Coalition for Healthy Children and Families incorporating physical activity & nutrition education. The coalition consists of community organizations and medical professionals in Genesee County, including United Memorial Medical Center, YMCA of Genesee Area, Batavia Pediatrics (Dr. Lalit Jain), Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County, City of Batavia Youth Bureau, and Genesee County Health Department. They are all committed to making a difference in the lives of local residents and families.

Donations and sponsors can be dropped off or mailed to:

YMCA-Batavia
Attn: Holly Sharpe
209 E. Main St.
Batavia, NY 14020

Press release:

BATAVIA -- YWCA is seeking vendors to sell assorted products including vegetables, meats, cheeses, honey, jams, jellies, maple syrup, baked goods, fruits, herbs, flowers and other agricultural-related items for its weekly Market at North Street set to begin early this summer. It
will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays from July to October.

Tables are $10 per week or 25-percent off for vendors who commit to the entire season. The Market has been growing with its offerings and customers, and YWCA staff plans to further that success this year. Crafters may book up to two Sundays each on a first come, first served
basis. This will allow for more variety of artisan-style items each week.

"We welcome anyone interested in selling your locally grown or produced goods as part of our ongoing effort to empower small business in Genesee County and the surrounding area," Executive Director Jeanne Walton said. "Our Farmers’ Market emphasizes an ongoing relationship with all local agricultural producers. It is designed to highlight their work and celebrate their significant contributions to our community."

Entertainers are also invited to participate in the Market with your talents of singing, acting, bellydancing, yoga or whatever it may be. It's a great opportunity for exposure to the public while providing a fun and entertaining Market experience, Walton said.

For an application or to get more information, call (585) 343-5808.

WHAT:  The Market @ North Street
WHEN:  10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays (July to October)
WHERE: YWCA of Genesee County, 301 North St., Batavia
 

A Civil War Tea Party and Fashion Show will be held at the Holland Land Office Museum from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. Cost is $20 per person.

You will be entertained by period music featuring soprano Amy Savino, a 1860s era fashion show by Dona LaValle and learn about “The Language of the Fan” from Rita Reichle.

Please call for your reservation 585-343-4727. Seating is limited. Period dress is optional. You may e-mail us at hollandlandoffice@gmail.com  for more information or check our Web site and Facebook page.

Registration for Batavia Minor Leagues baseball will be inside the Batavia Country Mall, outside of Sunny's Restaurant, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 7th.

Children in the Batavia area between ages 5 and 17 are invited to play.

Registration fee is $50 due at time of sign-up. The fee will increase to $75 for any player registered after March 7th.

For more information, call 409-6779.

Press release:

First Community Interfaith Institute. Inc., (a spiritual and cultural organization plus a teaching church based in Southeast Rochester) is paying homage to a former Batavia resident for its Women’s History Month observation at 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 9, 219 Hamilton St. in Rochester.

Mary Bailey (1932-2005) was a trustee of First Community Interfaith Institute, Inc. She was one of the Institute’s strongest supporters and she worked for the success of First Community Interfaith Institute, Inc.

She was the mother of Sylvester Johnson and the grandmother of Stacey Johnson. In 1986, Sylvester, Stacey and a friend of Stacey were killed in a sudden and tragic car accident involving an emergency vehicle outside the current Six Flags at Darien Lake.

Until she passed, Mrs. Bailey was instrumental in organizing the annual Sylvester and Stacey Johnson Memorial in both Batavia and Rochester. First Community Interfaith Institute, Inc., was founded in 1970 by National Minister Lawrance Lee Evans under the philosophy of “Doology.” It offers spiritual and cultural programs all year round, and as a teaching church, it operates a tutoring program geared to the needs of both youth and adults.

Press release:

Genesee Community College is pleased to announce Tracy Merritt has been named February 2014 Employee of the Month. Tracy is a technical specialist in the Office of Assessment and Institutional Research.

In her role, Merritt is focused on Academic Assessment, working with faculty and administrators to collect assessment data, increase awareness of assessment activities and use of assessment results. She also works to maintain and continuously improve tools to aid in collecting assessment data.

"We have a tremendous group of dedicated instructors and staff here at GCC and my position allows me to meet and work with many of them," Merritt said. "I feel fortunate and proud to be part of GCC's Institutional Research and Assessment team."

In naming her Employee of the Month, the College noted that "Tracy is an exceptionally conscientious employee who routinely goes above and beyond to provide service to the faculty, administrators and coworkers at the College. She played a major role in improving several areas of our assessment process over the last year that resulted in improved communication and understanding of the assessment tools."

Merritt is a lifelong resident of LeRoy. She and her husband of 26 years, Gary, have two adult children, Gary and Sarah. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, genealogy, decorative painting and reading.

Genesee Community College is also pleased to announce Jordan Tillotson has been named the February 2014 Student of the Month. A 2012 graduate of Pavilion Central School, he is pursuing degrees in both Liberal Arts and Sports Management at GCC.

Jordan is an outstanding student and has been on the President's List all three of his semesters. He is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. One of his favorite things about GCC is that it's "such a close-knit community." The College notes that Jordan "is a leader among his peers and often has newer students turning to him for advice."

After graduating from GCC this spring, Jordan plans to transfer to Syracuse University where he'll work toward a bachelor's degree in Sport Management. His dream job would be as a Division One college basketball coach. He currently coaches youth sports in his hometown and serves as a referee as well. Jordan offers special thanks to members of the GCC athletic department "for helping me with whatever it may be." The College salutes Jordan for being "an excellent role model."

Jordan is the son of Chris and Chad Tillotson, and has one sister, Taylor, and a brother Devin.

Press release:

Genesee Community College is pleased to offer students a new way to share their college achievements online and through social media. The College has posted the first set of achievements, the President's List and Dean's List honors, to student Merit Pages.

Merit is a social media utility developed by readMedia of Albany, NY. GCC has long utilized readMedia to distribute news releases and student accomplishments to local newspapers. Merit allows the College to provide an individual Web page to each student where (s)he can better track and share all of their achievements, both inside the classroom as well as extracurricular accomplishments.

"This new tool will help our students record and share their many successes through their college years and beyond into their careers," said Donna Rae Sutherland, associate director of Marketing Communications.

How it works

The College has established its main Merit page at http://genesee.meritpages.com. This site posts all of GCC's student achievements collectively, for example, the comprehensive list of all students being recognized on the College's Dean's and President's Lists for a semester. Students won't have their individual Merit Page until their first achievement is announced, and then they "claim" their achievement. Once a student claims his or her first achievement, it is reflected on that student's individual Merit page with a badge and summary. From there, the student can share it on other social media venues, such as Facebook and Twitter. There are now hundreds of students who can claim their Dean's and President's achievements and begin personalizing their individual Merit pages with additional postings, photos and badges.

"Merit pages make it much easier for families to see their student's accomplishments and share them throughout their network of friends and family," said Jackie Vetrano, Web and social media coordinator at GCC. "Students who are already savvy with social media will find this to be an even better way to tell their friends and prospective employers about their accomplishments."

Vetrano advises students who've earned Dean's List or President's List honors for Fall 2013 to check their e-mail and their spam folders to make sure they claim their achievements.

ReadMedia launched Merit in February 2013. GCC is one of many colleges utilizing it.

"We wanted to do our due diligence in making sure this would be beneficial for our students," Sutherland said, emphasizing that students who do not wish to publicize their achievements can easily "opt-out" of doing so.

"We're pleased to offer this opportunity to our students and their families. It's a simple and effective way for them to share all their achievements from academic successes, to participation in athletic teams, student clubs and college events. With the help of social media, Merit helps students build a portfolio that will impress potential employers."

Press release:

On Saturday, Feb. 22, the Genesee County 4-H Youth Development Program held its annual public presentations event at Byron-Bergen Middle/High School. More than 100 4-H youths countywide participated.

Ranging from ages 5 to 18, they gave public presentations in front of their peers and a panel of volunteer judges. Presentations included everything from illustrated talks to live demonstrations and even impromptu topics. Each presentation was at least five minutes, but no longer than 15 minutes.

By participating in this event, 4-H youth improve their public speaking skills while developing self-confidence, poise, self-esteem, stage presence and knowledge, giving them an advantage over their peers in this lifetime skills area. These skills will be useful in their future social, educational and career pursuits.

Congratulations to all of the Genesee County 4-H youth who participated! Great job!
For more information regarding local opportunities in 4-H Youth Development call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County at 343-3040, ext. 101, or e-mail genesee4h@cornell.edu

Press release:

Genesee Community College is pleased to announce that more than three dozen of its programs have been given the Distance Education designation from the New York State Education Department. This designation is awarded when 50 percent or more of a program's coursework is available online. GCC now has 40 programs with at least 50 percent of their courses available through online learning.

"We're excited to grow our online offerings for students," said Craig Lamb, dean of Distributed Learning at GCC. "Many learners are leaning toward educational options that remove many of the time and place constraints found in higher education. This is especially true for individuals juggling important responsibilities in their lives."

The convenience of learning online, along with GCC's affordability, makes the College an attractive option for a variety of populations:

•    Working adults who have schedules that make returning to college a challenge;

•    Individuals with family and community commitments who need flexible study options;

•    Individuals looking to advance in their career or to transfer who are unable to engage in an on-site educational experience.

"GCC's online courses are of the same high quality as our on-site courses," Lamb said. "The majority of our online offerings are taught by our full-time GCC faculty. Additionally, our online courses cost a fraction of what for-profit online education providers charge."

GCC offers 15 degrees and certificates that can be earned fully online including Business Administration, Criminal Justice and Supply Chain Management.

"These are rigorous programs that lead to career advancement and transfer into bachelor's degree programs," Lamb said.

Additionally, there are 10 degree and certificate options with 75 percent of the coursework available online and 15 degrees and certificates with half the coursework available online.

Students interested in exploring online learning options can visit the Online Learning page of GCC's Web site at http://www.genesee.edu/online. There they can easily see all of the programs the College offers and how much of each one can be completed online.

For more information, contact GCC's Office of Online Learning at (585) 345-6969 or online@genesee.edu.

At 6:30 p.m. on March 13, United Memorial Medical Center will host a free community health talk with Andrea Zucchiatti, M.D., in the Cary Hall Medical Library, 211 E. Main St., Batavia. The subject is thyroid and parathyroid disease.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck, just above the collarbone. It is one of the endocrine glands, which produces hormones. Thyroid hormones control the rate of many activities in the body, including metabolism and heart rate. Though their names are similar, the thyroid and parathyroid glands are completely different. The parathyroid glands make parathyroid hormone (PTH), which helps the body keep the right balance of calcium and phosphorous. If the parathyroid glands make too much or too little hormone, it disrupts this balance.

This event is open to the community and there is no charge for attendance. Light refreshments will be served. Please call (585) 344-5331 to reserve a seat.

United Memorial is pleased to announce a new community outreach program called “Ask a Nurse.”

Ask a Nurse will be held on the first Tuesday of each month from 9 -11 a.m. in the Jerome Center Lobby at 16 Bank St., Batavia, and on the third Tuesday of each month from 9-11 a.m. in the main lobby of the hospital at 127 North St., Batavia.

A registered nurse will be present during these times to answer health-related questions, check blood pressures, review medications, and provide diabetes risk assessments. The program is free and open to the public on a walk-in basis. No appointments are necessary.

Both the Jerome Center and United Memorial Medical Center are handicap accessible and offer convenient parking near the main entrances.