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>GC Holds Commencement For 106 Grads From Age 19 To 66

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May. 19, 2011

The Garrett Highlands Pipes and Drums led the academic procession for the 39th commencement ceremony at Garrett College on Saturday.

Following an invocation by Elizabeth Grant, director of liberal arts and justice studies, President Richard L. MacLennan welcomed all in attendance and addressed the students.

“You have worked hard to get here today but you were not alone. You had the support of others,” he said, and then asked parents, grandparents, spouses, and children of the graduates to stand and be acknowledged.

Dr. MacLennan then rec-ognized the role of the faculty and staff in preparing the students for this achievement.

“Today we honor 106 graduates. The youngest is 19 and the oldest is 66,” he noted. “Those of you who are transferring to other colleges may be interested to know that last year Garrett College transfer students earned a grade point average of 3.5 at their new institutions. This is higher than the averages for students from any other community college in Maryland.”

William B. Grant, pres-ident and CEO of First United Bank & Trust, delivered the commencement address. He drew upon the visual image of the mountaintop as the focus of his comments.

“Each of you has been to the mountaintop, both literally and figuratively,” he said.

Continuing with his theme, Grant explained that people are drawn to mountains for three reasons: challenge, perspective, and change.

“Attending college and in life, preparation is needed for the prospect of success,” he said. He compared the mountain climbers’ base camp for preparation to the mentoring and assessments provided by faculty and staff before the student begins the journey.

“Today you stand at your summit. Those who have gone before you left lines to help you climb. You now have an obligation to hold out those lines to the students who come after you,” he said.

The graduates, Grant said, have also achieved new perspectives on the moun-taintop.

“Your vision is wider than ever before,” he said. “You have a completely new view of the world.”

He encouraged the grad-uates to help others as they move forward in life.

“You are at a mountaintop in life, and there will be many more mountaintops for you,” he concluded.

Dr. George Brelsford, dean of student life, introduced Catherine Patterson of Bowie to give the student address. She was selected for this honor because of her outstanding accomplishments while at GC, he explained.

“Catherine has made the dean’s list each semester at Garrett College,” he said. “She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, is the sophomore representative in the Student Government Association, and was recently named to the All-USA, All-Maryland Academic Team.”

Patterson, an adventure sports major, carries a 3.77 GPA. She spoke about ask-ing for advice from others on her speech for graduation and getting lots of different opinions. She said she came to the conclusion that in this instance, as in so many, “one needs to go where one’s heart leads.”

So she opened her address with a quote: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

She explained that the quote was from her favorite author, Dr. Seuss.

Read the full article here.

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>William B. Grant Will Speak At GC Commencement

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William B. Grant, chief executive officer and president of First United Bank and Trust, will deliver the commencement address to Garrett College students during the graduation ceremony scheduled for Saturday, May 14, at 10:30 a.m.
A native of Garrett County, Grant has 32 years of banking experience, which includes serving as a director of the First United Corporation and the bank since 1995. He also has legal expertise gained through the practice of law.

Grant holds a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a law degree from Duquesne University. In addition, he is a graduate of Stonier Graduate School of Banking and Northwestern Trust Graduate School.

A past chairman of the Maryland Bankers Association, Grant is currently on the board of directors of the Baltimore branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and is a member of the American Community Bankers Council of the American Bankers Association.

Grant’s commitment to his community is reflected in his current and past membership and service in numerous organizations, including the Oakland/Mtn. Lake Park Lions Club, the Garrett Choral Society, the Garrett College board of trustees, the Garrett County Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Southern Mat (Youth Wrestling) Club, Southern Garrett Athletic Association, Southern High School Improvement Team, Southern Garrett High School Alumni Association, the Greater Cumberland Committee, the board of trustees of West Virginia Wesleyan College, and the board of directors of Leadership Maryland. He is an active member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Oakland.

Read the full article here.

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>Garrett College faculty, community welcome Richard MacLennan as new president

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Angie Brant
The Cumberland Times-News Sat Apr 09, 2011, 11:23 PM EDT

MCHENRY — With pomp and circumstance, a new president was formally welcomed at Garrett College on Saturday.

The Garrett College faculty were joined by community members to welcome Richard L. MacLennan into their ranks. The theme of the event was Celebrating the College in the Community.

Honored guests at the inaugural celebration included MacLennan’s family, colleagues, local, county and state representatives.

MacLennan and speakers, in full academic regalia, were led into the gymnasium by a lone bagpiper. The song was composed by Gerald McGee, pipe major emeritus.

Following introductions, speakers shared their thoughts on MacLennan and and his plans for the college. The selection of the speakers demonstrated MacLennan’s determination to further develop Garrett College’s role in the community.

Nicole Christian, president and chief executive officer of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, said MacLennan recognizes the “college’s integral role in the future development of Garrett County. I would like to thank you for choosing Garrett County.”

Alumni, faculty and staff shared their belief that the college would remain focused on offering every student the best possible academic opportunities under his administration and leadership.

“Garrett College has helped thousands of students achieve their goals and I know we have the right leader to take us into the future,” said Jean Tressler, coordinator of operations, Continuing Education of Workforce Development.

Shantelle Spiker, student ambassador and vice president of Phi Theta Kappa, said the student body has come to appreciate MacLennan’s dedication to the students and his accessibility. She related anecdotes of MacLennan’s friendly demeanor and appreciation for the campus, relating an incident where she saw him picking up litter.

“You have brought a sense of security and positivity to the college. We have seen you are a good person and I belief it takes a good person to bring out the good in others.”

Donald MacLennan, the new president’s father, had the honor of introducing his son prior to the ceremony. The elder MacLennan related the many steps in his son’s career and said he is very proud of his son’s accomplishments.

Linda Sherbin, chairwoman of the Garrett College Board of Trustees, presented MacLennan with the presidential medallion, a symbol of the president’s responsibility of the welfare of the college. The Garrett College medallion is cast in gold and stone and depicts a scene of a lake with a mountain ridge in the background.

During his address, MacLennan reiterated his dedication to the college and its students, remarking that it is his desire to have a school that is student-centered.

“When I was going through the interview process, I saw that this institution is determined to meet the needs of students and that was just irresistible to me,” he said. “I am devoted to the community college mission of access and opportunity. I recognize that students are unique individuals with meaningful differences in their learning styles and abilities, attitudes toward learning and life, past educational experiences, culturally based values and interest and goals.”

MacLennan is an adult learner himself, attending college after serving in the U.S. Army and working in the plumbing industry. His own experiences have lent him a greater appreciation for the challenges facing traditional and non-traditional students and he plans to do everything possible to afford the best possible experience for all students at Garrett College.

Prior to accepting the position at Garrett College, MacLennan was the vice president of Student Services at Olympic College, a three-campus college in Kitsap County, Wash.

MacLennan was named president in July 2010, the 10th to serve Garrett College.

Throughout his career, MacLennan has been dedicated to helping individuals realize their potential through training and education. It is also his belief that the community plays an integral role in the success of students and has demonstrated his commitment to establishing partnerships with area high schools, business and industry and social service agencies.

MacLennan graduated from Portland State University in 1985 and obtained his master’s degree in college student services administration from Oregon State in 1987. In 1998, he graduated from Wilmington University with a doctorate of education in educational innovation and leadership.

“President John F. Kennendy said, ‘leadership and learning are indispensable to each other’,” MacLennan said in his address. “And lives will be transformed by the work we do here. We will learn and lead this college together.”

MacLennan and his wife, Theresa, reside in Oakland, and are the parents of four children.

Contact Angie Brant at abrant@times-news.com

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
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>Garrett taking varied approaches to development

>Jeffrey Alderton
Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Mon Mar 28, 2011, 08:00 AM EDT

OAKLAND — Garrett County is pursuing economic development on several fronts, including investing in the county’s high school graduates by offering them two-year scholarships to attend Garrett College.

For the past several years, Garrett County has offered to pay full tuition for students who are completing their final year of high school.

Whether pursuing education in the academic field or technical training, the county will pay tuition for two full years at Garrett College. The funds are paid through the Garrett County Scholarship Program.

At a cost of several hundred thousand dollars annually, the county foots the bill not only for its high school seniors enrolling in Garrett College, but also for graduates of GED programs.

“We think the best thing we can do is prepare young people for a career,” said Jim Hinebaugh, director of Garrett County Economic Development. “We have also expanded the program from academic training to vocational and technical training.”

According to Decision Data Resources, Demographic Details Comparison Report of October 2010, the median household income (middle of the income range) in Garrett County was $44,908 and the average household income was $58,997. Per-capita income was recorded at $26,449, according to the report that showed a total of 12,969 households in Garrett County.

By comparison, the average in the nine-county region that includes Allegany, Garrett, Bedford, Fayette, Somerset, Grant, Mineral, Preston and Tucker counties with a total of 181,772 households was $37,612 for median household income, $49,335 average household income and per-capita income of $21,133.

Labor force statistics from the same report showed unemployment in September at 6.9 percent in Garrett County with the average in the nine-county region at 9.1 percent. There were 16,369 people in the labor force that month in the county with 1,125 unemployed. The county’s unemployment rate stood at 8.3 percent in December.

The county will receive $1.9 million in business utility taxes from Constellation Energy’s 28 wind turbines on Backbone Mountain and 20 wind turbines operated there by Synergics. The revenue will reduce to $850,000 per year after a 22-year depreciation schedule.

Also, Garrett County is awaiting legislative developments that may allow drilling in the vast natural gas-bearing Marcellus shale rock formation. Geologists have estimated resources of 128,000 acres of viable natural gas in all of Garrett County.

If approved through legislation and regulatory procedures, the Marcellus shale industry will bring royalties and leasing revenue to landowners and subsequent severance and income tax revenue to the county. Businesses in Garrett County will benefit by providing ancillary services to the industry such as excavation work, food service, worker housing, supplies, road building materials, fuel, etc.

Drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale is already under way in nearby Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!
Visit the ‘I Love Deep Creek & Garrett County group’ on Facebook! News, events, photos, real estate, community, info, more! 1,750+ members & growing!

>Community Events Surrounding GC President Inauguration Slated

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Mar. 3, 2011

Plans are well under way for the inauguration of Dr. Richard L. MacLennan as president of Garrett College, which will take place on Saturday, April 9, at 11 a.m. in the gymnasium on the McHenry campus. The theme of this installation ceremony is “Celebrating the College in the Community,” and there will be a series of events and festivities open to the community.
“In selecting the events for this inaugural celebration, the planning committee members wanted to create a program that would reflect Dr. MacLennan’s focus on the college as an integral part of the larger community it serves,” said Dr. Jeanne Neff, planning committee chair and chair of the board of directors of the Garrett College Foundation. “It was his request that the Garrett County community be central to the celebration.”

The festive three-day agenda will include the third part of the Joan Crawford Lecture Series on Wednesday, April 6; a county-wide community service day involving students, faculty, and staff, followed by a family-style picnic and a Garrett Lakes Arts Festival performance by the Iona Pan-Celtic Band on Friday, April 8; and the pageantry of procession in full academic regalia for the presidential inauguration on Saturday, April 9. The inauguration ceremony will be followed by a reception and an evening gala event hosted by the Garrett College Foundation.

Dr. MacLennan assumed leadership as the 10th president of Garrett College in July 2010 after serving for 12 years as vice president of student services at Olympic College, a three-campus college in Kitsap County, Wash. A focus of his 25-year career has been helping people access training and education.

Read the full article here.

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Naylor Trust Makes Major Donation To Garrett College

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The Garrett College Foundation recently received a major gift from the Howard and Audrey Naylor Trust through the Community Trust Foundation to establish the Audrey Naylor Scholarship Endowment. The endowment will provide scholarships primarily for adult students. Presenting a check for $200,000 to Dr. Jeanne Neff, chairperson of the GC Foundation board, in the above photo is Shane Grady, chair of the Community Trust Foundation which is the agency that dispenses the funds of the Naylor Trust, among others. Also in the photo is Fred Learey, executive director of the GC Foundation. See story.

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Garrett, Allegany Colleges Awarded ARC Grant Funds

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Oct. 7, 2010

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded Garrett College and Allegany College of Maryland competitive federal grant funds to upgrade on-campus facilities, providing better opportunities to students and making them more prepared to enter the workforce, according to U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin.

Garrett College was awarded $75,000 to make equipment purchases and train faculty in its Networking Program, enhancing the curriculum to offer multiple, industry-recognized certifications and training in the advanced technical skills necessary to manage computer networks using Cisco, a leading computer networking software.

“To help make sure all Americans are ready for the jobs of the 21st century, we must have state-of-the-art education resources today,” Mikulski said. “Community colleges are providing the 21st century education we need to have a 21st century workforce. Technology is the tool and empowerment is the objective, and this money is a federal investment to do just that.”

Allegany College was awarded $54,000 for the Workforce Development Through Smart Classroom Technology Program, designed to improve and upgrade worker training programs at the college by turning ordinary classrooms into “smart” classrooms that include computers, projector screens, and interactive audience tools. Allegany College expects to use the new facility to train more than 200 workers in healthcare and general office/business skills within the next year.

A second grant in the amount of $30,000 was awarded to Allegany College to upgrade six computer labs used for science and continuing education, providing an additional 700 students with the most current technology.

“Education is the key to economic success and our local colleges are on the frontlines providing the training and skills that are needed to succeed,” said Cardin. “Residents of western Maryland need access to the high-level technology that is needed for the workforce, and these grants will ensure that our local colleges can provide the training that is needed for jobs of the future.”

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Adventure key to Freed – Garrett College Graduate

September 29, 2010 – By PAUL LaPANN, plapann@newsandsentinel.com

VIENNA – Matt Freed’s life has been filled with adventure.

He climbs rocks, guides rafts, skis, hikes, camps, backpacks and plays disc golf. He has spent time in the great outdoors of Maine, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Freed graduated from Garrett College in western Maryland, near Deep Creek Lake and Wisp Resort, with a degree in adventure sports management.

Until June, he worked in wilderness therapy in Utah for the Second Nature Wilderness Program and at a therapeutic boarding school, Daniel’s Academy, both for at-risk youth.

Read the rest here.

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Garrett College unveiling training center to public

Facility will offer work force prep programs
From Staff Reports
Cumberland Times-News

— ACCIDENT — Public tours of the Career Technology Training Center located in the Northern Garrett Industrial Park in Accident, the newest facility of Garrett College, will be offered Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Continuing Education/ Workforce Development staff members will answer questions about the center and its program offerings and the new occupational scholarship.

The tour will include refreshments. For directions or more information, call 301-387-3069.

Courses and programs offered at the CTTC will be primarily work force preparation and work force development, according to Julie Yoder, interim dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development.

“Many of the courses will lead to industry-recognized certification. Classes to be offered at the CTTC this fall include Welding I, Welding II, Welding III, Adult Basic Education and GED preparation, Introduction to Lab View, Lab View II Rookie to Robotics, AutoCAD, Certified Nursing Assistant and Residential HVAC System Design,” Yoder said.

The renovated 16,000-square-foot space in the former Phenix Technology building houses a welding lab, electronics and automation lab, three classrooms, a conference room and administrative space.

A second phase of the project is scheduled to begin in the fall with classrooms to accommodate alternative energy, technology and automation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry and masonry courses. The courses will be implemented on a cyclical basis based on work force demand and interest.

Employers will be able to use the space to conduct in-house training programs.

The new occupational scholarship is for students pursuing training opportunities that lead to an industry-recognized certification rather than a degree.

Students in the 2010 graduating class of Northern or Southern high schools are eligible as well as students who completed a home-school program approved by the Garrett County Board of Education or adults earning a GED during the current year.

To apply for a scholarship, call Garrett College at 301-387-3069 or log on to www.garrettcollege.edu

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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Rec Center Construction Begins; Pools To Be Completed Next Sept.

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Jul. 29, 2010

The Garrett County commissioners received an update this week on the $23-million Community Athletic and Recreation Center (CARC), now under construction at Garrett College.

The report was given by the college’s dean of administration and finance, Josephine Gilman, during the commissioners’ staff meeting. About 15 county department heads and agency representatives attended the Tuesday morning event.

Gilman reported that Hess Construction and Engineering of Gaithersburg recently received a “notice to proceed” to begin construction of the aquatics center and the gymnasium foundation pads.

“The construction schedule, right now, is on track for a Sept. 1, 2011, completion date,” Gilman said about Phase I of the CARC project, the aquatics facility.

The 32,000 square-foot aquatics building will include two indoor swimming pools, a fitness center, and a physical therapy facility.

Phase II consists of a 32,000-square-foot gym with three regulation-size basketball courts and seating for up to 2,000 people. This phase is expected to be completed in early 2012.

Gilman said all the required coordination meetings with county stormwater management, sediment and erosion control, and Maryland Department of the Environment representatives have been held, and coordination between the parties is ongoing.

She added that Hess has subcontracted Beitzel Corporation of Grantsville to complete all of the excavation and stormwater work. The dean noted that the local company has “doubled up” many shifts and will work on an accelerated schedule throughout the summer.

“[This is] in the hope that if we do get a mild winter, we should be a little bit ahead of ourselves,” Gilman said. “But if we get a bad winter, at least we’ll be prepared for it by accelerating the work during the summer.”

Currently, the stormwater pond and other stormwater infrastructure is being installed and work is beginning on the retaining wall.

The pad for the aquatics center should be completed by this September, and the gym pad, hopefully, will be finished before November, Gilman said.

Because of the construction, the college is addressing safety concerns. For example, before the fall semester begins, a temporary path with lighting will be built from the residence halls to the main campus to enable students to avoid the construction.

Read the rest here.
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

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