ACTC Business Students Do Well in Competition
Louisa resident Brian D. Robinette is a member of the student team from Ashland Community and Technical College that placed 4th in Business Model category at the Idea State U Regional Competition on March 30. The team will advance to the state competition on April 22 and 23 in Lexington.
“Rollin’ Smoke of Ashland” is the name of their business. According to the plan, a food truck would provide a hot lunch of smoked barbeque sandwiches and side dishes for people who do not have time to travel for a delicious meal.
“I think it is fantastic that our students did so well in competition with four-year institutions,” said Molly Webb, Associate Professor of Business “This is ACTC’s first year in Idea State U, and we are looking forward to the state competition.”
Idea State U is a KY Cabinet for Economic Development initiative for post-secondary institutions designed to create and promote a strong culture of entrepreneurship and encourage small business growth. Eighteen colleges and universities participated this year.
For the Business Model competition, students in Webb’s Applied Management Skills class came up with a plan for starting a new business. They formed different teams to provide a concept overview, product description, market opportunity, management, operating strategies, risks and profit potential. A subgroup of students formed the competition team.
Mick Fosson, Director of the Kentucky Innovation Network Office in Ashland, organized the Idea State U competition in Northeast Kentucky, and met with the class to help with their business model. He brought Mike Thompson, a member of the Tri State Angel Investment Group who has extensive restaurant experience, to help with the team project.
“We were impressed by the students and pleased that they represented our area and ACTC well in the regional competition.” Fosson said. The Innovation Office helps entrepreneurs and small business owners plan, build, launch and grow their business.
“Not only are the students learning different facets of business, they are putting their knowledge to use in a real life situation,” said Webb. “We hope that this business model will become a business reality for one or more of our students.”
Tri-State Job Fair is April 22
Job seekers are invited to the Tri-State Career and Job Fair on Friday, April 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the KYOVA Tri-State Mall.
The purpose of the fair is to help employers and job seekers find each other, not only for jobs that are available now but for jobs that will become available in the future.
Employers signed up to date are AFLAC, Amazon, ARC Staffing, Asplundh, Big Sandy Prison, Calgon Carbon, Cintas – Ashland, Cintas – Grayson, Davis Equipment Co., Department of Juvenile Justice, Diversicare, DS Community Services, FCI Ashland, GC Services, Heartland of Riverview, Labor Ready, Liebert, McDonalds, McSweeney’s Inc., Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital, Mountain Comprehensive Care, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Ramey-Estep Home, Regal-Beloit Corp., Traditional Bank, Transamerica, Veolia Environmental Services, West Virginia Women Work, and Woodmen of the World.
ACTC will have representatives available to talk about job and career preparation opportunities.
Cosponsors are Ashland Community and Technical College, Kentucky Career Center, Community Action Partnership and KYOVA Tri-State Mall. For more information, contact Steven Richard at the Kentucky Career Center, 606.326.8064 or email: stevenh.richard@ky.gov.
Arbor Day Seedling Give-Away
Ashland’s annual Arbor Day Tree Seedling Giveaway will take place at Ashland’s Central Park on Saturday, April 23, from10:00 a.m. until all seedlings are gone. This is the 21st year that Ashland has been recognized by the National Arbor Foundation as a Tree City.
The Arbor Day seedling give-away is sponsored by the City of Ashland and the Kentucky Division of Forestry in conjunction with the Ashland Tree Board. The program is part of Ashland’s urban forestry program, which has distributed more than 55,000 trees since its inception in the mid-1990s.
About 5,000 seedlings will be available in 15 varieties. Small varieties, growing from 20 to 30 feet tall, are Roughleaf Dogwood, Washington Hawthorne, Hazelnut, Pawpaw and Eastern Redbud. Medium varieties, growing to about 50 feet, are River Birch, Kentucky Coffeetree, Mulberry, Persimmon and Sassafras. Large varieties that can grow to 100 or more feet, are Bald Cypress, Southern Red Oak, Willow Oak, Pecan and White Pine.
“We selected native trees, with an emphasis on those that are appropriate for urban environments,” said Carrie Staumbaugh, a member of the Ashland Tree Board. “Although we wanted a variety of small to large sizes, our emphasis is on smaller flowering trees.”
ACTC students and employees and volunteers from the Ashland Group Home will assist the Tree Board with the tree distribution. UK Extension Office Agent Lori Bowling will have information about planting and caring for trees, and an AEP representative will be available to answer questions about trimming trees under powerlines and what to plant there.
The distribution will be at the park end of Chuck Woolery Boulevard. For more information, contact Carrie Staumbaugh, email: carriestaumbaugh@gmail.com.
Drones 101
A free Drone Workshop will be held Saturday, April 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Technology Drive Campus.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will use a DJI Phantom 3, or their own drone, to learn drone piloting skills and how to use drones for photography and videography. Participants will leave the last class with a USB drive containing their video and/or photos.
Instructor Chris Boggs is an ACTC Associate Professor of Computers & Information Technology.
Class spaces are limited on a first come basis. To register or for more information, call ACTC Workforce Solutions, 606-326-2130 or email: as_workforce@kctcs.edu.
This workshop is supported by a Rural Business Development grant from the USDA. The Rural Development in Evolving Technologies Project grant at ACTC has provided workforce development training classes in 3D printing and Drone Technology. Both project areas align with the SOAR Year One Working Group Priorities for Regional Action and Collaboration.
ACTC Announces Tri-State Diversity Conference
The 3rd Annual Tri-State Conference on Diversity and Inclusion will be held September 9, 2016 at the ACTC Technology Drive Campus. The conference will include presentations on the theme “Appalachian Crossroads: Conversations on Diversity.”
Proposals for conference presentations are now being accepted. Education, social work, social service agency, state and local government, judiciary, health care, and business and industry practitioners are invited to submit proposals on diversity and inclusion topics that are related to the Appalachian Region.
The conference is sponsored by ACTC, Morehead State University, Marshall University, Shawnee State University, Ohio University and Ohio University-Southern, Mountwest Community & Technical College, Lindsey Wilson College and Walmart.
Conference information is at: www.TriStateDiversityAndInclusion.com. Proposals may be submitted to Robert Pleasant, Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion at Ohio University-Southern, email: pleasanr@ohio.edu.
