Yes, That's a College over There!

A few months ago the empty space in the Lewisport Shopping Center was a problem for the community, the center owner, and the other center occupants. Today, that space is now the newest "branch" of the Owensboro Community and Technical College. More specifically, the "Hancock County Center" of the college.

With the help of local community stakeholders such as the Hancock County Fiscal Court, the Lewisport City Council, the Hancock County School system, local industries, the Hancock county Training Consortium and Industrial Foundation and of course, the OCTC, we have a real live extension of the college in the county!

These "partners" pulled together to pay the lease, the utilities, furnish and equip, renovate the space, i.e., whatever it took to make this a reality. This was a model of community involvement and support for a common vision to bring additional training opportunities closer to home. Hancock County has one of the highest manufacturing bases in the state of Kentucky, a double digit unemployment rate, and an economic base whose time has come for transformation. Manufacturing jobs are dwindling, however, the local industries have a real need to train new skilled crafts trades in industrial maintenance. The local high school is also providing "duel credit" opportunities for its students in health allied fields as well as informational technology studies.

On this project, the need came together with the passion, the partners, and the will to "get it done". Oh yeah, it got done in spite of the drained state budget and the stalemate scenario in Washington. And yes, we asked them all to pitch in. They all supported it but unfortunately, didn't have the funds to assist. So, we did it ourselves! Thanks to all who made this possible. I will have more on this later as well as some photos and maybe even a slide show of the "birth" of a small town college!
More to come......
MTB

Blogging?

I suppose this is me taking one more step into the age of web communications. After retiring from my role as General Manager of the Aleris Rolling Mill in Ky last year, I hung out my shingle for Management and Leadership consulting. With that I quickly was set up with a website. (my son, a professional copywriter in the advertising industry did the honors.)

Soon I was on the world wide web. My son and I may have been the only people who knew but I've since learned to view the stats sheet and slowly, more and more people are, at least, clicking to learn more!

Within a couple of weeks, I will have a book published. People: The Real Business of Leadership". I'm very excited and extremely proud to have pulled this off. It started as a way to capture ideas, experiences, and values I learned during my 25 career in leadership roles. Most of the books I'd read about leadership seemed to have been written by "gurus" who had studied and observed or taught "leadership". I thought their might be a place for a new voice on an exhausted subject. The voice of someone, not a CEO or celebrity but someone who got up every day with real account abilities and tangible targets that were measured, published, and monitored every day. So, I wrote them down and a year later....a book.

Now, and I'm not exactly sure why or how, I'm "blogging". More to come.....

I'm working with the Hancock County Industrial Foundation as well as The Kentucky Aluminum Network, the Owensboro Community and Technical College and others to promote economic development, community development and jobs!

This opens a whole new world of opportunities and has taken me outside the usual circle of colleagues, stakeholders, and partners found when you have your head down running hard in the industrial world.

Again.....more to come.
MTB