A-B Tech President Dennis King (left) poses with President Emeritus K. Ray Bailey (right) at Mount Mitchell Golf Course before kicking off the tournament.

Another year, another successful K. Ray Bailey / A-B Tech Foundation Invitational Golf Classic! This year's event took place Friday June 5, 2015 at Mount Mitchell Golf Course and raised over $39,000 towards the K. Ray Bailey/A-B Tech Foundation Golf Classic Scholarship program, one of the largest scholarships administered to A-B Tech students by the A-B Tech Foundation.

We appreciate the hard work of the 2015 Golf Tournament Planning Committee, as well as our staff and volunteers who helped with the planning and execution of this event.  You made it happen!

Finally, a huge "Thank You" to all of the 2015 Teams and Sponsors for making this such a successful event. We hope you enjoyed yourselves at the tournament, and we look forward to seeing you again next year!

If you were at the event, then you had the chance to hear from Penny Meisenzahl, an A-B Tech nursing student and 2015 Golf Classic Scholarship recipient, on what the support provided by this event means to her:

"Each person that you meet makes an impact on your life. I would like to say that you have made a wonderful impact on my life and that of my family. Thank you again for the opportunity that this scholarship opens for me."

The A-B Tech Foundation has broken new ground by providing $60,000 in first-year faculty funding for a new Associate of Applied Science Degree major at the College. Occupational Therapy Assistant will be added to the broad array of Allied Health programs at the College in the 2016-17 year.  This is the first time that the Foundation has funded the first year of a new major.    

Foundation Board Chair, Michael Kryzanek, stated, "While much of our effort is geared towards supporting student scholarships, it is our intent to assist the College with new initiatives to serve Buncombe and Madison counties.  Funding a full-time faculty position for one year in advance of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program's full implementation is one example.  The decision of our board of directors was unanimous to support this initiative."

According to Vice President for Instruction, Melissa Quinley, new community college majors do not receive start-up funding from the NC Department of Community Colleges. Typically, the colleges must generate start-up funding for new programs from existing funding

Additionally, initiation of this major is unlike any other in the Allied Health field. Program requirements are established by the specialized accrediting agency, the "Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education" (ACOTE). The organization requires that a program chair be hired, a self-study completed, and accreditation be achieved prior to the acceptance of the first class. The Foundation's donation to the college will allow the hiring of the Program Chair to undertake these critical steps, including hiring of other faculty, establishing area clinical affiliations with hospitals and other healthcare facilities, marketing the program and recruiting the first class which is limited to only 20-24 students. The first class of students will be accepted in Spring 2016 and will begin classes in Fall 2016. 

Occupational Therapy Assistant Programs exist in only six (6) other North Carolina community colleges, and ACOTE (the accrediting agency) allows only 15 new programs per year in the country.The program will serve the rapidly growing medical community in WNC and will serve public and private facilities, as well as the veteran population served by the Charles George Veterans Administration Hospital in Oteen.  

Ms. Quinley stated, "This new program is important to our area in meeting labor market needs with the growth of population, the growth of retirees and veterans, and the increase in long-term care facilities."