Inspiration for today
Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.

-Oprah Winfrey
COMING SOON:
We are rolling out three new BANNER 9 solutions for Faculty & Adviors:
Faculty Grade Entry
Student Advisee Listing
Faculty Class Listing
KnowBe4 Training

New River CTC's BRIM cybersecurity insurance policy requires each of us to complete cybersecurity training annually. You should have already received an email from KnowBe4.com regarding the training that must be completed in the next month.
Campus Community Fairs
Community Fairs have been planned for the College. The deadline for vendors to register with Wanda Johnson is Monday, September 16.

Raleigh County Campus, September 23, 2019, noon to 2 pm
Mercer County Campus, September 24, 2019, noon to 2 pm
Nicholas County Campus, September 25, 2019, noon to 2 pm
Greenbrier Valley Campus, September 26, 2019, noon to 2 pm
Faculty and Staff Institute
New River CTC Faculty and Staff came together at the Raleigh County Campus on Wednesday, August 14.
2016 was a challenging year for New River CTC. The College community celebrated letting go of things that happened during 2016 to help us in moving forward.
Service Awards
5 Years
Tamara Rahal

Not pictured: Diane Tyson
10 years
Bryan Seldomridge
Sherry Shaffer
Heike Soeffker-Culicerto
Steven Garlow
15 Years
Aubrey Houck 
Mary Igo
Wanda Johnson
Susie Atkins
Joyce Wawiye

Not pictured: Scott McClanahan
20 Years
Lizabeth Rogers
25 Years
Roger Griffith
Suzanne Fry
Sonja Cool
Donna Lewis
30 Years
Nancy Wemm
Sharon Evans 
Foundation honors Runyon
Members of the Runyon family gathered to celebrate the step dedication in honor of Shirley Field Runyon and in memory of Donald Runyon, (left to right) Amy Runyon Meadows, Ashley Meadows, Jennifer Runyon, Shirley Runyon, and Ryan Meadows.
Shirley Runyon
The New River Community and Technical College Foundation honored the philanthropy of Shirley Field Runyon, president of American Beer Company and a member of the College’s Board of Governors, during a ceremony on the steps of Greenbrier Hall on Wednesday, August 21. Additional photos from the event can be viewed online .
New employee welcome
Duane F. Napier
Visiting Instructor/Director of RN Program

Duane is a graduate of St. Mary's School of Nursing (Registered Nurse), Bellarmine University (BSN and MSN), and Duquesne University (Certificate in Trans-cultural Nursing) and is currently pursuing a DNP in Leadership. He has completed the course work for a Ph.D. in Management with a specialization in Organizational Change and Leadership.

Duane most recently was the charge nurse at River Park Hospital. Prior to that, he was the Director of the RN to BSN program, Director of the Associate Degree Program and taught Mental Health Nursing and Leadership/Management in the BSN program at the University of Charleston, Charleston, WV.

He was the CEO/Executive Director for the West Virginia Center for Nursing from January 2006 to June 2013. At the Center for Nursing, Duane developed projects and programs to address the nursing shortage in West Virginia. He has also held the following positions in a variety of settings: nursing faculty, nurse manager, house supervisor, and Director of Nurses. His nursing experience has been in the acute care setting, psychiatric setting, home health, case management/insurance, and the public health department.

Duane is a graduate of West Virginia Nursing Leadership Institute, a Helene Fulde Rural Health Nurse Fellow (Binghamton University), and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow, and a Problem-Based Learning Fellow (University of Delaware).

Welcome, Duane!
Christine Alexander
Instructor, Mathematics
Christine's teaching career includes 9 1/2 years classroom teaching, 13 years as a K-12 Math Specialist, and 7 years teaching at the university level.

She earned a B.A. in Mathematics from Harding University and a M.E.D. in Secondary Education with Math Emphasis from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Christine was born in Duluth, Minnesota, but moved to Arkansas at the age of 2 and has lived there for most of her life. She has also lived in Alabama, but is glad to start this new chapter of her life.

Welcome, Christine!
Charles B. Coates, Jr.
Instructional Specialist of Industrial Technology
Charles started his education at Lincoln Tech in the automotive industry. He migrated to the industrial world due to lack of opportunity in the area. He has excelled in the industrial/manufacturing field, gaining education while working. He has attended Bluefield State College for PLC programming and Motor Controllers; New River and Wytheville Community College for continuing education in Leadership and Excel; American Trainco for Electrical Troubleshooting; and Mercer County Vo-Tech for HVAC. He is a journeyman electrician of 20 years and holds a universal ESCO card for refrigeration. He owns Coates Automotive in Princeton and does mechanical and electrical troubleshooting and repair.

Welcome, Charles!
New River CTC has welcomed a number of new faculty and staff this fall, and we will feature more new employee welcomes in upcoming issues of the newsletter.
Business Summit
Dr. Bonny Copenhaver, Jenni Canterbury, and Mike Green represented New River CTC at the West Virginia Chamber 83rd Annual Meeting and Business Summit held at The Greenbrier from August 28-30.
Flowers Planted
Thank you Billy Potter and Bruce Sneidman for taking the lead on this project at the Mercer County Campus. They look great!
Thank you to John Hamon and Ronnie Collins for working on the cement pad project at the Nicholas County Campus. This pad is located at one of the back entrances of the main building and needed to be removed.
Summersville Rotary Golf Tournament
New River CTC supported Summersville Rotary's Golf Tournament in August.
Defensive Driving: Attitudes & Safe Driving
Fleet Management provides monthly driving tips to provide agencies with a way to promote good defensive driving techniques ensuring the safety of state vehicle operators. For September 2019, Fleet is providing information on attitudes and safe driving.
Angry, risky or unsafe driving habits cause one-third of all traffic fatalities. Statistically, you are either a victim or a perpetrator of bad behavior on the road every day. Weaving in and out of traffic to get ahead, tailgaiting, making angry gestures at other drivers, multi-tasking while driving, or taking out your frustration on other drivers when they’re in the same boat as you.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in ten drivers are exhibiting this type of behavior every day on highways across America.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines aggressive driving as, “when individuals commit a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.”


The NHTSA claims that the best weapon to fight aggressive, angry, and unsafe driving is law enforcement, but law enforcement isn't always present. If we can change our response and adjust our driving attitudes before we hit the road we can help ourselves and others.


Tips to Avoid Deadly Driving Behavior

  • Play music that relaxes you.
  • Remember, you can’t change others, only yourself.
  • Think positively, even when other drivers are acting negatively.
  • Adopt an attitude of cooperation, tolerance, and rationality.
  • Count to 20 when you get angry or listen to the radio.
  • Talk yourself through the situation instead of reacting.
  • Use deep breathing techniques to regain your composure.
  • Model good behavior.
  • Consider that other drivers may have a reason for their bad actions.

Remember, the very act of allowing anger and aggression in your daily life can lead to health problems like headaches, anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure. So even if you never get into a car accident, learning to control your bad driving habits or simply your response to others is a worthwhile endeavor. In fact, it could end up saving your life.
O'Brien lectures on Constitution and Bill of Rights
Dr. William E. “Bill” O’Brien will explain the origins of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in the context of early 1790s party politics in a free series of lectures starting this month. He will also explore the influence of John Beckley, first Clerk of the House of Representatives, in formation of the Democratic-Republican Party.

The lectures will be given in the Robert S. Kiss Lecture Hall at the Erma Byrd Higher Education Center in Beaver. All lectures will begin at 6:30 PM. The series schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, September 17: Background to the Constitution—Who Most Wanted a Change in Government and Why
 
Tuesday, October 29: James Madison, “Vices of the American Political System”—What the Constitution was Intended to Fix and How
 
Tuesday, November 19: Ratification Struggles—The Battle to Secure the Consent of the Governed
 
Tuesday, December 17: Politics, Parties and Personalities under Washington—Political Turmoil Under America’s Only Unanimous Choice for President

For additional information, contact Tom Sopher at 304-222-9445, or best4cheap@yahoo.com

This series is sponsored by the Erma Byrd Higher Education Center, New River Community and Technical College, the Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Bembalkar Memorial Fund of the Beckley Area Foundation, and the Raleigh County Historical Society.

Murder Mystery Dinner Party planned in Princeton
Princeton Community Hospital Foundation is hosting a murder mystery dinner party on September 21! This hospital is a non-profit organization which we hope to partner with in support of our allied health programs. 
Active SWV September events
Rocket Man coming to CMC
The Rocket Man Show is coming to the Chuck Mathena Center October 19 at 7 p.m. Scotsman Rus Anderson was handpicked by Elton John and David Furnish as Elton’s official body double for his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” world tour launch promo video. It was Rus’s own live tribute production “The Rocket Man Show” which earned him the spot. Rus recreates the magic and live persona of a young Elton like no other.
 
Storming around the stage with a fun-loving sense of flamboyance; part diva, part soccer player, killer vocalist, fierce piano player, all rock & roller. Rus' painstaking attention to detail includes wearing gorgeous, colorful & spectacular costumes (many actually worn by Elton) including his iconic boots, glasses & jumpsuits from 1973, as well as a sparkly Swarovski tuxedo from 1984.

Tickets are $30, with a 10% discount for groups of ten or more. Visit www.chuckmathenacenter.org for more information.
ORU's August Newsletter
Regional Job Fair planned for November 1
New River Community and Technical College | www.newriver.edu
New River CTC does not discriminate in its educational programs or in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, veteran or military status, disability, or genetic information or any other status or condition protected by applicable federal or state laws. The following office has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the College’s non-discrimination policies relating to disabilities, sex or other forms of discrimination: Peter Hoeman, Director of Student Success, 304-929-5027.