Thankful

With Thanksgiving break almost over, I thought it’d be appropriate to share some of the many aspects I’m thankful for at Vantage Career Center. If you’ve read any of my past postings, you have probably realized that there are simply too many great things happening around here to list them all in one post. However, I’ll try to share some of the most recent and memorable items we can all appreciate.

First, I’m thankful that our staff and students were so willing to donate their time, money, and sense of humor to our Haiti Carnival last Monday afternoon. With all of the games and events put together (led by our Interact Club), we raised over $2,200 for our carpentry class in Haiti. A large chunk of that came from the creative fund-raising efforts of Miss Sarah Wurth and Mrs. Ashley Cline in what I can only accurately describe as the “shake it out staff embarrassment contest” (if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth looking for in the Facebook archives). I also want to make sure we show our appreciation to Mr. Darrell Miller, Mr. Mike Knott, and Mr. Ted Verhoff for participating in the event despite what they called “mischievous tactics” on the part of our Interact Club advisors (claims which those advisors say are completely unsubstantiated). Either way, a great time was had by all in the name of raising money for an excellent cause! Thanks to all who participated!

Shortly after the Carnival ended, our entire staff helped clean and set-up our commons area for parent-teacher conferences. As usual, it was awesome to see and have the opportunity to talk with so many parents (and in many cases, the students came along) about their child’s progress to this point in the school year. It truly shows the level of commitment and care that parents have for their kids. That care and willingness to discuss any improvements their child might be able to make helps us continue to improve, as well. As educators, meeting and speaking with parents (and their kids) gives us a better understanding of how we’re all in this together. That’s certainly something to be Thankful
for.

I am also thankful for our staff who were able to help out a community member who was recently diagnosed with stage IV esophageal cancer. If you do not know Mike Chesbro, he is a husband, father of 5 children, and a powerful mentor for the children within the Van Wert and surrounding communities. Vantage helped out tremendously by donating $225.00 and 10 used chromebooks. Those chromebooks were auctioned off at the 11/26/16 Benefit and brought in $820.00! Vantage helped bring him over $1000.00 in total cash. Billy Watson and Derrek Moran (who helped organize the benefit), as well as Mike and Amanda Chesbro, were overwhelmed and so thankful for our kindness and support.

Finally, I’m once again Thankful for our students and their willingness to help in our communities. For example, three of our National Technical Honor Society students volunteered to help set up the festivities for this Sunday’s (December 4th) “Christmas in Kalida” event at the Kalida Park. Not only did they give up three hours of a Saturday to help, but they did so early in a morning where temperatures didn’t hit 40 degrees and the rain/wind made it feel like Flick’s tongue would have stuck to the closest flagpole (did I mention I’m also Thankful that movies like “A Christmas Story” will be all over TV for the next month?). My sister Katie (who is on the event committee) proclaimed that she “lost feeling in her fingers until about 2 o’clock”. However, she also let me know how much they appreciated the help and how impressed they were that none of our students ever complained. For that; Ryan Hoersten, Angela Tenwalde, and Madison Shephard deserve a big Thank You for representing Vantage Career Center in such a positive light.

I’m truly grateful to be associated with such an amazing group of students, staff, and administrators here at Vantage. Have a phenomenal rest of the week, and Go Buckeyes! (Oh yeah, I’m also thankful that we will all get to see Mr. Darrell Miller in Scarlet and Gray ALL DAY tomorrow!)