SEPTEMBER 2008
September 18, 2008 - NW-SCC Hosts Voter Registration Drive
Muscle Shoals, AL - Northwest-Shoals Community College's (NW-SCC) Student Government Association will host a Voter Registration Drive on the Shoals campus, Tuesday, September 22, 2008. Students will have the opportunity to stop by Building 100, Office of Student Life and the Hospitality House to register to vote.
The Shoals chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is also hosting a continual Voter Registration Drive on the Shoals campus. Those interested in registering to vote can stop by the Business Building (112) Room 105D now through Oct. 24th.
September 11, 2008 - NW-SCC Foundation to Feature Lee Marshall at Pathfinder's Dinner
Muscle Shoals, AL - Northwest-Shoals Community College's (NW-SCC) Foundation will hold the 16th Annual Pathfinder's Dinner, Monday, September 22, 2008 at the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa Conference Center.
The Pathfinder's Dinner will be preceded with a silent auction at 6:00 p.m. and dinner beginning at 7:00 p.m. The evening will feature keynote speaker, Lee Marshall. Lee is an award-winning journalist who anchors the morning and noon news for WAFF 48 News, the NBC affiliate in Huntsville, AL. As a former foster/adopted child, Lee has become the voice for Waiting Children.
It's her desire to be the voice for other foster children so they can have stability, love and possibilities that children have through adoption - a forever family.
She is the founder of the 'Kids to Love' Foundation, a non-profit agency that meets the needs of foster and adoptive children. Her 'Kids to Love' Program on WAFF 48 News has introduced 165 foster children that need forever families, out of 165 - 135 have found forever families.
Lee received National Recognition in Washington, D.C. for her adoption awareness efforts. She received an Adoption Excellence award from the Department of Health and Human Services. Originally from South Fulton, Tennessee, Lee and her husband Jeff now call Huntsville home.
The theme for this year's Pathfinder's Dinner is "Creating Stars for a Brighter Tomorrow". According to the NW-SCC Foundation Acting Director Dianne Pace, the dinner and auction benefit current and future students. "When we join together with our Foundation we can 'catch a falling star and put it in our pockets' and never let 'them' fade away' through providing scholarship funding for our students," stated Pace.
The evening will consist of dinner, a silent auction, and entertainment provided by the Northwest-Shoals Singers under the direction of Bob Head, Eric Kirkman, and Lee Marshall. Contributions are federal income tax deductible and all proceeds will go to the NW-SCC Foundation Scholarship Fund.
Ticket Information:
- (1 Ticket) $75 - * One Star Sponsor
- (2 Tickets) $150 - * * Two Star Sponsor
- (4 Tickets) $300 - * * * Three Star Sponsor
- (8 Tickets) or (1 Table) $600 - * * * * Four Star Sponsor
- (16 Tickets) or (2 Tables) $1,200 - * * * * * Five Star Sponsor
For more information, please contact NW-SCC Foundation Acting Director, Dianne Pace and (256) 331-5352.
September 9, 2008 -- Patriot Baseball to Hold 8th Annual Golf Tournament
Muscle Shoals, AL -- Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) will host its 8th annual fundraising golf tournament on Saturday, September 27, 2008, beginning with an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start. The 18 hole, Three-Player Scramble will be held at the Blackberry Trail golf course in Florence, AL. Proceeds will benefit the Northwest-Shoals Baseball program.
The golf tournament is open to the public. Entry fee is $75.00 for individuals or $225.00 per team, which includes greens fees, cart fee, lunch and door prizes. Prizes will be awarded for the first, second and third place teams. Other prizes include Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive on selected holes.
Donations will also be accepted from Patriot supporters who would like to but cannot participate in this year's tournament.
Contact David Langston at (256) 331-5291 or Mark Lee at (256) 331-5491 for registration or other tournament information.
September 5, 2008 -- Northwest-Shoals Closes Hurricane Shelters on both Campuses
Muscle Shoals & Phil Campbell, AL - By 6:15 a.m., today, Northwest-Shoals Community college closed its hurricane shelters on the Muscle Shoals and Phil Campbell campuses. Northwest-Shoals provided relief to approximately 717 evacuees (Shoals Campus - 542; Phil Campbell Campus - 175).
Beginning at 5:00 a.m. this morning, the remaining hurricane shelters operated by the Alabama Community College System started loading their evacuees from Louisiana on buses as part of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency's transportation plan.
Following a discussion with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency and Gov. Bob riley on Wednesday, Chancellor Bradley Byrne started the process of closing several of the 28 community college hurricane shelters. Two-year colleges across the state responded to the needs of their communities and neighboring states during Hurricane Gustov last week.
"Our college presidents and their staffs performed a terrific job in providing shelter and assistance to the people of Louisiana in their time of need," said Byrne. "I am very proud of what they did and I appreciate the help we received from the Alabama Department of Human Resources, the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Alabama National Guard, local law enforcement agencies, and faith-based and civic organizations in our communities."
At the peak of the evacuation process, community college shelters housed approximately 6,500 evacuees. About 5,000 of those evacuees were bused to the shelters from southern Louisiana as part of an agreement between the states of Alabama and Louisiana.
AUGUST 2008
August 18, 2008 -- TVAA Center Stage Community Theatre Production of "Moonlight and Magnolias"
Tuscumbia, AL -- The Tennessee Valley Art Association's Center Stage Community Theatre will present Moonlight and Magnolias on August 21, 22, 23, 28 and 29 at 7:35 p.m. at the historic Ritz Theater at 111 West 3rd Street in downtown Sheffield. Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $6.00 for students. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling the Tennessee Valley Art Center at 256-383-0533 or by stopping by the Art Center at 511 North Water Street in Tuscumbia. Tickets will also be sold at the box office prior to the performance beginning at 7:00 p.m.
1939 Hollywood is a-buzz. David O. Selznick has shut down production of his new epic, Gone With the Wind. The screenplay just doesn't work. So what's the all-powerful movie mogul to do? Selznick summons famed screenwriter Ben Hecht and pulls formidable director Victor Fleming from the set of The Wizard of Oz. He locks both in his office, closes the shades, and on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men labor for five days to fashion a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the mot successful and beloved films of all time.
"Frankly, my dear, this is one funny play." - NY Daily News
Moonlight and Magnolias is written by Ron Hutchinson and is directed by Will Stutts and J. Scott Long, assistant to the director. The cast for Moonlight and Magnolias features Andrew Maxwell as Ben Hecht, Will Stutts as David O. Selznick, Jayne Jackson as Miss Poppenghul and Dan Beene as Victor Fleming.
The technical staff consists of:
Lighting Design and Sound --- Jay Powell
Set Construction -- Jimmy Austin, Jimmy Barnett and Jim Berryman
Properties / Run Crew -- Lisa Power
About the actors and directors:
ANDREW MAXWELL (Ben Hecht) is 19 years old from Rogersville, AL, who began pursuit of theatre as a sophomore at Lauderdale County High School. He starred in many productions while attending his alma mater but his most challenging role came during his senior year when he portrayed Charlie Gordon in Flowers for Algernon. He is presently attending the University of North Alabama where he is a sophomore and majoring in Communications/Theatre. He has actively participated in the theatre program while at UNA with roles to his credit including: Messenger in Antigone. Chorus Rebel in Oedipus, Burns in Don't Drink the Water, and the student in The Whole Shebang. Andrew also participated in the Irene Ryan Competition which was held at Clemson University where he and his acting partner made it to the semifinal round. He was a member of the UNA Summer Theatre this summer and is a member of the Alpha Psi Omega Theatre Fraternity at UNA.
DAN BEENE (Victor Flemming) discovered that acting was a whole lot easier than farming, and began his acting career with Gingerbread Playhouse many moons ago. Since that time, he has appeared in Shoals productions of Proof, To Kill a Mockingbird, Moon Over Buffalo, Oleanna, The Miracle Worker, and others. In addition to theatre, Dan has appeared in feature films such as Fire Down Below, The Legend of Bagger Vance, We Were Soldiers, Walk the Line, and Dreamer. He also appeared in the local films, When I Find The Ocean and 20 Years After. Dan can be seen in the upcoming films The Secret Life of Bees with Dakota Fanning and Jennifer Hudson, and Billy: The Early Years, both due out in the fall of '08. Since discovering that golf is more fun than farming or acting, Dan has wasted most of his productive years chasing that little white ball all over the Shoals area. He resides in Florence, and has five children who have scattered on him, and is almost married to the most patient woman in the world, Susan, whom he wishes to publicly thank for all her help and understanding.
JAYNE JACKSON (Miss Poppenghul) first performed on the Ritz Stage playing the role of Rosemary, under the direction of the late Jim Davis, in the 1986 production of Picnic. In 1987, she worked with Will Stutts for the first time cast as Joanna in Noel Coward's Present Laughter, and worked again with Mr. Stutts in 1989, when she played Gabby in The Petrified Forest. Other roles over the years have included Felicia in I Hate Hamlet, Laurie in Alabama Rain, and Germaine in Picasso at the Lapine Agile, the latter two both Seque Productions. More recently, she played Emily Dickinson and the Dust Witch in two Pillar of Fire and Center Stage co-productions of the works of Ray Bradbury, Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby and Something Wicked This Way Comes. She worked for many years with both Gingerbread and Zodiac Theatres acting, directing, and doing scene work. Jayne is employed by the University of North Alabama as an Events Coordinator.
J. SCORR LONG (Assistant Director) is a graduate of the University of North Alabama, where he directed a number of plays including Vericona's Room and Boy Meets Girl. His playwright credits include 5:25 AM, which appeared at UNA as a staged reading and was performed at the 13th Annual Edward Albee Last Frontier Theatre Conference. He is currently preparing for interviews and auditions for graduate school in Directing and spent the earlier part of this summer as Mr. Stutts' Assistant Director on the UNA Summer Theatre production of Stand By Your Man.
WILL STUTTS (David O. Selznick / Director) returned to his native Shoals area to be the Producing Artistic Director of UNA's Summer Theatre program in which he reprised his production of the Tammy Wynette musical, Stand By Your Man. Since leaving the Shoals area 38 years ago, Stutts has lived in New York, Loss Angeles, and currently resides in suburban Philadelphia, PA. After attendance at Yale University's School of Drama, Stutts appeared in Broadway productions including Spoon River Anthology with Will Geer and Agnes Morehead, Richard II and Night Of The Iguana with Richard Chamberlain, Queen and the Rebels with Colleen Dewhurst, Summer and Smoke with Eva Marie Saint, and Present Laughter with George C. Scott. He has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions including Hamlet with Harry Hamlin, Tiger at the Gates, and The Sea Gull. A fixture in America's major professional regional theatres, his credits as actor and/or director include: Barter Theatre, The ASOLO in Sarasota, FL., Florida Rep., Seattle Rep., ACT in San Franscisco, The Goodman in Chicago, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, The Walnut Street in Philadelphia, George Street Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ., and Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami among many others. As Producing Artistic Director he has run and directed three seasons of The Los Angeles Shakespeare Co., Actor's Theatre of Philadelphia, The South Jersey Regional Theatre, Gateway and Mt. Gretna Playhouses as well as directing national tours with Colleen Dewhurst in My Gene, Werner Klemperer and Kim Hamilton in Love Letters, Tammy Grimes in Over My Dead Body, and Kim Hunter in The Gin Game. television directing credits include two episodes of The Practice. He directed Thornton Wilder's Skin Of Our Teeth at Seattle Rep.last year, and is scheduled to direct O'Neill's Moon for The Misbegotten this late fall in Pittsburg.
For further information, contact the Tennessee Valley Art Center at 256-383-0533 or visit www.tvaa.net.
The Tennessee Valley Art Association is a non-profit regional organization providing cultural arts programs for the people of northwest Alabama. Visual and performing arts activities are conducted at the Tennessee Valley Art Center in Tuscumbia and at the historic Ritz Theatre in Sheffield. Programming includes rotating exhibitions, juried art competitions, community theatre and workshops and classes for adults and children. An educational outreach program is conducted by the organization's facilities and in area schools. The TVAA is supported by grants from The Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information about The Tennessee Valley Art Association, visit the website or call 256-383-0533.
August 7, 2008 -- NW-SCC To Hold Open Fall Registration August 14th
Muscle Shoals & Phil Campbell, AL -- For students planning to attend Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) for the 2008 fall semester and have not registered, there is still time to do so. NW-SCC will be holding its annual open fall registration Thursday, August 14, 2008, according to Admissions Director, Tom Carter.
"With the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) deciding not to raise tuition for the 2008-09 academic year, I believe it will really benefit our fall enrollment," said Carter. "Applications for the fall semester have continued to come in all summer. We look forward to registering several of them on the 14th."
The fall open registration will be held on both the Shoals and Phil Campbell campuses, Thursday, August 14, 2008. Registration on the Shoals campus will be held in the Patriot Center (gymnasium) while registration on the Phil Campbell campus will be held in the Wallace Administration Building (Building 301). Open registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. break for lunch at 12:30 p.m. and resume for the afternoon session at 4:30 p.m. and conclude at 7:00 p.m.
Fall classes begin Monday, August 18th. For more information or to obtain a copy of the fall semester schedule, call (256) 331-5200 or visit the Northwest-Shoals Community College website at www.nwscc.edu.
JULY 2008
July 30, 2008 -- NW-SCC to Offer Displaced Occidental Chemical Employees Tuition Waiver
Muscle Shoals & Phil Campbell, AL -- As of the 2008 Fall semester, Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) will extend a 50 percent tuition waiver to all displaced Occidental Chemical (Muscle Shoals, AL) employees who have become unemployed as a result of recent layoffs.
NW-SCC will offer assistance to approximately 47 displaced workers who may be in need of training or retraining through programs offered by Northwest-Shoals Community College. The tuition waiver will be available to those displaced workers enrolling in college beginning fall 2008 and ending fall 2010. This waiver will assist displaced workers in securing the necessary skills to re-enter the workforce.
"At Northwest-Shoals, we feel it is our responsibility to meet all the retraining needs in our area. Education is vital to enhanced living standards for the citizens of Northwest Alabama," stated NW-SCC President Humphrey Lee.
Members of the Alabama Community College System have been allowed to issue 50 percent waivers to displaced workers following the Alabama State Board adopting the resolution on August 23, 2007. The resolution states that t tuition waiver of 50 percent be granted to eligible "...displaced workers of industries determined eligible by the Department of Postsecondary Education who will become unemployed as a result of an industry closing or layoff and who are in need of retraining."
This tuition waiver is restricted to displaced workers of Occidental Chemical who are not eligible to receive funding under Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) or other similar and/or related state and/or federal workforce assistance programs; and for whom substantial tuition assistance cannot be secured from other sources.
NW-SCC will hold an informational meeting Tuesday, August 5th at 6:00 p.m. in the Hospitality House on the Muscle Shoals campus of NW-SCC regarding educational options for the displaced workers of Occidental Chemical. For more information, please contact Tom Carter, Director of Admissions and Recruitment at (256) 331-5263.
July 18, 2008 -- NW-SCC Child Development Seminar to focus on recognizing Child Abuse & how to handle it
Muscle Shoals, AL -- Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) Child Development Program announces its summer seminar "Recognizing Abuse and What to do about it in Today's World" to be held Saturday, August 2, 2008, on the Shoals campus, in the Workforce Development Center from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
The summer conference will feature Monica Haddock, Director of Forensics Cramer Children's Center. Ms. Haddock conducts therapy with child and adolescent victims of abuse as well as court ordered custody and visitation evaluations. Ms. Haddock routinely speaks to local organizations and conferences about child abuse. She is an ongoing facilitator of the forensic interviewing training at the National Advocacy Center in Huntsville.
Morning breakout sessions will follow the keynote presentation:
- "SAFEPLACE: Domestic Violence and the Child: What is SAFEPLACE?"
- "The Dangers of Crystal Meth to Families and Children: How to Recognize" This session will be presented by Curtis Burns, Director of Colbert County Drug Task Force, Captain, Sheffield Police Department
- Panel Q & A Session from the area's Department of Human Resources will be available to address concerns as well as inform participants of reporting requirements relating to child abuse and neglect
For additional information, contact:
Sue Gibbs, NW-SCC Child Development
(256) 331-5351
sgibbs@nwscc.edu
July 14, 2008 -- NW-SCC to Offer Displaced Tiffin Motor Homes Employees Tuition Waiver
Muscle Shoals & Phil Campbell, AL -- As of the 2008 fall semester, Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) will extend a 50 percent tuition waiver to all displaced Tiffin Motor Homes employees who have become unemployed as a result ot recent layoffs.
NW-SCC President, Mr. Humphrey Lee has decided to assist the 296 employees seeking training or retraining through programs offered by Northwest-Shoals Community College. The tuition waiver of 50 percent will be granted to eligible displaced workers of Tiffin Motor Homes (Red Bay, AL) enrolling in college beginning fall 2008 and ending fall 2010. This waiver will assist displaced workers in securing the necessary skills to re-enter the workforce.
The Alabama Community College System seeks to provide accessible quality educational opportunities, promote economic growth and enhance the quality of life for the people of Alabama. "At Northwest-Shoals, we feel it is our responsibility to provide this community with the opportunity for training. Education is vital to improved living standards and continued fiscal growth for our area," stated NW-SCC President, Humphrey Lee.
According to Joel Parris, NW-SCC Financial Aid Director, the college recognizes there is a compelling need to respond rapidly to meet the needs of these displaced workers and the tuition waiver makes it possible to begin their retraining sooner. "Delayed approval time is often an issue with some assistance programs. This waiver makes it possible for the former Tiffin Motor Homes employees to initiate their retraining whil awaiting further assistance."
The tuition waiver is restricted to displaced workers of Tiffin Motor Homes who are not eligible to receive funding under Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) or other similiar and/or related state and/or federal workforce assistance programs; and for whom substantial tuition assistance cannot be secured from other sources.
NW-SCC will hold an informational meeting July 28th at 6:00 p.m. in the Red Bay High School Cafeteria regarding educational options for the displaced workers of Tiffin Motor Homes. For more information please contact Tom Carter, NW-SCC Director of Admissions and Recruitment at (256) 331-5263.