GPA: Eastwood Alumni Assn. Hall of Fame announces 2020 honorees

        The Eastwood Alumni Association announced the Eagle Way Hall of Fame Class of 2020. Honorees include:
         • George Brinker - WWII vet and Purple Heart recipient; Board of Education President when Eastwood Middle School was built; designed and built more than 100 “Brinker Bridges” in Wood County; class president two years at Troy-Luckey.
        • Dr. Bob Brueggemeier, Eastwood class of 1968 – Former dean, professor and researcher in the College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University; major breast cancer researcher; holder of four patents.
        • Linda Dunmyer, Eastwood class of 1965 – Outstanding Eastwood educator for 30 years; major force behind the formation of the Quilting Eagles; active supporter for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
        • Mike Gardner, Eastwood class of 1968- Holds most varsity letters in Eastwood history with 13; Eastwood boys golf coach for 48 years; Eastwood educator for 41 years; 34 years as Eastwood basketball scorekeeper.
        • Dr. Lisa Lattanza, Eastwood class of 1981 - Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehab at Yale School of Medicine; world-renowned leader in 3D surgical planning and technology for deformity correction; co-founder of Perry Institute.
        Tickets to the Feb. 22, 2020 Hall of Fame banquet to be held at the Pemberville American Legion can be purchased at the Pemberville Library, Eastwood High School or from Betty Kahlenberg, Marcia Cousino, Mike Godfrey, Joyce Brinker, and Janell Vickers.
        Tickets are $25 and include the induction ceremonies, a steak or chicken dinner with potato, vegetable, salad, cake and soft drinks.
 
Small Business Basics
        The Ohio Small Business Development Center at Terra State Community College is offering free, two-hour “Small Business Basics” seminars designed to answer questions about starting, buying or expanding a small business.           This seminar will help entrepreneurs avoid costly mistakes and unnecessary steps. Attendees will learn the basics of name registration, licensing, taxes, zoning, business entities, employees, insurance, financing and business planning. The January schedule includes:
        •  Wednesday, Jan. 8, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Ottawa County Improvement Corporation (conference room), 8043 W. SR 163, Oak Harbor.
        • Tuesday, Jan. 29, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Terra State Community College, (Building B, Room 103), 2830 Napoleon Rd., Fremont.
        To register or for more information, contact Bill Auxter, Director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center at 419-559-2210 or bauxter@terra.edu.
 
Spike’s Reading Club
        The Toledo Walleye have introduced a fun and exciting way to encourage children to read.
        Spike’s Reading Club, presented by Ohio’s 529 Plan, aims to reward children in grades K-8 in Northwest Ohio with tickets to a Walleye game and the opportunity to win a major savings award.
         Teachers are invited to enroll their classes in Spike’s Reading Club. When a student in that class reads five books, he or she will receive one free game ticket to a designated Toledo Walleye game
        This season, five students who meet the reading criteria will be randomly selected to receive a $529 savings award provided by Ohio’s 529 Plan. Awards will be presented to the students at their schools.
        In addition, this season, five teachers who lead students in their classroom to read 100 books will be randomly selected to receive a $1,000 savings award provided by Ohio’s 529 Plan. Awards will be presented at a Walleye game.
        To enroll in Spike’s Reading Club, go to www.toledowalleye.com/reading.
 
Alford named Asst. Director for Stone Lab
        Ohio Sea Grant announced the addition of Dr. Brian Alford as the new Assistant Director for Stone Laboratory. Alford will oversee all aspects of the lab’s operations, from its cutting-edge scientific research program to education and public outreach efforts.
        “We’re happy to welcome Dr. Alford to Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab,” said Dr. Christopher Winslow, the program’s director. “Brian will be instrumental to Stone Lab’s strategic planning around our research and education programs, and he will contribute important expertise to statewide and regional committees as well as at the lab.”
        Alford comes to Stone Lab from the University of Tennessee, where he taught fisheries techniques and fish management courses to undergraduate and graduate students and developed a research program to address the conservation and management of fisheries and aquatic resources, both in Tennessee and nationally. He previously worked as a fisheries biologist for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, where he established and coordinated research programs on inland and marine fisheries management.
        He holds a PhD in forest resources with an emphasis on fish management from Mississippi State University and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biological sciences from The University of Southern Mississippi. His research focused on management of sport fisheries in wadeable streams in Mississippi.
        His contact information is available at ohioseagrant.osu.edu/about/people.
        The Ohio State University’s Ohio Sea Grant College Program is part of NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. For more information, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu.
 
Terra State, faculty union agree on three-year contract
        On Dec. 19, the Terra State Community College Board of Trustees approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement, which the Faculty Union previously ratified.
        Included in the agreement, expiring June 30, 2022, is $1,250 added to base salary for all full-time faculty in year one of the agreement. In year two and three, full-time faculty will receive a 2.75% raise in salary. There will also be an increased overload payment of $50 per credit hour over the 27 credit-hour requirement.
        Board of Trustees Chairperson Kay Reiter believes this agreement is a good move for the College. “This is something that has been talked about for quite some time and I’m glad we were able to reach an agreement,” she said. “The Board is always looking at what will benefit the College as a whole and we feel this is a step in the right direction.”
        Negotiations began in April this year and President of the Terra Faculty Association (TFA) Steve Bender said he is happy they were able to come to an agreement. “It was a long process because there were a lot of sections of the contract that needed cleaned up and clarified. The TFA negotiating team had a tremendous amount of support from the faculty, which really helped.”
        According to Director of Human Resources Jeremy McLaney, there were many reasons for the revisions in the Faculty Union contract. The goal was to minimize confusion and ambiguity, be fair to all parties involved and “do what’s best for the college while taking care of our faculty,” he says.
        “I’m pleased with the results of the negotiations,” says Terra State President Dr. Ron Schumacher. “We’re working together to grow as a College and I feel these changes are necessary to continue to strengthen our academic programs.”
 
Venezuelan native selected as Owens class representative
        Venezuelan native Maria Guadalupe Lopez Davila was selected as the Owens Community College class representative and addressed the 398 graduates during the 39th Fall Commencement ceremony held Dec. 13. She graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in Communication Studies and Cum Laude honors.
        Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz served as the commencement keynote speaker.
        Lopez Davila came to the United States on an F1 student visa following her 2017 graduation from Juan XXIII High School in Valencia, the third-largest city in Venezuela with a population of approximately 1.8 million. She currently resides in Findlay.
        She sought an opportunity to learn and grow away from her native country’s struggles. Civil unrest began in Venezuela in 2013 and has continued to present day due to high levels of urban violence, inflation and chronic shortages of basic goods and services, such as food and water. Widespread political corruption is blamed for much of the country’s problems.
        “Maria is a humbly bright individual. Every goal that she sets for herself, she goes beyond it,” Lyndsay Dimick, international student advisor, said.
        Despite taking English classes since first grade, she said her time at Owens has taught her how to communicate daily in English as she focuses on a Spanish-English communications career in business, journalism or social media. She said she is now beginning to dream in English as well.
        Her mother, Dr. Morella Davila, OBGYN, and father, Rostin Lopez, a statistician and broadcaster for the Magellan Navigators professional baseball team in Valencia, hoped to attend the ceremony.
        “I was raised in an environment with strong family values. I wanted to make my family proud, to show my mom and dad they did a good job with me,” Lopez Davila said.
        After graduation, Lopez Davila has applied for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension to her student visa that would allow her to work for a year in a job related to her major before attending a 4-year university.
        “I want to be the best me so that I represent Venezuela and the Latino culture in what I do,” she said. “I have the duty and responsibility to talk about the good that comes from my country.”