Members of the Lockheed Martin team, including Director and General Manager Bill Paul, third from right, presented a plaque to the CF District Board of Trustees Wednesday in recognition of our partnership.
May 30, 2019
Good morning, team,
We welcomed members of the Lockheed Martin leadership team to our District Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, where they recognized our partnership with a plaque commemorating the STEMcon event held in March. The event welcomed middle school students to campus for demonstrations and hands-on activities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. We appreciate the support of our partners, who help ensure our academic programs are relevant and are meeting the needs of our community.
Last week, we held an Advisory Committee Appreciation Breakfast where we celebrated the contributions of our more than 300 advisory board members. This inaugural event spotlighted the value we place on business volunteers who make a difference in the lives of our students. It was well-received and we look forward to holding the event again next year.
Congratulations to our 2019 Patriot PRIDE Service Excellence award winners, Gabor Award winners and all CF team members who were honored at the Employee Recognition program May 3. Each year, Patriot PRIDE Service Excellence Awards are presented to CF team members who exemplify the PRIDE standards of Professional, Responsive, Informative, Dependable, and Engaged. This year PRIDE awards were presented to Rachel Cote in Marketing and Public Relations, Mike Crosby in Plant Operations, Cheryl Metz in Student Services and Lori Wesley in Printing and Postal Services.
Gabor Awards were presented by the CF Foundation to three employees for outstanding contributions to our college, community and students. This year, Nancy Abshier was honored in the Faculty category, Max Montalvo in the Career Service category, and Lana Lutz in the Administrative and Professional category.
In addition, 52 team members were recognized for service milestones of five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years, with a combined total of 830 years of service to CF. Carol Smith has been with the college for 35 years. Amazing! If you missed either program, you can view them at these links. (Employee Recognition Video, Gabor Awards Video)
Also on May 3, we celebrated our students with two graduation ceremonies. We conferred 1,836 certificates and degrees, with 488 students participating. Thanks to those CF team members who had a role in facilitating the use of tickets to manage the number of guests at the ceremonies. Videos of the ceremonies are available at these links. (3 p.m. commencement, 6 p.m. commencement)
Congratulations to our softball team, which won the state championship for the first time in college history and came in third place in the national tournament in Utah. Thanks to Coach Kevin Fagan and his staff for their role in training and inspiring this group of student athletes. In addition, congratulations to student athlete James Nix who was recognized as the male student athlete of the year in our state! James plays on our baseball team under hall of fame coach Marty Smith. Congratulations again coaches Fagan and Smith!
Hurricane season is right around the corner, so now is the time to ensure that you and your family are prepared. Refer to our Hurricane Procedures flier for survival kit basics as well as steps to take before, during and after a storm. Please do not wait until we are in the path of a hurricane to begin planning. Printed copies of the Hurricane Procedures arrived in mailboxes earlier this week.
We are still eagerly awaiting a decision on the state budget by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The proposed budget approved by the legislature has just a 2.2% increase in funding for the entire Florida College System, and 3.4% increase for CF. That coupled with our historic nine year enrollment decline and associated reductions in tuition revenue and increases in the costs of operations create challenging times for meeting the needs of our students, team, and community. I will keep you informed as we learn more.
Thank you for all that you do for our students and the college, and congratulations for another amazing academic year.
Jim
