President’s Update, November 2018

Faculty member Abraham Mathew serves residents at Evangeline Booth Garden Apartments in 2016.

Nov. 19, 2018

Good morning, CF Team,

Author Melody Beattie has said: “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I am reminded of how much we have to be grateful for at CF.

Our Association of Florida Colleges chapter will celebrate an early Thanksgiving on Wednesday with the residents of Evangeline Booth Garden Apartments. This is the 16th year the college has prepared and shared a traditional meal of turkey and all the trimmings with residents of the senior citizen complex run by the Salvation Army. Please consider joining us in giving back to our community by sharing the Thanksgiving spirit and food! If you are interested in helping, contact Mark Ross, ext. 1463 or rossm@cf.edu.

Come out and support our men’s basketball team this weekend. CF faces Chipola College on Friday at 8 p.m. and Indian River State College on Saturday at 6 p.m. Wrap up your Black Friday shopping by cheering on our Patriots.

On Nov. 8 we celebrated 55 years of our Associate Degree Nursing program with current and former students, guests and community members. On Nov. 7, we welcomed business and community leaders as well as current and potential students to the Business and Technology team’s Stay Local event, which showcased education and career opportunities in Marion County. The events serve as a reminder of our impact in the community.

We had strong representation at the AFC Annual Convention in Orlando Nov. 7-9. In the coming year, Marjorie McGee will serve as AFC president, Kim Sellers as Region III director, and Mikel James as chair-elect of the Student Development Commission. Debbie Bowe was presented the CF Unsung Hero Award. Marketing and Public Relations won 12 awards in the Communications and Marketing Commission Awards of Excellence, the chapter was awarded platinum chapter status and also received the Membership Growth Award. Thank you to everyone for giving your time and talent in representing the college throughout the state.

Thanks to all who have contributed to the United Way Campaign. A few more donations would help us reach our goal of $10,000. Please contact Jessica Kummerle at ext. 1598 or kummerlj@cf.edu by Wednesday if you would like to help us reach our goal. I look forward to seeing those of you who have supported the campaign at our Thank You event on Nov. 28 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Webber Center.

I look forward to showing appreciation to our CF family at the CF Holiday Reception Thursday, Dec. 6, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the Appleton Museum of Art. We will enjoy catering by Rosemary & Thyme, music by our CF Jazz students, a museum scavenger hunt (and a chance to win prizes). Please watch Insider and your mailbox for a formal invitation to the reception.

And finally, we will celebrate the accomplishments of our students at fall graduation, which will be held 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, at First Baptist Church of Ocala. We will honor Dr. Cash Pealer, former president of the CF Foundation, with the Distinguished Service Award.

Please know that I am especially thankful for our CF faculty and staff who are focused on helping our students to be successful. Thank you for all that you do for our students, our college and our community. We Are CF!

Jim