College of the Ozarks Students Shop for Deals to Give Needy Children Basic School Supplies and Necessities
By: Linda LeNeve

There are tens of millions of children in developing countries who have never attended school. While a number of factors contribute to a lack of education among children in developing nations, one key component is access to basic school supplies.

However, this back-to-school season, C of O students are looking beyond their own school supply lists and making a difference in the lives of needy kids overseas. By maximizing back-to-school sales, they are stocking up on items for Operation Christmas Child, a year-round project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham. Participants fill shoe boxes with school materials, toys, necessity items, and letters of encouragement for children in poverty around the world.

This shoe box packing effort, requiring months of organization and preparation, is expected to bless over 9 million children this year suffering the effects of natural disaster, disease, war, terrorism, famine and poverty.

In 2012 Operation Christmas Child anticipates reaching a milestone—collecting and delivering shoe boxes to more than 100 million children since the project began in 1993. Through the power of a simple gift and the message of hope through Jesus Christ, children learn they are loved and not forgotten. For many of these children, the shoe box will be the first gift they have ever received.

Individuals interested in taking part in the Operation Christmas Child ministry this year can get involved by doing these things:
• PREPARE – Help enlist families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses to take advantage of back-to-school sales by collecting school supplies for shoe box gifts.
• PACK – Fill shoe boxes with school supplies, toys, necessity items and a letter of encouragement and drop off the gift boxes at College of the Ozarks during National Collection Week November 12-19.

For further information and brochures, contact Linda LeNeve, Relay Coordinator at 417- 690-3449.

Registration Begins Today for Another FREE Seminar

Branson, MO…Connell Insurance, with co-sponsor Apex Physical Therapy, will be hosting their 6th Annual Workers’ Compensation Seminar on Friday July 20th at the Hilton Convention Center in Branson. This free half-day seminar, which focuses on workers’ compensation issues in Southwest Missouri, features two speakers and is now open for registration.

Jerry Harmison, a partner in the Springfield law firm of Harmison & Pearman, will discuss recent legal trends and case law that continue to develop in the workers’ compensation courts. HR professionals will learn specific claims defenses and implementation procedures regarding admissible defenses provided by recent court cases.

Andy Vitale OTR/L is a Certified Functional Capacity Evaluator. He will focus on recent developments with the ADA and EEOC and the importance of professionally developed functional job descriptions. Mr. Vitale will stress that documenting functional job descriptions and incorporating them into written job descriptions will increase the effectiveness and legal compliance of preventions, injury management, and return to work programs. This information will prepare HR professionals to understand how these job descriptions can be utilized to make valid employment decisions involving placement and work injury management.

This event has been pre-approved for 3.0 hours of continuing education credit for HR professionals who are PHR or SPHR certified.

For more information and to register for the seminar, visit www.ConnellInsurance.com or call (417) 334-2000.

Connell Insurance, based in Hollister, MO, is one of the largest insurance agencies serving southwestern Missouri. An independent insurance agency, Connell specializes in both commercial and personal lines of insurance, representing numerous insurance companies.

Contact: Tim Connell, (417) 334-2000
Jack Burke, 1-800-451-8273

July 7, 2012
8:30 AM-1:30 PM

Join award-winning Chef, Robert Stricklin, in The Keeter Center kitchen to see how local farming inspires his cooking style. Only 8 spaces available for this memorable experience! Reserve today!

$75 includes Cooking School, Nature’s Harvest Lunch, & Admission to the Smithsonian of the Ozarks: Ralph Foster Museum

College of the Ozarks Aquatics Department, in conjunction with the American Red Cross’ “Learn to Swim” program, will offer swim lessons from April 16-26, 2012, at the Howell W. Keeter Athletic Complex Natatorium.

Lessons are offered to children ages six months through 15 years. The “Parent and Child Aquatics” program, available to students six months to four years old, will begin at 5 p.m. nightly.

The “Learn to Swim” program, available for students ages 5 to 15, will be offered in two different sessions. The first session begins at 5:30 p.m. and the second begins at 6:15 p.m. Participants will be divided into groups based on ability, and each group will have its own instructor.

There are eight lessons in the program, and the registration fee per student is $60. Participants may register beginning Monday, March 26, by calling Associate Professor of Physical Education Bill Keeter at (417) 690-2567 or C of O Athletic Department at (417) 690-2565.

Boger Gallery Presents Michael Ashley’s “Home,” Ceramics Inspired By The Ozark Mountains

By: Kearstin Mattox

The Boger Gallery at College of the Ozarks will feature the exhibit “Home,” a collection of works by ceramic artist Michael Ashley. The exhibit runs from March 27 through April 24 in the Boger Gallery, located on the ground floor of the Jones Learning Center.

Ashley’s work is inspired by childhood memories and playing by the riverside in the Ozark Mountains. His functional and utilitarian vessels are meant to appear as if they just have been pulled from the river, with surfaces aged by current, silt and time.

“To me this show is about coming back to the landscapes and rivers I grew up in,” said Ashley. “I want people to see that I take the colors and textures of the Ozarks with me everywhere I go.”

A workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 3, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., in the Art Annex. Ashley also will present a lecture on April 3, in the Gittinger Recital Hall at 7 p.m.; a reception will follow in the gallery. All events are free and open to the public.

This Boger Gallery event is sponsored by the College of the Ozarks Art Department, and financial assistance is provided by the Missouri Arts Council. Boger Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m weekdays and 1-5p.m. weekends, while school is in session. For more information, contact Richard Cummings, Boger Gallery director, at 417-690-2268 or e-mail [email protected].

By: Jacob McCauley

Dr. Temple Grandin, renowned speaker, author, animal scientist, and Autism advocate, will speak on livestock handling at College of the Ozarks on March 28, 2012, at 7 p.m., in Jones Auditorium.

Grandin, born August 29, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts, was diagnosed with autism in 1950. She was later placed in a nursery school that would teach her how to speak and other basic skills. “I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk. I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not get the words out, so I would just scream,” said Grandin. At the age of four, Grandin began making significant progress and attributes that to her mentors.

After graduating from a boarding school designed for gifted children, Dr. Grandin studied at Franklin Pierce College to earn her degree in psychology in 1970. In 1975, she received a master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University, and in 1989, she received a doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Today, she teaches at Colorado State University and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling and animal welfare. She has appeared on television shows such as “20/20,” “48 Hours,” CNN’s “Larry King Live,” “PrimeTime Live,” the “Today Show” and has been featured on National Public Radio.

The convocation is free and open to the public. Students are allowed priority seating. For more information on the convocation with Dr. Grandin and other special guests at College of the Ozarks, contact the Public Relations Office at (417) 690-2212.

By: Austin Plummer

Senior music major Jenna Dunnam will present her senior recital in the Newman Recital Hall of the Gittinger Music Building on Sunday, March 11, at 3 p.m.

Her recital will feature a mixture of vocal talent and piano repertoire. She will perform a variety of styles and genres, including works by Schumann, Mozart, Webber and Mark Hayes.

“I’ve learned more at C of O than I ever bargained for; most of which is not what I learned in the classroom. I couldn’t ask for better, godly professors in my degree,” said Dunnam.

Dunnam will graduate in May with a degree in general music. The senior recital is a prerequisite for the completion of the music major.

Students will be allowed priority seating for the event, but any seats left open will be available to the public free of charge. For more information, please call the Music Department at (417) 690-2244.

Exhibit “Celebrating 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts” to Open at Ralph Foster Museum

By: Turner Brock

The Ralph Foster Museum at College of the Ozarks will feature a special exhibit for the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts beginning March 12, the official Girl Scouts anniversary day. The exhibit will display Girl Scout uniforms, patches and booklets throughout history.

Local Girl Scouts Troop 10244 help put the display together. “This is a great way to remind people that the Girl Scouts have been around [for a while],” said Annette Sain, Ralph Foster Museum director. “This is a way to help enrich the community.”

The exhibit will be on display at the Edwards Art Gallery, located on the first floor of the Ralph Foster Museum.

The Ralph Foster Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Admission is free for high school and younger, adults are $6, and senior citizens are $5. For more information, please contact Annette Sain at 417-690-3407.

FFA Workshop Slated for Area High School Students
By: Jacob McCauley

College of the Ozarks Agriculture Department will host a FFA workshop for area high school students on March 3, 2012, in the Youngman Agriculture Center from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The event will include workshops on livestock, dairy products, entomology, meats, dairy cattle, nursery and landscaping, agronomy, forestry, poultry, horses, floriculture and soils. In 2011, the event brought more than 2,500 students from over 90 different schools in the southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas regions, making it one of Missouri’s larger agricultural events.

Registration is for area high school FFA students and sponsors. Registration forms are located on the C of O website and must be completed by February 24, 2012. An additional $15 late fee will be charged for late registration. Workshop participants can pick up their workshop forms beginning at 7:45 a.m. in the Youngman Agriculture Center; contests begin at 8:15 a.m. and workshops at 8:30 a.m.

For more information, visit www.cofo.edu, or call Donn Russell, event coordinator, at 417-690-3348.

In the picture from left to right: Shonna Hawks Admissions Representative, Marci Linson Dean of Admissions, Michael Lewis Admissions Representative.

The 43 Annual American Advertising Federation awarded the College of the Ozarks viewbook, an information publication for prospective students, with the Gold ADDY® Award (the highest award), Best of Category ADDY®, which considers all materials submitted and Judges Choice Award ADDY®. The viewbook also accrued the highest rated points of any entry in the competition. There were more than 300 total entries submitted in this year’s competition.

The ADDY® awards competition is a three-tiered national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation. It is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition for creative excellence.

The viewbook publication is produced by the Office of Admissions through Corcoran Communications, a company that provides marketing services for the education community.

“We are very honored to partner with Corcoran on our design and content efforts,” Dean of Admissions Marci Linson said. “It is an added bonus when your hard work is rewarded by the professional advertising industry.”

For more information, contact the C of O Admissions Office at 417-690-2636.