Holiday Greetings

Spotsylvania County BOS Supports Building III

Good News! Last night after my presentation and Q&A, the Spotsylvania BOS voted 7-0 asking County staff to prepare a plan with college personnel for committing to fund $1.2 million over several years for Building III at FAC. Final vote will be at the regular meeting on either October 13 or 27.

My thanks to all the Spotsylvania Board members, to chair Hap Connor and Vice Chair Gary Skinner, to Doug Barnes and Russell Seymour at the County Administration, and to college staff who helped me prepare my presentation.

Special thanks to Bruce Davis of both of our Boards for his help and to Bruce and Jane Wallace for their presence and support last night. Much thanks also to Rick Brehm for being at the meeting, helping answer questions, and his ongoing and superlative hard work.

See today’s FLS:

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/092009/09232009/495602

David

Lest We Forget

All of us lost something on September 11, 2001.

Some of us lost all.

Let us pause today to remember:
- those who died
- those who were hurt
- those who rushed in to help, some of whom never came out
- those who lost someone they loved
- those who have died fighting since then
- those who may be in combat at this moment, some so young they do not even clearly remember this day eight years ago

And let us affirm that the values our nation stands for at its best will be preserved not only in the actions of the heroes who battle fire and crime or who battle in war, but also those who are patriots in their quiet actions of each common day.

More Details on the Budget Cuts

We have received clarification on two items in the Governor's press release:

• Further savings are achieved through targeted strategies that will reduce general fund spending by an additional $446 million—including more than $104 million in reduced payments to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) for the final quarter of FY 2010. Contribution rates for the Commonwealth and its employees will be changed in July at the beginning of the next biennium to adequately fund the long-term needs of the retirement system.

We believe that employees will not see a difference in the current year but that as early as the last quarter of this fiscal year and most likely beginning in July employees will be asked to pay for a portion of our state retirement.

• A one-day furlough of all state employees on the Friday proceeding Memorial Day 2010. Agencies with critical or emergency personnel are instructed to accommodate staffing needs and make adjustments to the furlough date accordingly.

We now know that this does apply to us. I will decide how we will implement after further discussions with vice presidents and other administrators and let you know.

I regret the hardships these decisions will bring to all of you. Further clarification will be announced as soon as available.

Annual Report provides glimpse at what makes Germanna Community College special

This year’s Annual Report, available now, celebrates the contributions and achievements of Germanna students, faculty, alumni. And it recognizes the generosity of community stakeholders whose contributions have become more important than ever as the state has been forced to make budget cuts.

Among those featured:

• Ninety-four -year-old Germanna computer science student Claire Ducker, for providing an inspiring example of what lifelong learning is all about.
  
• Associate Dean Judi Bartlett, whose selflessness in giving of her time sets a standard of going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to caring about, taking a personal interest in, and helping students.
  
• Retiring English instructor Rob Sherwood, who brought an energetic, imaginative and fun approach to learning despite a long and debilitating battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
  
• David Rose, who has been a part of Germanna since the College opened in 1970 as a student, faculty member and a member of the GCC Local College Board.
  
• Hugh Cosner, whose generosity to Germanna earned him a statewide award for philanthropy.

We hope you’ll agree with us that the report provides a glimpse of the heart and dedication that make Germanna a special place, even in the most difficult times.

A Christmas message

Friends and Colleagues,

Here in Virginia, with the Blue Ridge as a backdrop and history alive around us, the snow falls, the skies suddenly clear, and the semester ends.

At year end, we take time to reflect, to celebrate, to remember, and to plan for the future.

Whatever holiday we celebrate, let us remember the origin of the word comes from 'holy day.' Let us remember that every day is sacred, an opportunity that comes to us once to live this particular day in the best way we can.

In this season of renewed hope, in a time of great challenges and opportunities for our nation and our commonwealth, let us remember that we work in a place of hope.

Let us remember the sacred trust we hold here at Germanna Community College. Every day we have been given the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. Each student we meet presents us with this opportunity.

Each student we meet is the opportunity to fulfill hope: The hope of the individual student. The hope of the family who entrusts us with that student. The hope of our community that this student will be an effective and contributing citizen. Each student we meet gives us the opportunity to help someone find a dream and earn the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to achieve that dream.

Each student presents us with the sacred opportunity to pass on the ethic of service to a cause larger than the self, the ethic of shared leadership, shared responsibility, shared power.

We face great challenges with a strength that comes from this common commitment.
We are blessed to be in this business of hope, and I am proud and grateful to work with all of you at Germanna.

As we spend time with our friends and families, let us remember the lyrics of that wonderful Christmas song,

“Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams”

and recall the many men and women serving our country who will not be home for Christmas except in their dreams, and pray for their safety and that they come home before the next year ends.

I wish you all a blessed time with your families and friends, a safe and happy holiday season, and the bounty of a new year with more opportunities to serve at a place of hope.

David

APPRECIATION: Dr. Arnold Wirtala, Germanna's founding president, passes away at 85

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Germanna’s founding president. Dr. Arnold E. Wirtala died Tuesday at home in Fredericksburg, at age 85. He served as Germanna’s president from 1969 to 1980.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete this afternoon.
As Germanna’s first president, Dr. Wirtala led the college through some of its most challenging times, keeping the institution going when low enrollment threatened its very existence. GCC opened with 400 students in 1970, and struggled to meet enrollment goals in the early years. There was talk in the state legislature of closing the college. Dr. Wirtala’s efforts helped give Germanna the chance to grow and thrive as it has today, serving a total headcount of nearly 13,000, and spreading out over an area the size of Rhode Island with campuses in Fredericksburg and Locust Grove, a tech center in Culpeper, and the potential for the opening of a Stafford center in 2009.
When Dr. Wirtala arrived at Germanna in September 1969, he says in a history of GCC, “I found only stakes marking the location of the college.”
Germanna opened its doors in 1970. He called starting the college, “an exciting adventure.”
He said building a college in a sparsely populated spot such as Locust Grove “required an act of faith and a commitment to the future. The first years were not easy. …”
He said it was always his view that Germanna: “was here to reach out to young people who otherwise could not have the opportunity for a higher education. Also, it was to give another chance to those who had failed previously. Gov. Mills Godwin on many occasions cited success stories of Germanna Community College as examples of what community colleges are about.”
Dr. Wirtala was born on May 4, 1923 in Ashtabula, Ohio. He was the son of the late Ernest and Lylli Wirtala. He graduated from Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky in 1947 with a degree in Music Education. His college education was interrupted by World War II, and he served in the U.S. Army from 1943-45 overseas with the 117th Armored Group, 3rd Army Battalion in Normandy, France; the Battle of the Bulge, Rhineland, and in Central Europe.
He married Mary Grace Land in June 1947. They both enrolled and completed work in the Master's Degree Program in Music Education at the University of Michigan. They moved to Gainesville, Fla. in August 1948, where he was employed as an instructor in the Division of Music at the University of Florida. Dr. Wirtala received his Doctor of Education in 1954 at the University of Florida, and was then promoted to Assistant Professor of Music. He taught music theory, music literature, 'cello and clarinet. He was the cellist in the Faculty String Quartet and clarinetist in the Faculty Woodwind Quintet. He was the Associate Conductor of the University Symphony. He also served as the choir director at University United Methodist Church in Gainesville from 1957-1969.
Dr. Wirtala became the Assistant Dean of Men in 1962 at the University of Florida. He then served as the Dean of Academic Affairs at Central Florida Community College in Ocala from 1965-1968. He returned to the University of Florida as the Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in the College of Education from 1968-69.
After leaving Germanna, Dr. Wirtala and his wife Mary returned to Gainesville, Fla. to enjoy their retirement. In additional to traveling throughout Europe and the United Kingdom many times, Dr. Wirtala also served as the President of the Foundation of Music as well as the President of the Retired Faculty of the University of Florida, as well as remaining active in the University United Methodist Church.
He was preceded in death by his wife. He is survived by his daughter Cathy Keathley of Gainesville, Fla., his son and daughter-in-law Joe and Kathy Wirtala of Fredericksburg, and his five grandchildren-- Ben and Dan Keathley of Gainesville, and Sara, Tim and Amy Wirtala of Fredericksburg.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Germanna Community College Education Foundation, Inc., or the University of Florida College of Education Support Fund.
As the first president of Germanna Community College, Dr. Wirtala helped to create the foundation for the college that serves the region today. He will be deeply missed.
--David

Veterans deserve far more than a single day of thanks

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 17 million surviving war veterans in the United States.

All of them have put their lives on the line for their country. All were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for us. And many must live with the memory of seeing their comrades do just that.

Nov. 11 has been designated as Veterans' Day, but for too many of us, it has become just a day off, just an opportunity to take advantage of sales at the mall.

Wherever we are, we should seriously contemplate the sacrifices veterans, living and dead, have made for us.

I ask everyone at Germanna to pause today at 4:30 p.m. to remember the brave men and women who have served and are serving our nation, those who gave a part of their lives or indeed their very lives to protect us and freedom.

As we sit in our classrooms we should express deep gratitude to those who protect us so we can teach and learn and live.

Today we thank all of America’s veterans, from those who fell during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to those serving our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

But our gratitude is not limited to this single day. We should thank the veterans we meet each and every day.

They have earned our eternal gratitude and undying respect.