A group of Santa's elves gathered in the workshop today (aka the Community Room) to make a little magic for 16 children that have a Washington State connection. The group wrapped and ribboned while the room rang with laughter and holiday music. The elves prepared gifts for seven families and Santa's reindeer (alias President Hatfield) delivered cookies.

The Secret Santa program is conducted by volunteers. This year's co-chairs are Shirley Townsend and Lisa Mayle. Recipients are Washington State students' families; they are recommended for inclusion in the gift-giving program by faculty and staff, based on family need. Employees may elect to contribute to the Secret Santa fund through payroll deduction, as 35 did this year, or may contribute in other ways.

Opportunities abound for contributions in both $ and time. Payroll deduction contributions totaled $1,743.33 this year. Sixteen employees acted as shoppers and employees and students worked together in the elves' workshop to make things merry and bright.

The gifts purchased are based on the childrens' wish lists when possible. This year, two bikes were included on lists. Both wishes were filled, thanks to thrifty shoppers that believe in the project. Jill Bancheri was able to work with the store manager to get a specifically requested type of bike at a reduced price. Jill Kendall crawled out of bed early on "black Friday", after Thanksgiving, and stood in line to take advantage of an early morning half-price special on a bicycle, saving money to put toward a greater number of gifts for her Secret Santa child. Additionally, each family gets a little something for the parents, too.

This band of elf-like volunteers are a tradition at Washington State. The roots of the secret santa program go back to a time when the school was still Washington Technical College and the campus was still located on State Route 676. Lou Swartz was one of the program's founders.

If you would like to join in the Secret Santa efforts for next year, contact Shirley Townsend about committee work. If you would like to set up a payroll deduction to contribute $, send an e-mail request to either Connie Legraen or Catherine Barlow.

Jill Bancheri, member of the oversight committee, said, "Just imagine if everyone agreed to have $1 per check contributed, what a difference we could make."

*Thanks to all of you Santa's and Elves. I'm proud to work with such caring and compassionate colleagues. The Editor

On the Horizon

A preview of what's upcoming at Washington State

Being in the "right place at the right time" is resulting in a new collaborative program at Washington State, the Home Technology Integration Program (HTI). Initiated by Youngstown State University (YSU), this program will provide certification training to support the home network integration market. This market is experiencing rapid growth as the same technology that provided voice and data networks for businesses in the 1990s is being delivered to residential customers.

Washington State has been selected as one location that will deliver the program, which consists of 160 hours in areas such as standards, codes and regulations, telecommunications, audio/video, and computer network systems, home automation systems and security and surveillance. To set up as a HTI site, Washington State will receive nearly $35,000 worth of equipment through a EnterpriseOhio Workforce Development Grant, in collaboration with YSU. YSU will provide the training and support for secondary training partners like Washington State. The training will prepare students for CompTIA HTI+ Certification.

The program provides evidence that sometimes fate smiles upon us. Mark Nutter was in attendance at a meeting regarding funding for the engineering wing, auto/diesel, building addition. YSU did a presentation at that meeting and asked for any institutions interested in collaborating on the project to contact them. We did.

Plans are currently underway for the program, which will potentially be offered in fall 2005 for the first time. The program will take four quarter to complete. Stay tuned for more details as this exciting opportunity develops.

Last week's Morgan County Higher Education College Information Night drew the interest of a range of prospective students, from those still in high school to non-traditionals with grandchildren. The event was held in McConnelsville on Tuesday, November 30, and representatives from eight regional colleges were present. Attendees were able to speak to college representatives and were asked to complete a survey concerning interest in programs that could be offered completely, or nearly so, in Morgan County. About 40 people completed the survey, which was also included in the Morgan County Herald Wednesday December 1 edition. Those who could not attend the college information night may complete the survey and return it to the Herald office.

Progress continues on the Morgan County Higher Education consortium project, with the consortium representatives planning a session for January to address strategic planning.