November 21, 2011

Toys for Tots campaign kicks off for the holidays

Volunteers unload boxes of toys in the Bookstore at the close of last year’s Toys for Tots campaign.

If you’ve noticed those big empty boxes in some offices around our campuses, the goal is to fill them up – with toys! Those boxes were placed there by Marine CWO2 John O’Keeffe, Staff Advisory Council members, and other volunteers as part of the second annual Columbus State Toys for Tots Drive.

O’Keeffe is a Columbus State graduate and works in office services at the Delaware Campus.

Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks and a group of Marine Reservists collected thousands of toys for needy children in Los Angeles. Since then, the expanding program has collected more than 400 million toys that have been given to more than 188 million children.

Ohio State University has also joined in the local effort this year. Here at Columbus State, there are more than 30 of the collection boxes around the college – a 50% increase from last year. Please bring in your toys by Wednesday, December 14. All toys will be picked up that day and then taken to the Delaware Campus where they’ll be presented to the Marine Corps the next day. Staff and students will be invited to that presentation.

If you have questions, contact Susan Thomas (SAC)sthoma10@cscc.edu  on the Downtown Campus or John O’Keeffe jokeeff1@cscc.edu or Abu Farah afarah20@cscc.edu on the Delaware Campus.

A winter choral concert to add to your holiday calendar!

Chorus Columbus State will perform their traditional Winter Quarter holiday concert on Sunday, December 4, at 3:00 p.m. in the Darby Court at the Columbus Museum of Art. 

The Chorus, under the direction of Gordon Franklin, will perform traditional Christmas music as well as additional choral works during the hour-long concert. The concert is free and open to the public.

 
SBDC sweeps awards at statewide business conference

Showing off their top performance awards after the ceremony at the SBDC conference are, from left: SBDC Specialist Becky Rousseau (holding Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta’s award), Michael Bowers, Randy Morgan, Nancy Stoll, David Rivers, and Jeff Schick.

At the annual Ohio Small Business Development Centers conference, held last week at the Crowne Plaza Dublin, the Columbus State SBDC team brought home an impressive number of awards! The conference was sponsored by the Department of Development Entrepreneurship and the Small Business Division.

Each year the top performers in the SBDC network are announced and honored at an evening reception:

Columbus State’s winners were:

• Michael Bowers, District Director, receiving the 2011 Innovation Award.

• Jeff Shick, SBDC Manufacturing and Technology director, receiving the 2011 Advocacy Award.

• Nancy Stoll, certified business advisor, receiving the Individual Performance Award for the second year in a row.

• David Rivers, certified business advisor, receiving the Top 5 Advisors in State award for the second year in a row.

• Randy Morgan, certified business advisor, also awarded for being among Top 5 Advisors in State.

• Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta, certified business advisor, awarded for exceeding counseling hours.

At the conference, Bowers conducted two workshops to show how social media can not only be use to augment the limited marketing budgets of SBDC Centers in other regions and their clients, but why participating on the same social platforms as your customers is not only beneficial but vital. The workshops were titled “Social Media and Business: Leverage It or Get Left Behind.”

Bowers then closed the conference with a session titled, “From the Idea to the Deal: How Private Equity Investing is Really Done.” Bowers moderated a panel which included entrepreneur Patrick Murphy of www.brandthunder.com, attorney Thomas Washbush of www.beneschlaw.com, venture acceleration director Rick Coplin of www.TechColumbus.com and Jeff Shick of SBDC’s Manufacturing and Technology center. The session covered the role of private equity funding in business development, sources of private equity funding, early-stage equity and growth capital and the legalities associated with private equity capital.