MWCC's Weekly e-newsletter

Friday, March 4, 2005

MWCC LOANS W. JOSEPH CARR COLLECTION
TO THE GARDNER MUSEUM

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Mount Wachusett Community College has loaned part of its collection of W. Joseph Carr furniture design documents and artifacts to The Gardner Museum for an exhibit that will run from Thursday, March 10 through June. An open house for the exhibit will be held Thursday, March 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Gardner Museum, 28 Pearl St., Gardner.

W. Joseph Carr

Carr was a well-known furniture designer during the peak of the furniture industry in the Gardner area. His designs for the former Heywood-Wakefield Co., where he worked from 1936 to 1979, included the Old Colony, Publick House and Ashcraft lines. He also designed furniture for other furniture manufacturers, including the former S. Bent & Brothers and former C.H. Harshorn Inc. in Gardner. Carr “kept nearly every drawing, every product catalog, and every piece of correspondence of his career,” wrote the late John Tierney, a woodworking educator, in a 1997 letter to MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. Carr’s family donated the collection to MWCC.

“This collection is so important,” Tierney wrote, because Carr grew up in Massachusetts, was educated in Massachusetts schools and based his professional practice in Massachusetts. “His life and work is an inspiration to every young man and woman examining the issues of what they might do to participate in the life of the community,” he wrote.

The W. Joseph Carr Collection Exhibit is part of the Gardner Furniture Industry Documentary Project. This project aims to document the history of furniture manufacturing in and around Gardner to raise awareness about it and to make the details of it readily available to researchers. Project planners include staff from the MWCC library, The Gardner Museum, the Forest & Wood Products Institute at MWCC, the Wood Products Manufacturers Association and local residents. The project’s planning committee members are MWCC Assistant Dean of Library and Information Services Linda Oldach, MWCC Wood Products Workforce Development Coordinator Ken Hanson, MWCC Director of Grant Development Joe Stiso, The Gardner Museum President and former MWCC Professor Tom Malloy, Al Bibeau, Mike Richards, Al Anderson and Peggy Kelley.

“The idea is, there is a lot of information, but it’s scattered,” explained Oldach, the project manager. “We want to provide a central location to house it and make it available on the Web. To do that, you have to index everything.”

In addition to an Internet repository, documents related to Gardner’s furniture industry will need a physical home. The endeavor will require the hiring of an archivist, purchase and installation of modern preservation systems and hiring staff to assist researchers. The planning committee plans to seek donations and grant funds to support the project, Oldach said.

For more information about the documentary project, contact Oldach at (978) 630-9126 or loldach@mwcc.mass.edu. For information on the exhibit, contact Doris Gearan, who supervised the arrangement of the exhibit, at (978) 632-3277.

MICKEY GUZMAN, A 2005 UNSUNG HERO, WORKS
TO EMPOWER PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES

	Mickey Guzman

By Lea Ann Erickson

Mickey Guzman helps more than 1,800 clients find a variety of services through his work as a bilingual social worker at the Spanish American Center in Leominster. In addition he is committed to his community and has volunteered as a Little League Baseball coach and soccer coach.

Spanish American Center Director Neddy Latimer said, “Mickey is always willing to help and has been providing these services for over 22 years.” Guzman also serves on the Montachusett Area Regional Board CEDS, the Montachusett Area Rotary Club, the Board of Directors of Children’s Aid and Family Services, Unitil Consumer Advisory Board, North Central Minority Coalition, the Twin Cities Latino Coalition and the United Way of North Central Massachusetts Interagency Council. Many area residents are also familiar with his family’s band “Fa’ Unida” (United Family). They have presented more than fifty performances for area groups and organizations.

Guzman is committed to helping his community and clients he serves. “I try to match people with services,” he said. “I want to empower them to handle their own services. I really believe in the adage ‘If I give you a fish; you eat for a day. If I teach you to fish; you eat forever.’ I want to help people eat forever.”

Campus Events:

• The Theatre at the Mount will perform “Jesus Christ Superstar” on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. Parental discretion is advised for children under age 13. Tickets are $18 for evening performances and $15 for matinees, with special discounts available for groups. Tickets are available in person at the TAM Box Office from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. To charge tickets, call (978) 632-2403 or purchase tickets online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu. The Theater at the Mount is wheelchair accessible and is equipped with a hearing assistance system.

• The Institute for Nonprofit Development at MWCC is hosting a free, two-day workshop “The Art and Science of Grantwriting” on Monday, March 14 and Tuesday, March 15 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Participants will learn about applying for and writing federal grants. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development instructors will cover such topics as securing 501c3 status, researching federal funding opportunities and building coalitions. The workshop is sponsored by the institute and HUD’s New England Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. To register, contact Joanne Foster at (978) 630-9591 or jfoster@mwcc.mass.edu.

	Tsunami Relief Donation
	The Student Government Association, Alpha Beta Gamma and MWCC’s civic engagement office raised over $1,000 for the Red Cross’ Indian Ocean tsunami relief effort. Pictured from left are SGA Vice President Mike Crowley, SGA Student Trustee Susan Sayball, MWCC Professor Linda Bolduc, ABG’s advisor, and ABG President Jeanie Escabi and MWCC Director of Marketing Anne Garber, a Red Cross of North Central Massachusetts volunteer.

• The Forest & Wood Products Institute at MWCC will host a three-day, intensive spray-finishing technology workshop in the Robert D. Wetmore Center, Gardner campus, on Tuesday, March 15, Wednesday, March 16 and Thursday, March 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop is limited to 20 participants per class and costs only $550 per person (includes all materials and lunches). Participants will earn 16.5 professional development points. To register, contact Wood Products Workforce Development Coordinator Ken Hanson at (978) 630-9179 or khanson@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Over 300 high school sophomores from 11 local schools, including Gardner, Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Quabbin Regional, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical, Athol- Royalston, Leominster, North Middlesex, Narragansett, Murdock and Oakmont Regional will participate in Sophomore Career Day on Tuesday, March 15. During this event, students will attend four career exploration workshops of their choice. The students get a chance to learn about all of MWCC’s programs. The Career Day is sponsored by the Admissions Office and the North Central Massachusetts Tech Prep Consortium. For more information, contact Jane Carney (978) 630-9310 or Lisa Williams (978) 630-9380.

• Forest & Wood Products Institute at MWCC will host a 10-hour OSHA safety training session Monday, March 21 and Tuesday, March 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wood Products Workforce Development Coordinator Ken Hanson will cover at least nine OSHA safety standards. The cost is only $198 per person and includes lunch. To register, contact Hanson at (978) 630-9179 or khanson@mwcc.mass.edu.

• MWCC, in partnership with the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, will present Career Fair 2005 at Holy Cross College, Hogan Campus Center, Worcester, on Tuesday, March 22 from 2 to 5 p.m. It is open to MWCC students and alums. The fair is especially geared to business and human services disciplines, but students/alums with other majors are welcome. Details and a list of participating companies can be accessed at www.cowc.org. Bring plenty of resumes and dress for success! For more information, contact Pat Brewerton at (978) 630-9254 or pbrewerton@mwcc.mass.edu.

	r.a.d.KIDS
	MWCC Chief of Public Safety and Security Bob Mackie (on the floor) and Officer Melissa Garneau conducted a week-long R.a.d.KIDS training session, starting Monday, Feb. 21.

• The MWCC Pacers, the college’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life team, are looking for 30 members for this year’s Relay on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11. The 2004 Relay raised $758,000, the highest amount of the other 156 relays in New England. The Gardner Relay has raised over $5 million dollars since its inception 11 years ago. This year’s goal is to raise $800,000. Other benchmarks reached at the 2004 Relay include having 733 survivors walk the track, a number unheard of at any of the other relays, and being ranked No. 11 nationwide in funds raised (out of 4,200 relays). To join the MWCC Pacers, contact Sue Goldstein, JoAnn Brooks and Jan LeClair to get your relay packet.

• Registrations to take Cycle 4 classes at MWCC’s Gardner and Leominster campuses will be accepted through Monday, March 21 for Monday-Wednesday courses and Tuesday, March 22 for Tuesday-Thursday courses. The accelerated Cycle courses each run for three hours throughout the day and evening, twice a week for seven-and-a-half weeks. For a full list of Cycle 4 courses, check out http://www.mwcc.edu/current/cycle4.html on the Web or pick up a copy of the Spring 2005 Course Bulletin at any MWCC campus location. For assistance with registration, call the Admissions Office at (978) 630-9110.

• Sign up now for the next R.A.D. Basic Self-Defense Course, a 12-hour course for women only, at MWCC on Monday, March 21, Tuesday, March 22, Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. The cost of the course is $25. To register, please contact Melissa Garneau at (978) 630-9150.

• The Lifelong Institute for Enrichment (LIFE) at MWCC is sponsoring a Robin Lane presentation of “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis” on Thursday, March 31 at 2 p.m. at Best Western Royal Trade Plaza Hotel in Fitchburg. Tickets are on sale for $20 at MWCC’s Lifelong Learning office, room 163, or by contacting Lorraine Wickman at (978) 630-9176. In this compelling one-woman show, Lane reveals the real Jacqueline Onassis, the private woman behind the public mask, while keeping alive the mystique, the magic that was Jackie. Camelot lives again in this personal portrayal of a woman who found her way into the hearts of America.

• A classic piece of literature comes to Theatre at the Mount for 11 performances beginning on Thursday, March 31. “Honk! Jr.,” a part of the Broadway Junior Collection, is a musical version of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Ugly Duckling” written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Members of the cast represent students from 20 different local schools, plus a number of “home scholars.” Special performances for school groups will be presented on Thursday, March 31 at 9:30 a.m., Friday, April 1, Wednesday, April 6, Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8 at 9:30 a.m. and noon. Additional performances for the general public are Saturday, April 9 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All seats are $6. For tickets and information call (978) 632-2403 or visit the Theatre of the Mount web site at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.

Lea Ann Erickson
Director of Community Relations
Mount Wachusett Community College
Phone: (978) 630-9322
Fax: (978) 630-9561
cell: (508) 517-5202
l_erickson@mwcc.mass.edu

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