Friday, September 14, 2007

MWCC FOUNDATION NAMES RICHARD W. NOBILE 2007 CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

By Janice O'Connor

Richard W. Nobile

Mount Wachusett Community College Foundation, Inc. will honor long-serving community volunteer Richard W. Nobile as the 2007 Harold E. Drake, Jr. Citizen of the Year at the Annual Foundation Dinner Wednesday, Oct. 17 at the Colonial Hotel in Gardner. Outstanding MWCC students who receive Foundation scholarships also will be honored.

“Dick Nobile personifies service to others,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “He has been the driving force behind so many initiatives that make our communities better. I’m delighted that we are honoring him as this year’s Citizen of the Year.”

A resident of Holden, Nobile is executive vice president of IC Federal Credit Union, a founder of the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts and a past chairman of its board. In 2000, Nobile was instrumental in establishing the Community Foundation, an idea that originated in a United Way of North Central Massachusetts committee looking at ways to further build philanthropic giving. In 2001, the nonprofit foundation awarded $42,000 in grants to local organizations. This year, more than $120,000 was awarded throughout the region. Nobile currently serves as a trustee of the Community Foundation and as chairman of its development committee.

Nobile is an advisory director for the Leominster Boys & Girls Club. He was a former division chair of the United Way of North Central Massachusetts and has been affiliated with that organization for 16 years. He was a former director on the United Way executive committee, former chair of the United Way annual campaign drive, and served two years as chair of the board of directors for the United Way of North Central Mass. He was also former director for the Worcester Area Chamber of Commerce and former director for the Worcester Better Business Bureau.

 “I’ve known Dick Nobile for almost 30 years. He’s not only a community leader, but he’s a leader in the credit union industry,” said MWCC Foundation board member Chuck Bowles, Chief Executive Officer of the GFA Federal Credit Union, who serves with Nobile on the United Way board. “His selection as Citizen of the Year is very consistent with all previous recipients of the award. All of them have been deeply involved in improving the community.”

Nobile said his inspiration for community service comes from others who are equally involved.

“There is a sense of community here and it’s really a powerful motivation. I don’t know what drives the people who are involved in making the community so much better, but it’s a privilege to be with them. When you meet people who think that helping people is important and you put them in a room, there’s an energy that is transmitted to others. You become energized. They’re unique. They never use the words “I” or “me,” they don’t judge anybody else, they see the best in everybody and they simply want to help. You really want to be with them because they’re so positive and they dream about what can be.”

Nobile is a past recipient of the Dr. Goldman Award from the Multi-Service Center of Leominster, where he also headed up the organization’s annual fund drive for several years. He has received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Nashua Valley Boy Scouts of America and is the published author of “Benefits of Individual Retirement Accounts” in 1974 in the Connecticut Business Journal.

A graduate of Long Island University, Nobile also attended City University in New York. He has been in banking for more than 32 years and is a former director for Eascorp (the equivalent of Federal Reserve for New England credit unions) and is former executive vice president of the Bank of New England. He and his wife, Beth, live in Holden and have two grown children, Christopher and Katherine.

The Harold E. Drake, Jr. Citizen of the Year Award is presented in memory of Harold E. Drake, treasurer and former president of Royal Steam Heater Co. and Lynde Hardware & Supply, Inc. The award recognizes community members who exemplify Mr. Drake’s extraordinary commitment to the North Central Massachusetts region.

Tickets to the Annual Foundation Dinner are $75 per person. A social hour will begin at 5 p.m. followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Reservations are required by Oct. 9 and may be made by contacting Darlene Cloutier in the Foundation Office at (978) 630-9387 or dcloutier@mwcc.mass.edu

 

AMERICORPS*VISTA SAMANTHA CESARIO PROVIDING SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Samantha Cesario

Samantha Cesario has joined MWCC's Center for Democracy and Humanity this year as a Massachusetts Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA. Working with Fagan Forhan, Coordinator of Civic Engagement, Cesario will help supervise the 12 students in the new Community Scholars program, as well as support the creation and growth of the program. In addition, she will be in contact with the students’ professors throughout the year to help determine whether any additional support services are needed.

"This is definitely a unique program and I’m excited to be involved with it,” Cesario said. “The students are really outgoing and have already been a total pleasure to work with. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they accomplish throughout the year. When it comes down to it, they’re the ones making the program possible.”

AmeriCorps*VISTA is a national service program in which volunteers live in the communities they serve, designing programs that will continue after they complete their service. MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA members receive intensive training in facilitative leadership, student development, service learning, campus-based community service issues, and early childhood literacy. This training enables the volunteers to provide assistance to students, staff and faculty in such areas as student leadership in community service and service learning, service learning curriculum development and campus and community collaboration.

Cesario is originally from the Syracuse, N.Y. area. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, with a minor in women’s studies and social work, from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2006. While at MCLA, she had the opportunity serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA, and enjoyed the experience so much, she signed on for a second year. AT MCLA, she was responsible for coordinating community service work for the college focusing on poverty and unemployment issues. Through a scholarship she received, she created an "adopt a foster family" program that provided respite care for foster families in the northern Berkshire area.

"I feel college students can really contribute to the communities they're in," she said.

More MWCC News:

• MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino, staff and faculty volunteered to serve up hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and other treats to students and colleagues during the annual Welcome Back Fall Fest sponsored by the office of Student Life on Sept. 12.

  In observance of Constitution Day, a panel discussion on the Freedom of the Press will take place Monday, Sept. 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the North Cafeteria. Panelists include Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. John Fielding and Paralegal Program Associate Professor Jim Korman. the event is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the public.
• Representatives from more than 160 colleges and universities will be at the annual New England Association of College Admissions Counseling College Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 19. The fair, hosted by the Admissions Office, will run from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Fitness and Wellness Center and is open to the public. It is geared toward high school juniors and seniors from the college's service area as well as MWCC students interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree afgter completing their associate's degree. For more information, contact the MWCC admissions office at (978) 630-9110.
• The American Red Cross will hold a Blood Drive at the Gardner campus on Wednesday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Commons area. Sign up in Health Services, room 133, or call Marianne Stoy or Diane King at (978) 630-9136 to register. Walk-ins also are welcome.
• The exhibit, “To See Through a Beautiful World,” a collection of oil paintings by Fitchburg Artist Lionel Reinford, is on display through Oct. 6 at the East Wing Gallery, located in the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center. Sponsored by the Art Department, the exhibit commemorates Hispanic Heritage Month. Reinford, an award-winning artist whose works have been displayed at the Fitchburg Art Museum, the ArtsWorcester Gallery and the World Trade Center, among other venues, learned to paint in his native Honduras, using brushes fashioned from razor grass. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call (978) 632-6600.
• The first phase of the library renovation is near completion and the library staff is eager to share what’s been going on behind the plastic drapes. All are invited to the Leo and Theresa LaChance Library Open House Friday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The featured speaker, alumnus Brian M. Gelinas, will discuss his novel American Odyssey from noon to 1 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Tours of the library will be available and library staff will be happy to demonstrate the “new” catalog and the many databases available to patrons. Enter a raffle for a free flash drive. This event is cosponsored by the LaChance Library and the MWCC Alumni Association. In addition, the Office of Student Life is sponsoring the photo exhibit, "Of Many Colors” on display in the library through Sept. 28. The exhibit has visited universities, public schools, houses of worship, community centers, galleries and museums since 1994. It tells the stories of 20 families who have bridged the racial divide through interracial relationships or adoption.
• The Fall Film Series 2007: Documenting Society begins on Wednesday, Sept. 26 with the inspiring documentary, Paper Clips. The film runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the North Cafeteria. Paper Clips captures the story of how students from a small town in Tennessee responded to lessons about the Holocaust with a promise to honor every lost soul by collecting one paper clip for each individual exterminated by the Nazis. The amazing result, a memorial railcar filled with 11 million paper clips representing all victims of the Holocaust, stands permanently in their schoolyard and is an unforgettable lesson of how a committed group of children and educators can change the world one classroom at a time. Other films this semester include An Inconvenient Truth on Oct. 24 and the Ground Truth on Nov. 7.
• MWCC will host the 2007 Northern Worcester County Memory Walk to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association on Saturday, Sept. 29. More than 5 million Americans and 16,000 Central Massachusetts residents have Alzheimer’s. Volunteers, sponsors and walking teams are needed to help move closer to a cure for Alzheimer’s. The event features a one, two or three mile walk, followed by musical entertainment, food, children’s activities and an exhibitors’ fair. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. Proceeds are used to fund programs such as support groups, caregiver training, research and a 24-hour helpline. For more information, contact Kristi Mendoza at (978) 365-4537 or Kristi.Mendoza@kindredhealthcare.com.
• The Admissions Office is offering Information Sessions on a number of academic programs. Upcoming sessions will take place on the following dates: Clinical Laboratory Science: Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. in the Volney Howe Conference Room at Heywood Hospital and Oct. 17 in the hospital's OBS Conference Room; Biotechnology/Biomanufacturing: Sept. 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. and Sept. 27 and Oct. 18 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 241, and on Oct. 16 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Leominster campus; A.S. Nursing: Oct. 9 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 125; Practical Nursing Certificate: Sept. 20 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 125; Dental Hygiene: Oct. 3 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 182; Complementary Health Care: Sept. 17 and Oct. 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 125, and Oct. 19 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 258.
• Prospective students interested in attending an information session are asked to call the admissions office at (978) 630-9110 (TTY (978) 632-4916), or send an email to admissions@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Register now for the second annual Bob Wilson Memorial Scholarship 5k Run/Walk at Fitchburg State College’s Elliot Field Track. Organized by his wife, Tina Wilson, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at MWCC, the 5K will take place Sunday, Oct. 28. The Walk will begin at 12:15 p.m.; the Run at 1 p.m. Race Day Registration will start at 10:30 a.m. Proceeds benefit scholarships, through Fitchburg State College and Fitchburg Access Television, to communications and broadcasting students attending MWCC and Fitchburg State. Last year, 180 people registered to walk or run and raised $4,800 for scholarships. Registration forms are available at www.bobwilsonfund.com. For more information, contact Tina Wilson at t_wilson@verizon.net or (978) 630-9225.
• The Democracy Café - Gardner Mayoral Debate will take place Monday, Oct. 29 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Commons Area. Hosted by the Center for Democracy and Humanity and The Gardner News, the event will provide an opportunity to hear Democratic incumbent Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire and Republican candidate Mark Hawke square off in what is sure to be an informative and spirited conversation. Light refreshments will be served.
• Now entering its ninth year of service to senior learners age 50 and over, the LIFE Program at Mount Wachusett Community College is accepting registrations for a variety of courses being offered throughout the fall semester. Upcoming courses are being offered in computers, writing and poetry workshops, current events, exploring the sacred writings of four major religions, and other topics. Submissions of prose, poetry, short stories or historical memoirs are also being accepted for Tapestries, An Anthology, an annual publication of writings published, distributed and sponsored by the LIFE Program. In addition, the program directs three intergenerational projects that match senior citizens with elementary, high school and college students on a writing project, an arts project and a poetry/arts project. The Mount Walkers meet weekly on Thursday mornings at 10:30 to walk the bike path. To be placed on the LIFE Program mailing list or to receive a course description booklet, contact Lorraine Wickman at l_wickman@mwcc.mass.edu or call (978) 630-9176.