Becky participated in the The Pilot News “Best Of Marshall County” and was voted best Audiologist! Pretty cool! Not every place that hangs a shingle and sells hearing aids can boast that they have an Audiologist though. It takes extra dedication to obtain a Doctorate, but Becky has always been dedicated to her patients. Her decision to open her own office, Berger Audiology, was largely due to her feeling that Marshall County was underserved. Before going out on her own, she was only here one day a week, despite lobbying her former employer for more time here. She feels good about devoting the time here and her ability to have control of her schedule. She’s also been able to obtain the latest technology which allows her to better serve her clients.
But then I’m biased!
Jonathan Leist, Culver Town Manager, asked me to help him in a forum presentation on Community Collaboration at the Indiana Municipal Management Association (IMMA) annual meeting at Swan Lake Resort on Thursday. Kevin Overmyer was to be the original speaker in my position, but he had to attend the Bill signing in Indy that day and backed out. As Jonathan said, Kevins are interchangeable. He also asked Chuck Kitchell, Interim CSC Superintendent, to participate to help discuss the shared programs between the town and the school.
Jonathan wanted me to give history of the County Development for the Future program since it was an example of community collaboration on a larger scale. He asked me to give examples of collaboration that came from the program and talk about how it had morphed to meet needs over the years. I thought a synopsis of that discussion might be interesting to others here, so here you go!
For those interested, this is a great way to make your donation dollars go just a little bit farther!
Last month Plymouth High School hosted the Vex Robotics challenge. This is the second year that they’ve hosted the challenge. Becky and I attended again this year and again were blown away by the kids. Watching what the kids have built is impressive to start with, but add to that the strategy and teamwork involved and the the challenge shows up with lots of dimensions.
Each year the challenge is different, but some of the premise is the same. In a nutshell, there are head to head challenges using the robots, first a pre-programmed challenge followed by a battle using remote controls. The teams then have to form alliances to battle in the final competitions.
I take a personal interest in this program as I feel I played a part in it’s inception. As a member of the Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) Grants Committee, I was assigned the review of the grant application for the funds that helped get the program off the ground. I was so blown away by the two high school kids that were the impetus behind the program that I couldn’t help, but advocate for them before the committee. The video below shows one of the robots and its creators that impressed me so much. They blew away the competition.
If you get the chance to go, I recommend it. These are some of the kids that will be in charge of our future.
It’s always nice to see our friends doing well. (See right. Click to enlarge.) We’ve had a long and storied history with ITAMCO going back to when we knew them as Indiana Tool. My father and Don Neidig, one of the founding brothers, were good friends, which developed from our work at the manufacturing facilities and Don’s Church in Plymouth, Grace Baptist Church.
It’s good to see them doing well and we hope that this will lead to things that require us to work together again!
Congratulations ITAMCO!
Article copied from The Pilot News 12-20-16