Co-Op Students Get Firsthand Look at Law Enforcement

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 30, 2016 – Adson Delhomme and Jazmin Gonzalez, two Hardee County residents pinning their hopes on a career in law enforcement, are getting a firsthand look at what police work is really like.

Delhomme and Gonzalez, students at South Florida State College, are taking part in a cooperative education program that puts them in a patrol car, in the courtroom, and at a desk in the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office.

“After enrolling in SFSC, I thought about a career in business or nursing,” Delhomme said after class on the college’s Highlands Campus in Avon Park. “But I discovered I wanted to be on the front lines, so I’m getting geared up to work in law enforcement.”

Delhomme’s hankering to get into police work got all the more intense after he went on a ride-along with a Hardee deputy as part of a cooperative education plan developed between SFSC and Sheriff’s Office. “I’m certain now of one thing,” said the former defensive lineman for the Hardee High School Wildcats. “I’m working in law enforcement.”

“Cooperative education, or co-op in education speak, is a custom-built program that gives students an opportunity to learn about a career not in the classroom but by experiencing it themselves at a worksite,” said Colleen Rafatti, the director of SFSC’s Career Development Center, who oversees the program. “What’s more, they earn college credit for their time at the worksite.”

Rafatti explained that students who have a career in mind can structure a cooperative education program with her, an SFSC instructor, and an employer. Together they craft an educational plan that revolves around job shadowing, with the student putting several hours each week at a worksite. The plan includes regular one-on-one progress reviews with the students’ college instructor and written assignments capturing what the students discovers about their proposed career.

“A well-developed co-op program will help a student affirm the career choice they’ve made, giving them invaluable experience,” Rafatti said. “Other times, the co-op experience will pull a student in an unexpected and different direction with positive results for the student.”

Delhomme, apart from his ride-along with the deputy, has spent hours sitting in County Court Judge Jeffrey J. McKibben’s courtroom translating the proceeding to creole-speaking families and taking on an assortment of tasks at the sheriff’s office in downtown Wauchula.

Gonzalez, Delhomme’s classmate, shares his yearning to get on the front lines helping people. The fellow Hardee High School graduate has her sights set on a career as a state trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol.

“Taking part in the co-op program at the Hardee Sheriff’s Office through SFSC is helping me confirm my passion for law enforcement,” said Gonzalez, the first in her family to attend college.

“Along with Delhomme, I’ve been at the courthouse and in the sheriff’s headquarters seeing the day-to-day workings of how police work gets done.”

Gonzalez said the hours she has spent pouring over police reports has her thinking she might consider investigative police work after she has garnered enough patrol experience.

Both Gonzalez and Delhomme are on track to graduate from SFSC in May 2017. Gonzalez plans to pursue her education at Polk State College, and Delhomme wants to study criminal justice at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Both students know moving up the career ladder in law enforcement requires a four-year degree. They plan to earn their degrees before entering their respective police academies.

“Having these two students here with us has been tremendous, and not just for them but for us too,” said Sylvia Hendrickson, the assistant to Hardee County Sheriff Arnold Lanier. “They listen well, help us in our own work, and, what’s more, they learn about law enforcement.”

Hendrickson, who oversees Gonzalez and Delhomme’s cooperative education activities while at the sheriff’s office, said the “real world” experience the students get is invaluable.

“So many of our folks are involved with the students,” Hendrickson said. “From the judge, to the probation officer, our accounting staff, the deputies, even Sheriff Lanier finds time to spend with them—this has been a great experience for all of us.”

For their efforts learning about “real world” of criminal justice, Gonzalez and Delhomme earn college credit that counts toward getting their degrees at SFSC.

“The college credit doesn’t come just from being there,” said Rafatti of SFSC’s career center. “The students come back to campus and produce written assignments describing their experience that must pass muster with their instructor.”

In all, Gonzalez and Delhomme must clock in 135 hours of onsite time to earn their credits.

“To us it seems as if they’re here for such a short time,” said Hendrickson. “But in that time they see and learn a great deal.”

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 28, 2016 – When it came to what Laura Patino wanted out of life, she was laser focused since childhood. She saw herself working in a science-intensive job.

As a sixth grader, Patino, a 2012 graduate of South Florida State College, wrote in an essay outlining her career plans: “When I grow up, I hope to be an astronaut or astronomer.”

Her science-centered career path took something of a detour, albeit a minor one. Now, with a degree in nuclear engineering in hand, Patino has scored a position working with a team operating a nuclear power plant.

“I work in an industry that’s vital to the economy and everyday people,” Patino said. “My colleagues and I have to keep this plant running 24 hours a day and seven days week so that our customers have the energy they need for their businesses and homes.”

Patino started learning the basics ​​​undergirding nuclear engineering at SFSC. In fact, she began attending classes at SFSC even before she graduated from Avon Park High School, where she placed fourth in her class of 233.

A native of Colombia, who moved to Florida when she was 7-years-old, Patino exceled in high school with the help of a mentor from Take Stock in Children. Schoolchildren considered at-risk of not earning their high school diploma get regular visits from a Take Stock mentor who offers guidance and a supportive ear.

The extra attention Patino received propelled her along. She took advanced placement coursework, played drum major in the band, and earned a coveted research internship at Archbold Biologic Station in southern Highlands County. She even started taking college classes while in high school.

“I was eager to get a head start on college, so I opted to dually enroll at SFSC while still a high school student,” Patino said. “I had accumulated enough college credits as a high school student that I finished up at SFSC in just three semesters.

Those three semesters, though, were critical for Patino. She took physics with Erik Christensen, a former ocean and naval engineer with the U.S. Navy. “Professor Christensen had experience with the nuclear navy and his engaging teaching style and enthusiasm got me thinking about nuclear engineering,” she recalled. Patino’s career choice was set.

To excel in the nuclear engineering courses Patino would go on to take at the University of Florida would require a solid grounding in mathematics. Here, too, Patino credits an SFSC instructor with keeping her focused.

“Professor J.J. Moyne was always accessible when I needed help with higher level math work,” Patino said. “Getting that level of personalized attention at a large university like Florida is not easy.”

Patino settled on the Gainesville-based university because it had one of the few undergraduate nuclear engineer programs in the southeast.

After three-years studying radiation dose testing and physical phantom creation at the University of Florida, Patino tailored her job search to openings in the Midwest and Northeast. “I love Florida, but at the same time I wanted to experience life in other states, especially areas where I could enjoy all four seasons.”

Patino got hired on by the Exelon Corporation, a Fortune 100 company that generates, transmits, and delivers energy in 48 states with 34,000 employees and $35 billion in revenues. She is learning the intricacies of nuclear power plant in Illinois.

“Because we are a nuclear power plant, keeping it running is a job that’s complex and carries a lot of responsibility,” Patino said. “This is an industry in which you are always training and always learning.”

Patino raves over her choice of Exelon Corporation. She said the company invests in its employees, expecting them to take on a fair amount of “vertical learning” to master operating a nuclear power plant.

She noted the energy sector is growing, offering careers in chemistry, engineering, and plant maintenance. Patino said she is particularly eager to talk up career paths in the technology sector to women.

“I know from personal experience there’s a belief that women are not smart enough to take on the challenges of professions like nuclear engineering,” Patino said. “I can also say from personal experience that how much you achieve is driven by how much effort you put into realizing your dreams.”

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 22, 2016 – Recently, Maria Gloria and Diana Rivera, two high schools students who take classes at South Florida State College were caught off guard, but in the most pleasant of ways.

On an otherwise typical school day, the two seniors, Gloria of Lake Placid High School, and Rivera of DeSoto County High School, were ushered unawares into classrooms. There they found teachers, family, friends, and mentors waiting to break the news they had been named finalists for the Leaders 4 Life fellowship.

The fellowship, which recognize student leaders, is sponsored by the Asofsky Family Foundation and comes with a $40,000 scholarship. The scholarship pays for college expenses not covered by any other award or financial aid. The two seniors join 12 other finalists vying for six Leaders 4 Life fellowships.

Gloria and Rivera are eligible for the Leaders 4 Life fellowship on account of their participation in Take Stock in Children. The program matches at-risk students with mentors who guide them toward earning their high school diplomas, with college scholarships awaiting those who graduate and enroll in college. The SFSC Foundation functions as the lead agency for the Take Stock program in SFSC’s service district of DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands counties.

The scholarship would come on top of the tuition-related scholarship Gloria and Rivera will receive from Take Stock when they finish high school.

“In everything these two ladies have accomplished so far in their young lives, they have demonstrated strong leadership skills, good character, and academic success,” said Irene Castanon, the coordinator of the Take Stock program at SFSC. “Now Maria and Diana have to put together a portfolio, including a video, to show why they should be named finalists for the Leaders 4 Life fellowship.”

“Mrs. Karlson has been such an amazing inspiration to me,” Gloria said of her mentor Pamela Karlson. “She’s a lawyer, and I want to follow her example and practice law when I finish my studies.”

Karlson, who practices law in Lake Placid and serves as the attorney for SFSC’s District Board of Trustees, started mentoring Gloria when she was in the seventh grade.

“This is a wonderful student who is going places in life,” Karlson said. “She energetic, takes advice well, and has the leadership skills this fellowship is intended to showcase.”

TSIC mentors typically meet with their assigned students each week during the schoolyear, offering encouragement, advice, and a sympathetic ear. A TSIC college success coach provides support and guidance to the mentor and the mentee.

Gloria serves as the vice president of the student government association and was elected her class president. While she has applied to both Florida State University and the University of Florida, she has her hopes set on going to Gainesville next fall.

In Arcadia, home to the Desoto County High School, Rivera was also surprised by her mentor, family, and TSIC staff.

“I’ve always been motivated,” said Rivera. “But through Take Stock in Children, I have people to give me words of encouragement and keep me on track.”

“Diana is one of the hardest working, dedicated students I’ve known, she has perfect attendance, and she always finds a way to meet her goals,” said Sheila Knoche, Rivera’s Take Stock mentor. Those words are particularly meaningful coming from a long-time educator. Before retiring seven years ago, Knoche was the assistant principal at DeSoto Middle School and Memorial Elementary School and had taught kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as students with learning disabilities.

Rivera has applied to St. Leo University, a church-affiliated university about 35 miles north of Tampa. She holds a leadership position in the DeSoto Future Business Leaders of America.

Gloria and Rivera attend high school classes along with their peers but also “dual enroll” in SFSC classes, earning college credits they can transfer to a university. Some dually enrolled high school students have shaved as much as a year and a half off the time to complete a college degree by taking classes at SFSC.

The Leaders 4 Life scholarship is an initiative the Asofsky Family Foundation, which supports programs aimed at helping the state’s youth. The foundation awards the scholarship in partnership with TSIC.

Even if the two don’t make the final cut, they’ll head off to college with a MacBook Pro laptop computer, an award for the finalists that is sponsored by the Asofsky Family Foundation.

If Gloria and Rivera are named finalists, they will travel to Tallahassee in February for a formal ceremony arranged by the Asofsky Family Foundation that will include state legislators, educators, and the presentation of a $40,000 scholarship.

For more information about Take Stock or to become a mentor, contact Castanon at 863-784-7343.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 18, 2016 – The Museum of Florida Art and Culture (MOFAC) at South Florida State College will mount an exhibition featuring the work of a husband and wife who split their time between cattle ranching and art.

“The Art of Life: Works by Sean and Sharon Sexton” will be on display Dec. 7 – Feb. 9 in MOFAC’s gallery on the SFSC Highlands Campus in Avon Park.

The Sexton’s live and work on their 610-acre Treasure Hammock Ranch in Vero Beach, Fla. They’re known equally for their environmentally sensitive cattle ranching and quintessentially Florida-inspired art.

“The Sextons’ integration of art-making into their daily lives is an inspiration. I remember Sean Sexton giving a talk about carrying a sketchbook with him so that he could draw even while sitting in a saddle as he herded cattle. That dedication has always stayed with me,” said Megan Stepe, MOFAC’s curator.

Stepe said some of Sexton’s best-known paintings depicts Florida’s rugged landscape and traditional ranching lifestyle. His work not only portrays the natural beauty of South Florida, and the human connection with nature, but also touches upon themes such as religion and mortality.

In addition to his painting, Sexton writes poetry. He also channels his creativity into ceramic sculptures.

The creativity in the Sexton household extends to Sean’s wife, Sharon.  She is a recognized artist for her work with paintings, ceramic sculptures, and tile murals. Sharon is one of six owner-operators of the Tiger Lily Art Studios and Gallery, now in its 25th year operating from a space in downtown Vero Beach, Fla. Her work will join that of her husband’s on display in the exhibition.

Accompanying the art of the Sextons, MOFAC will also feature “Keeping Tradition Alive: Pinecone Quilts by Betty Ford Smith.” This part of the show will showcase the quilting of Betty Ford Smith.

The pinecone quilt is also called the “pineburr” or “cuckleburr” quilt because of its pinecone design. An old, flat bed-sheet is used for the base. Hundreds of 5-inch squares are cut, then folded twice to create individual triangles. Each is then hand-sewn onto the sheet in a circular fashion.  Pinecone quilts can weigh anywhere from 15 to 30 pounds–a welcome addition for cold nights in northern Florida.

“Quilts have traditionally played an important role in many peoples’ lives, for both their functionality and beauty. Ford’s quilts seamlessly embody the theme of the exhibition,” Stepe said.

MOFAC is located in the Wildstein Center at SFSC, 600 W. College Dr., Avon Park. The museum is open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m., or by appointment for group tours. Patrons of the Wildstein Center may visit the museum one hour prior to matinee and evening performances.

For more information about MOFAC and its programs or to request a museum tour, contact Stepe at 863-784-7240, or email stepem@southflorida.edu. Visit the MOFAC website at mofac.org.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 16, 2016 – SFSC and its employees garnered recognition and awards for their commitment to furthering the Florida College System (FCS) and its students during the 67^th Association of Florida Colleges (AFC) Annual Meeting and Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Nov. 1-4.

AFC is a 7,100-member nonprofit organization that advocates for Florida’s 28 community and state colleges who are members of the FCS.

During the conference, Dr. Robert Flores, SFSC director of remodeling, renovation and maintenance, was sworn in as president of AFC for 2017; Rick Hitt, SFSC athletic director and head baseball coach, was inducted into the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Hall of Fame; and Tami Cullens, SFSC trustee, was named Trustee of the Year.

SFSC won the 2016 Chancellor’s Best Practices Award for Erik Christensen’s submission on “Optimizing Textbook Affordability Via Open Educational Resources (OER).” Christensen, dean of applied sciences and technologies, and Dr. Rodger Smith, professor of psychology, made a presentation on the topic during the conference.

Claire Miller, librarian, won a Learning Resources Exemplary Practice award for Library/Learning Resource Center Services for 2016. Her proposal was “Slaying the Monster: Implementing Integrated and Stand-Alone Plagiarism Workshops.”  She made a presentation on the topic during the conference.

The college received two Communications and Marketing Commission Awards of Excellence: second place for the category Specialty Advertising/Promotion Items for a giveaway keychain designed for the opening of the Alan J. Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts and third place for the category Advertising – Print for the 50^th anniversary Lake Placid Center Sock Hop advertisement.

SFSC was recognized with the 2016 Platinum Chapter award and the Membership Award for a chapter that has 50 percent or more employees as AFC members.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 16, 2016 – Asena Mott has taken on the post of director of the DeSoto Campus of South Florida State College. She assumed her duties on Nov.8, after a search to replace Suzanne Demers, who resigned her position at the Arcadia-based campus earlier this year.

“I’m thrilled to be back at SFSC,” said Mott, who left her job as a school principal to accept the offer to head up the campus. “I was the first dually enrolled student at the DeSoto Campus back when it was just a small storefront facility.”

Mott is well steeped in the history of Desoto County, its institutions, and people. She has lived in DeSoto County her whole life and said she can trace her family roots in the county as far back as the Civil War.

“Although I’ve driven to Charlotte County for many years to work in their schools, my heart has always been in DeSoto County,” Mott said.

For the past five years, Mott has served as the principal of Meadow Park Elementary School in Port Charlotte. Before that, she served as an assistant principal.

After graduating from SFSC, Mott completed her undergraduate education at Florida Gulf Coast University. “When I started there it was still the Fort Myers campus of the University of South Florida,” she said. “It became FGCU the academic term that I graduated.”

Mott then went on to a 20-year span teaching and supervising in private and public schools. Along the way, she earned a master’s degree in educational leadership.

How does Mott feel with less than two weeks on the job?

“I’ve been dealing with the new-job learning curve,” Mott said. “I’m putting names to faces and coming up to speed on policies.”

Mott lives in Fort Ogden, about 10 miles south of the DeSoto Campus. “You might not know you’re there when driving through, but we do have our own post office,” she noted.

Married for 24 years to husband Royce, the couple have three children. She enjoys kayaking and running.

Although Mott has more names to remember and policies to read, she already has plans.

“I’d like to see our dual enrollment numbers at DeSoto go up,” Mott said. She would also like to see the campus offer instruction in diesel mechanics and commercial driving. Apart from specific plans, though, Mott also has her sights set on the bigger picture.

“There’s one thing I really want to see in the next couple of years,” Mott said. “I want to ensure the DeSoto community knows everything about SFSC and what it has to offer to people who live here.”

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 14, 2016 – Dr. Robert Flores, SFSC’s director of remodeling, renovation and maintenance, was sworn in as president of the Association of Florida Colleges (AFC) for 2017 on Nov. 3 at the 67^th AFC Annual Meeting and Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Based in Tallahassee, AFC is a 7,100-member nonprofit organization that advocates for Florida’s 28 community and state colleges who are members of the Florida College System (FCS).

“The goals for my AFC presidential term are to provide long-term financial stability and enhance our staff development offerings,” Dr. Flores said. He wants to boost membership and increase the visibility of AFC among the public.

Before becoming AFC’s president-elect, Dr. Flores was vice president for commissions, a role which required him to oversee the 16 individual AFC individual commissions that provide professional development, networking, and leadership opportunities for members and serve as an information and advocacy resource. In 2012, he headed AFC’s Facilities Commission, which worked to improve classroom facilities, infrastructure, and the beauty of the 2,096 buildings on 68 campuses of FCS members. In 2015, Flores received AFC’s Leadership Service Award.

Dr. Flores came to SFSC in 1998. He oversees the remodeling, renovation, and maintenance of SFSC’s DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands campuses and the Lake Placid Center. He was awarded a Doctor of Public Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Palm Beach Atlantic College, a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Middle Tennessee State University, and an Associate in Arts degree from Draughons Junior College in Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Flores is the third SFSC administrator to serve as AFC president, following Dr. Catherine P. Cornelius, SFSC president emerita, in 1986 and William A. Shaffer, former SFSC vice president of planning and institutional effectiveness and executive assistant to the president for governmental relations, in 2002.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 14, 2016 – Local residents, SFSC boosters, and the curious had a chance to try out the rooms at the Hotel Jacaranda, and do so for free.

At the invitation of the SFSC Foundation, guests in groups of two, three, and four turned out for an open house featuring tours of 16 newly restored rooms at the near century-old hotel on Main Street in Avon Park.

The hotel, affectionately known as the “The Jac,” is owned and operated by the SFSC Foundation, an auxiliary organization that raises funds for scholarships and supports programs at SFSC’s campuses in DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands counties.

The room restoration project came about under the guidance of Joan Hartt, an SFSC Foundation board member, former SFSC trustee, and lifelong Highlands resident.

After 90 years of giving comfort to overnight guests, Hartt saw that the 60-room hotel needed some attention. She set about selecting guest rooms for a complete makeover.

“This is a thrilling evening and one that has many folks here surprised by the outcome,” Hartt said, as the guest crowded the hallway, walking through the restored rooms, taking in the new furnishings, decorations, and restored windows.

“You must look at the chandelier,” Hartt exclaimed as visitors entered Room 208, whose door bore a plaque embossed with name Vivian P. Hartt, her mother-in-law. “Decades ago that chandelier hung from the ceiling of Vivian’s home along Lake Lotela.”

The chandelier now hangs in the sitting room guests will enter with renting Room 208. Crystals dangle from a brass ring inlaid with circular porcelain medallions bearing images painted by hand.

The room also features old photographs of Hartt’s mother-in-law and a drawing of the family house where the chandelier once found a home.

When construction came to end in 1926, the three-story brick building boasted luxury rooms, a grand dining room, and an arcade with fine shops. During the roaring 1920s and early 1930s, “The Jac” played host to Clark Gable, Babe Ruth, and the St. Louis Cardinals during their spring training.

“This hotel holds so many memories and means so much to so many people that I felt compelled to get involved by giving a select number of rooms individualized attention,” Hartt said.

Joined by her daughter-in-law Sheila, and friend Shelly Parton, Hartt selected rooms on the hotel’s second floor for renovations, adding new furniture, lamps, and decorative finishings.

The idea caught on with other Foundation supporters. Longtime SFSC Foundation friend Betty Carlisle sponsored a room renovation. Retired Foundation executive director Donald Appelquist and wife Jane Hancock joined in by redecorating a room themselves. They were followed by SFSC Foundation supporters Anna Vilkaitis, Phyllis Lovelace, and SFSC president emerita Dr. Catherine P. Cornelius.

“As you step into the some to the rooms and pause, I can’t help get the feeling as if I were walking back in time to a day nearly a century ago,” said Jamie Bateman, SFSC’s executive director for Institutional Advancement, who heads up the SFSC Foundation. “Joan and her family have brought old-world charm, grace, and elegance back to the Hotel Jacaranda’s rooms.

Recognizing its historical significance, the SFSC Foundation acquired the Hotel Jacaranda in 1990. The rooms on the building’s south-facing side have continued to function as a hotel. The rooms on the north side of the hotel serve as a residence for SFSC’s students.

Bateman said seven second-floor restored rooms need sponsors. “We hope that Foundation supporters will recognize the importance the Jac plays in the life of our students, the history of Avon Park, and SFSC.”

Donors can either decorate a room themselves or hand the task over to Hartt, who will be assisted by her daughter-in-law Sheila and friend Parton, both professional decorators.

Donors will have a plaque recognizing their support affixed to the door of the guest room they’ve sponsored for renovations. The plaque can recognize a loved one or a departed relative.

The room renovations will next move to the hotel’s third floor, where 14 rooms have been selected for renovations starting next year.

Bateman said friends of the SFSC Foundation, or anyone with a fondness for preserving history, can sponsor a room renovation by contacting her at 863-784-7181 or batemanj@southflorida.edu.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 14, 2016 – On Friday, the Highlands Campus of South Florida State College hosted its annual Veterans Day remembrance. The morning ceremony saw nearly 200 students, employees, and area residents come together to honor the veterans who were always at the ready to defend their country.

This year’s morning ceremony took on a dramatic air with the addition of an American flag, nearly measuring the length and breadth of a basketball court, suspended between two erect fire ladders.

As the enormous flag, which, at times, flies at the Boca Grande, Fla, estate of the George W. Bush family, fluttered in the wind above the lectern, a parade of speakers recalled to mind the service our veterans have given to the United States.

“On Sept. 10, 2001, I was fire chief in Long Boat Key, Fla., where then President George W. Bush visited on a trip to Florida,” said Julius Halas, the director of the Division of State Fire Marshal, the state’s chief firefighting officer. “Who would have known then what would happen just a day later.”

Halas added: “Thanks goes to our military and our veterans for protecting our country so that firefighters and other first responders could protect our communities—thank God for the service of our veterans.”

Erik Christensen, SFSC’s dean of Applied Sciences and Technologies, a former U.S. Navy commander, served as the master of ceremonies. He introduced Patrick Carey, an SFSC student and fellow Navy veteran.

“When I was invited to speak today, they asked if I could squeeze into my old navy uniform,” Carey said. “I had to tell them it shrunk in the closet,” he said, adding a moment of levity to the solemnity that loomed over the morning.

“When I tell someone I’m a veteran, I often feel a bit awkward,” Carey noted. “Because I sometimes think a veteran is someone who has seen combat or come home injured.”

Carey, wearing a poppy on his lapel that has come to symbolize remembrance ceremonies here and in Western Europe, told the audience: “I just say I was doing my job. Something I’ve heard even injured veterans say as well. So, I believe that being a veteran means being humble.”

Dr. Cary Pigman, a member of the Florida House of Representatives, followed Carey, delivering remarks that gave the audience pause to think about the hours-old election.

He spoke, at first in an oblique manner, about an election that nearly tore the nation apart, one that pitted American against American. But one in which the acrimony subsided with the peaceful transition from one president to the next.

Dr. Pigman surprised to the audience when he said he wasn’t talking about Tuesday’s General Election, but the election of 1800, in which a bitterly divided young republic chose Thomas Jefferson over John Adams.

Pigman’s message: “When faced with the challenge of accepting the recent election, we realize we are all Americans first. So, let us celebrate our coming together and on becoming a great nation on this day that we celebrate our veterans.”

The ceremony ended on a prayerful note. Ben Carter, SFSC’s director of Outreach and Academic Support, read Psalm 91, known to many as the warrior psalm.

With the conclusion of the psalm’s reading, members of the Knights of Columbus, led by the Sebring Police Department guard, began a procession of those assembled on a remembrance walk that wound its way through the quiet pathways of the SFSC Highlands Campus.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Nov. 14, 2016 – Nov. 9-13 marked the sixth time the Florida State Firefighters Association (FSFA) brought the Great Florida Fire School to SFSC. As past FSFA president Robert Amick explained, the five-day traveling fire school provides firefighters with an economical alternative for completing specialized training and earning state-mandated continuing education credits. Firefighters pay a modest flat fee to take as many classes as they can complete in the five-day period. Some are able to take as many as 15.

“The Great Florida Fire School offered classes firefighters wouldn’t be able to take anywhere else,” Amick said. “They learned learn about new tools, new techniques, and advances in technology. Vendors demonstrated new equipment and taught firefighters how to use it. Instructors came from all over the state to share their knowledge and gave firefighters new insight into their profession.”

This year’s fire school offered more than 35 classes in topics such as explosives and firefighter safety, using rescue tools in high strength steel vehicles, aerial operations, and live firefighting practice. Others focused on personal health issues like preventing suicide, coping with stress, and protecting themselves against AIDS and HIV.

The nearly 70 firefighters who came from around the state got firsthand experience with SFSC’s new fire science facilities and were able to network with their instructors and peers.

Lorrie Key, SFSC’s director of corporate and continuing education, said SFSC was proud to be able to bring the Great Florida Fire School to central Florida and was anticipating its return in November 2017. For more information, call Key at 784-7033 or visit www.greatfloridafireschool.com.