MCC in the News: Joplin volunteering

When MCC-Longview continuing education coordinator Diane Mannion sent an all-employee email inviting colleagues to join her for a trip to Joplin, Mo., to help with clean-up efforts in the tornado-ravaged town, she probably didn't think it would land her on a live news broadcast at 6:00 on a sleepy Friday morning.

Mannion and Longview registrar David Fritz were featured in a live broadcast on KMBC 9 FirstNews before departing for Joplin in the wee hours of Friday, July 1. Meteorologist Lisa Teachman,

David Fritz represented MCC in one of two
live television spots on Friday morning
on KMBC channel 9 FirstNews. 

who has been covering the aftermath of the devastating May 22 tornado, spoke with Mannion and Fritz about their motivation to help with clean-up efforts.

Fritz, who had spent three days in Joplin a few weeks earlier, said he had personally experienced the devastating impact of severe storms when a tornado ripped through his hometown in Kansas in 2001.

Mannion said she and Terri Kelley, a program specialist at Longview, devised the volunteer coordination plan while looking through photos that Kelley had taken when she traveled to Joplin in June. The two chose July 1 as the date for MCC volunteers to help, and more than 70 MCC students, employees and family members signed up to make the trip.

The volunteers met at Longview early Friday morning and caravanned to Joplin, about 2.5 hours south of Lee's Summit.

Some members of the group helped with sorting of

Video: Older police cars train new officers at MCC-Blue River

KMBC Channel 9's Justin Robinson reported this morning on a trade executed by the Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River. Four Blue Springs police cars were traded to the PSI in exchange for police training:

<link to video>

Kelsey Smith Safety Awareness Seminar draws hundreds, makes news

News teams swarmed the campus at MCC-Blue River for the Kelsey Smith Foundation’s Safety Awareness Seminar. Jana Corrie of the KMBC Channel 9 morning show reported on event preparations every half hour from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and interviewed Dean of Instruction Cheryl Carpenter Davis, psychology instructor Kimberly Glackin, and Greg and Missey Smith, the parents of the murdered teen Kelsey, whom took the stage to educate any and all who would listen.

Fox 4 News sent Terra Hall whose report appeared in long format on the late night news:

http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-kelsey-smiths-parents-keep-her-legacy-alive-warn-young-people-20110413,0,105411.story

Channel 5 News reporter Jonathan Carter delivered this synopsis of the event on the 6 o’clock news:

http://www.kctv5.com/local-video/index.html?grabnetworks={videoid:4643052}

Hundreds of students and individuals from the community learned important facts about maintaining their personal safety, chief among them being to make sure that someone knows where you are, and to fight back immediately at the first location when accosted. “If you reach location number two,” said Greg Smith, “you will not survive.”

Also present to report on the Kelsey Smith Safety Awareness event were on-air personalities from 88.5fm KLJC.

NBC features the MCC-Longview Flights of Fancy kite festival

NBC Action News invited public relations coordinator Mike Ekey to the morning show to talk about this exciting kite festival happening this weekend at MCC-Longview.

Weatherman Brett Anthony talks kites and good, windy weather for Saturday!

The MCC-Longview Flights of Fancy kite festival

presented by Farmers Insurance

Saturday, April 16

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

www.mccflightsoffancy.org

Use Facebook, Twitter to keep up with MCC-Blue River

MCC-Blue River is on Facebook.com and Twitter.com

Keeping up with events and news at MCC-Blue River is easier than ever because Blue River is posting up to the minute news and campus related articles from The MCC Insider on Facebook and Twitter. Up to the minute events are posted right when they are happening.

Anyone with an account on Facebook.com can “like” MCC-Blue River to see campus related posts in their news feed. Following MCC-Blue River on twitter.com delivers all of the campus “tweets,” letting Twitter users know instantly when MCC-Blue River has news.

Read reports of staff and faculty awards and honors and keep up with groups like Phi Theta Kappa, MCC-Blue River clubs and student activities, organizations, and

MCC-Maple Woods Baseball Alum Stephen Ross (2010) finds success at Marshall

Former Monarch outfielder Stephen Ross (2010) was recruited by Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and is enjoying a successful season.

Read the full story here!

MCC-Longview in the News: MCC transitions from security guards to police officers

The Lee's Summit Journal this week talked with MCC Chief of Campus Police Bill Hudson to talk about his department's transition from security guards to police officers.

 Click through to read the whole story at The Lee's Summit Journal.

MCC-Maple Woods in the News!

John Sutton III, lead public safety officer at MCC-Maple Woods and resident artist in the Kansas City Arts Incubator, was recently featured on NBC Action News!

MCC-Maple Woods in the News! Tax-filing support for low-income families.

MCCKC ranks near top of most-searched list on Google

MCCKC is the second fastest-growing search term in Kansas City, according to Google's annual Zeitgeist list of fastest-rising search terms.

In an article in yesterday's Kansas City Star, MCC was mentioned among other popular terms like "Staley High School" and "kcmo.org" as the top rising searches in the Kansas City area.

"This means Google is definitely one of the major gateways for gaining attention for MCC as a whole," said Mike Ekey, public relations coordinator at MCC-Longview and a close watcher of MCC's cyber footprint. "All of the work we have been doing to increase our page rank and realign our information over the past six months is worth it," Ekey said, referring to search engine optimization efforts led by the MCC web team and the district-wide marketing and public information teams.

MCC in the News: Creating Opportunities through Financial Accessibility

Every day, MCC's financial aid team helps people realize their dreams by connecting students and prospective students with money to help pay for college. And what can be better than getting money for college? Getting money for college that doesn't have to be paid back!

As MCC experiences record enrollment for Fall 2010, we have seen a much greater proportion of students applying for financial aid this year, according to MCC's district director of student financial services, Cindy Butler. Many more students are receiving federal Pell Grants that don't need to be repaid, she said.

"It's very positive. These are students with high financial need who are able to enroll at MCC without accumulating a lot of loan debt that will be waiting for them when they finish school," said Butler.

JaJuan Turner, a sophomore at MCC-Penn Valley studying education and business, says he is very grateful for the financial aid that has allowed him to attend MCC and will allow him to continue his studies at UMKC. Turner receives Pell grant aid and is a Henry W. Bloch Scholar, a program that provides him with financial support to attend both MCC-Penn Valley and UMKC.
Turner, who currently volunteers as the athletic director at the elementary school his daughter attends, hopes to become a high school teacher and athletic director. He also has a consultancy already in the works that he hopes to launch when the economy recovers.

Hear from Turner and Butler themselves when they will tell their story in an on-air interview with KMBC’s Donna Pitman this weekend. Tune in to KMBC 9 FirstNews this Sunday, Oct. 3, 5-6 and 7-9 a.m. to see the interview. (Exact time is undetermined.)

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about how MCC is creating opportunities for so many Kansas Citians!

MCC in the news

MCC was featured in a recent front page article in The Kansas City Star, where columnist Diane Stafford explored the issue of structural unemployment. Stafford profiled two laid-off workers who are training for new careers late in life, including Daniel Dennis, a student at MCC-Business & Technology who is taking welding classes as he faces a September layoff from American Airlines.