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TRENTON
THURS., NOVEMBER 28, 2024
REPUBLICAN-TIMES “GOD BLESS AMERICA”
Old Glory flying at Five Points
North Central Missouri College Lights the Way for Students and Staff North Central Missouri College kicked off its holiday tradition of lighting the tree and lights located in front of Geyer Hall for students and staff in their annual Light the Way event. NCMC launched the holiday season on campus with a reading of Clement Clarke Moore’s The Night Before Christmas, read by Arielle Houston, caroling led by the Pirates women’s basketball team, and the official tree lighting countdown. lementary-age children of NCMC employees are entered into a random draw to be selected as the individual who flips the switch for the lights. For 2024, Grayson Oram was chosen to do the honors. Grayson’s favorite things about the holiday season are “Santa and presents!” For Christmas, Grayson would like Legos. Grayson was excited to light the
tree and happily exclaimed, “I heard Santa is coming!” Grayson also enjoys the hot chocolate at the Light the Way event. Grayson is five years old and a kindergartner at Trenton R-IX Rissler Elementary School. He is the son of Lindsay Oram and Heath Oram. After the tree lighting, children and NCMC students were invited to Cross Hall to participate in games and activities organized by NCMC student organizations and athletics. Children and students could also get their pictures taken with Santa. The tree and Geyer Hall lights turn on at dusk for viewing and enjoying. Those wishing to see the tree and lights can view them in downtown Trenton, MO, on the main campus in front of Geyer Hall on Main Street.
Grayson Oram in front of the tree at NCMC Geyer Hall
NCMC Pirates Women’s Basketball Team Participates as Bright Futures Classroom Community Partner North Central Missouri College has partnered with Bright Futures Trenton as a Classroom Community Partner. NCMC Pirates women’s basketball team visited Ms. Tatum’s secondgrade classroom at Rissler Elementary to read a book about Thanksgiving and
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participate in an activity about building a turkey. The group also helped with a writing activity about what everyone was thankful for. North Central Missouri College will continue to be a Bright Futures Trenton Classroom Community Partner with various other
student groups and interactions for the remainder of the school year. NCMC would like to thank Bright Futures Trenton, Rissler Elementary, and Ms. Tatum for the opportunity to partner and provide community involvement for our athletes.
Missouri Western, in Partner with NCMC, Opens Innovative Technology Center Nov. 15, 2024–Missouri Western State University, North Central Missouri College and numerous public and private partners formally cut the ribbon on the Houlne Center for Convergent Technology on Nov. 15. “The Houlne Center is a shining example of how Missouri Western serves as a career-focused university, for everyone,” said Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, Missouri Western’s president. “From the very beginning, we sat down with leaders from industry and the community to determine what their workforce development needs are and how we can help. I am incredibly proud of the way that Missouri Western and NCMC have been responsive to those needs, aligning our academic experience with the expectations of students and employers.” “We’re grateful for the partnership with Missouri Western, the State of Missouri, and the many other investors in this project,” said Dr. Lenny Klaver, NCMC president. “This facility was built with the future in mind, and I’m so grateful to the partners involved who saw that in this project. We thought of this idea a long time ago, and we did it, together, to prepare the workforce for today and tomorrow.” The Houlne Center is a 20,000-square-foot learning laboratory that delivers practical, applied learning instruction in skilled manufacturing and construction professions as well as innovative service technologies like AI, robotics, GIS, sensor technologies, information technology and cybersecurity that drive those sectors and others. The Center is home to a broad range of certificate and degree programs as well as targeted workforce training, designed to meet the needs of incumbent workers. Its applied learning labs mimic the equipment and facilities used in factory floors and job sites. “This modern facility, and the partnerships it represents, sends a message that Missouri is a land of opportunity for both employers AND employees,” said Dr. Bennett Boggs, commissioner of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development and a speaker at the ribbon- cutting ceremony. “And as a result, Missourians will be competitive in the workforce, able to support their families, and positioned to prosper economically. This cutting-edge center is designed to prepare Gri ons and Pirates for impactful careers in manufacturing and construction.” The Center is named for Missouri Western alumnus Tim Houlne ’86, an entrepreneur, author and visionary in the field of artificial in-
telligence. Houlne is founder and CEO of Humach, a Dallas-based provider of AI technology-driven contact center solutions for hundreds of clients across a variety of industries and regions. He committed $3 million to the Center’s Project Fund, which will help support the Center’s launch and ongoing programs. It’s the third largest outright gift in Missouri Western’s history. Houlne’s gift is emblematic of the private support that the project generated. All told, about 20 private firms and individuals have donated more than $7 million to the project. “We are extremely grateful to all of our public and private partners for their unwavering support of the project,” said Marc Archambault, vice president for advancement and executive director of the MWSU Foundation. “One of the exciting things about this particular project is we had support not only for construction and equipping of the building, but for things like operating expenses, scholarship support and professorships that will make the Houlne Center sustainable and accessible to students.” The Houlne Center consists of a large central shop area and four specialty bays, along with a conference room and gathering space. There are no offices in the Center; it is strictly an educational facility. Several areas of the Center have been named in recognition of donors: Gray Manufacturing Workshop Bay (the central shop area) Altec Manufacturing Technology Bay Triumph Foods and Daily’s Premium Meats Industrial Technology Bay Humach Cyber Science Bay Nestle Purina Gathering Space Bradley Family Conference Room At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, $1.3 million in gifts were announced for the first time: $250,000 from the Bradley Family for the Center’s general fund $100,000 from Nestle Purina for the Center’s general fund $500,000 from Herzog for workforce development scholarships for any engineering technology or cybersecurity student $250,000 from the Beavers Charitable Trust for professorship funds $100,000 from Pete and Staci Gray for endowed scholarships $100,000 from Paul Gray for endowed scholarships
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