NMC Acapella group meets every Friday in Fine Arts Building; planning sidewalk performances for summer

The NMC Acapella student group was formed to provide an alternative and less traditional choir group to NMC. Their mission is to provide NMC and the Traverse community an alternative musical outlet in which members can grow, learn, and expand their Acapella experience.

NMC Acapella invites you to join them! The group meets every Friday from 12:30p.m. to 2:30p.m. in the music wing of the Fine Arts Building, Room 105. Anyone may join at any time, regardless of experience or any other qualifications. This summer the group plans to hold street and sidewalk performances, as well as perform at community events. An idea for a flash Acapella mob during the National Cherry Festival is also in talks.

For more information or if you have questions about the group please contact Helena Duty at dutyh@mail.nmc.edu or (231) 878-8592 OR contact faculty advisor Jeff Cobb at jecobb@nmc.edu or 995-1338.

Employee anniversaries

The following employees are celebrating anniversaries soon. Please join us in congratulating them!

Wendy Rogers             Course Materials Supervisor                                                     18 years

Kim Schultz                   Director of Advising                                                                    2 years

Terry Tarnow                Museum Store Manager                                                         22 years

 

Welcome Jeffery Spicer to NMC!

Jeffery L. Spicer joined NMC as custodial staff on May 13, 2013.  Jeffery can be reached at 995-111 or jspicer@nmc.edu
Jeffery, his wife Lou and their cat Dusty come to Traverse City from the downstate area. Jeffery has worked previously at NW Florida State College, Alma College and DeWitt Public Schools. Jeffery is an avid record collector and loves the outdoors. He and his wife enjoy festivals and concerts, hiking and camping.

Benefits corner

Have you or your family had to deal with those pesky wisdom teeth coming in?  You may automatically think that extractions of wisdom teeth are a dental expense, but this is not necessarily true.  If you are covered by both our medical and dental plans, you need to know the status of the tooth itself before you know how it is covered.  NMC’s medical plan will cover the extraction if it is an impacted or partially impacted tooth – one that has not emerged through the gum.  NMC’s dental insurance will cover the extraction if it is not covered by our medical insurance, so if the tooth has emerged through the gum, it is covered by your NMC dental insurance.  If you have several teeth to extract and some are impacted and some are not, you may be dealing with both insurances.

If you have only one type of coverage with NMC, for instance you have our dental plan but another medical plan, then you will need to coordinate the coverage based on what your medical plan covers.  This may take a little more research.

Since coverage may be difficult for you to determine by yourself, you or your doctor can call for guidance on where to bill.  For dental questions, call ASR at 1-800-968-2448 X3135 and speak with Rick Davison.  For medical questions, call Priority Health at 1-800-956-1954.

If you have any questions about this or your other benefits, feel free to contact Human Resources at 995-1362 or 995-1025.

Kudos

Carol Kasper and Aaron Beach gave presentations at the NMC Adjunct Faculty Association meeting May 10, 2013. They did these presentations after work hours and were very generous with their time. The adjunct faculty in attendance learned a great deal and really appreciated connecting face-to-face with both of them. Both answered lots of questions with great heart and spirit. A very BIG thank you to Carol and Aaron!

Kudos to Jan Gasnik and Lisa Molmen! Jan responded to my request for a county-by-county list of part-time students who made the dean’s list. Lisa generated the query that will run the report. Thanks to their quick efforts we are able to provide this important recognition of all our dean’s list students (previously only full-time students were available) to media in a manner meaningful to them, increasing the likelihood of publicity.

Position vacancies

For information on positions currently open at NMC, please visit NMC’s web page at https://jobs.nmc.edu/  Information on internal postings has been emailed.

Foundation for Mental Health presents the “Drive for Dignity” golf outing

Foundation for Mental Health presents the “Drive for Dignity” Golf outing: A golf outing with food pairings on the holes! The golf outing will be held on Saturday, June 8, at 11:00 a.m. at Mistwood Golf Course in Lake Ann, and will feature a 4-player scramble on 9 holes and shamble on 9 holes, with a shotgun format.
Taste of Northern Michigan on course:
Moomer’s Ice Cream, Cookies, Wraps from Riverfront Pizza, Leelanau Cellars Wine, Oleson’s Buffalo, Sliders on Stone House Rolls, Papa J’s Big Boot Pizza, Morsels, Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate, Maxbauer Hot Dogs, The Filling Station Beer, Gabe’s Meat/Cheese Tray, Traverse Bay Fruit Company Dried, Cherries
Games:  Four Hole-In-One Contests:  2 year lease on 2014 Subaru Forester, RAZR Golf Clubs, 3 nights/2 rounds stay & play vacation at TPC, San Antonio (2 separate prizes)
              Longest Drive Contest – dozen golf balls
              Closest To Pin Contest – Dixon Amateur Sponsorship
              Dixon Golf Challenge – sleeve of Dixon Golf Balls and coupons worth at least $150
Team Winners:  Top male, female and mixed foursomes – each golfer will receive $25 and an invitation to play in the Biggest Tournament charity golf outing.
Silent Auction:  As a minimum, we’ll have the following items:  $500 in Meijer gift cards, Golf for 4 at Crystal Mountain ($260 value), Golf for 4 at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, Golf for 4 at Sugar Loaf – The Old Course ($208 value), Mountain Bike ($175 value), Gift Basket from Bud’s of Interlochen ($100 value), Golf for 2 at The Crown ($58 value), 2-$50 Amical Gift Cards, Gift Certificate for dinner/lunch for 4 at Silver Swan ($52 value)

Public programs offered with Birds of Paradise: Amazing Avian Evolution exhibit at Dennos

The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present a range of public programs in conjunction with the National Geographic exhibition, Birds of Paradise: Amazing Avian Evolution. All programs are free with museum admission ($10 adults, $5 children and museum members).

The programs are a partnership between the Museum and local bird organizations in support of Birds of Paradise. Saving Birds Thru Habitat, located in Leelanau County, will offer a series of “Sundays are for the Birds” programs for families and adults at the Dennos Museum Center. Wings of Wonder, located in Empire, will present “A Bird’s-Eye View: An Interactive Raptor Experience” featuring live birds on the 15th of July, August, and September, also at the Dennos.

“These programs represent the kind of partnership the Dennos Museum Center wants to make happen,” says Jason Dake, Curator of Education. “This is why the museum exists – to present engaging and educational programming for the community.”

“Our organization is delighted to partner with the Dennos on an exhibition centered on one of the most beautiful and fascinating avian families in the world.  Partnering with other agencies and non-profit organizations helps us spread the word about the importance of bird conservation,” said Kay Charter, Executive Director of Saving Birds Thru Habitat.

“The WOW Ambassador Raptors and I invite our community to join us as we soar to new heights in education,” says Rebecca Lessard, Executive Director of locally operated Wings of Wonder.  “It’s a real feather in the cap of the Dennos Museum to bring these fantastic programs to our area and we are thrilled to be appearing in such stellar company.”

All attendees are encouraged to call 231-995-1029 to reserve a space for each program.

 

SUNDAYS ARE FOR THE BIRDS

June 30, 1pm – Bird & Bugs Outdoor Explorers

Join SBTH for an exploration of NMC Main Campus in search of birds and the bugs they eat! Ages 4 and up, with adult. Meet in lobby. Free with museum admission.

July 21, 1pm – Birding at NMC

SBTH Director Kay Charter will lead a group on a birding expedition through NMC Main Campus. Binoculars provided. All ages welcome. Meet in lobby. Free with museum admission

August 11, 2pm – Northern Michigan Birds of Paradise

SBTH will present an illustrated lecture about the migration and selection processes of Northern Michigan birds. Dutmers Theater. Free with museum admission.

August 18, 1pm – Birding at NMC

SBTH Director Kay Charter will lead a group on a birding expedition through NMC Main Campus. Binoculars provided. All ages welcome. Meet in lobby. Free with museum admission.

August 25, 1pm – Bird & Bugs Outdoor Explorers

Join SBTH for an exploration of NMC Main Campus in search of birds and the bugs they eat! Ages 4 and up, with adult. Meet in lobby. Free with museum admission.

September 8, 2pm – Michigan’s Tropical Connections

Gerg Butcher, Director of Bird Conservation at National Audubon Society, will present an illustrated lecture about Neotropical migratory patterns of birds that breed in Michigan. Dutmers Theater. Free with museum admission.

September 15, 1pm – A Bird’s-Eye View: An Interactive Raptor Experience

Wings of Wonder’s Rebecca Lessard will present an exciting and educational program featuring live birds. All ages welcome. Meet in lobby. Free with museum admission.

A Bird’s-Eye View: An Interactive Raptor Experience

July 15, August 15, September 15 – 1pm: Visit the Dennos on the 15th of July, August, and September for a special treat. Included with museum admission, Wings of Wonder’s Rebecca Lessard will present exciting and educational programming featuring live birds! All ages welcome. Meet in lobby. Free with museum admission.

 

All attendees are encouraged to call 231-995-1029 to reserve a space for each program.

The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursdays until 8 PM, and Sundays 1-5 PM. During Birds of Paradise, admission is $10.00 adults, $5.00 for children and museum members. For information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.

Dennos Museum seeking installation helper for Birds of Paradise exhibit

This position would entail installing part of the Birds of Paradise at the Dennos Museum Center.

The Dennos Museum Center is in need of hiring a few good people who would be interested in helping with the installation of the Birds of Paradise exhibition at the Dennos Museum Center from June 4 – June 15 as needed. Ideally we are looking for people with some of the skills required to assemble theater sets, as essentially that is what is involved – putting together  already built exhibition components.

Think of it as an IKEA assembly project, but with expert guidance from National Geographic staff!

If you can devote the better part of a day each day for much of the June 4-15 time frame or if you know of people who potentially have the skills we need and have the time, please contact Eugene A. Jenneman, Museum Director 231-995-1572.

This would be a great job for a college student with handy-person skills.

The final product of your work will look like this:

Birds of Paradise Exhibit

Kudos

Kudos to all Faculty and Academic Staff for completion of another successful semester at NMC!

Kudos to the Commencement Team (Roy Bartle, Andy Dolan, Jan Gasnik, Linda Glaesmer, Holly Gorton, Irina Grougan, Sarah Hemminger, Kyle Morrison, Shayrrl McCready, Cari Noga, Shannon Owen, Deb Patterson, Carol Taberski – Chair, Eileen Vaughn, Jim White) for planning and organizing another beautiful and successful NMC graduation ceremony! Thank you for all of your hard work.

Kudos to the dozens of NMC faculty and staff who volunteered at the 58th annual NMC BBQ on Sunday.  Thanks to your efforts, and selfless donation of your time, the BBQ was a success once again.  Thousands of people spent hours on the campus and had a great time, and it would not be possible without each of you.

Employee anniversaries

The following employee is celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating him!

Ed Borstel                    Aviation Maintenance Supervisor                                 10  years

Dennos Museum Center earns 2013 Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence

Honored as a Top Performing Museum as Reviewed by Travelers on the World’s Largest Travel Site

The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College today announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

“The Dennos Museum Center is pleased to receive a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence,” said Gene Jenneman, Executive Director of the Dennos Museum Center, “We strive to offer our customers a memorable experience, and this accolade is evidence that our hard work is translating into positive reviews on TripAdvisor.”

“TripAdvisor is delighted to celebrate the success of businesses around the globe, from Sydney to Chicago, Sao Paulo to Rome, which are consistently offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience,” said Alison Copus, Vice President of Marketing for TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award provides top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers.”

About: Dennos Museum Center

The Dennos Museum Center is the premier cultural center for the visual and performing arts in NW Michigan, featuring changing exhibition galleries, a “hands on” Discovery Gallery; a Gallery of Inuit art, the museum’s signature collection; a Gift Shop with works by area artists and art-related merchandise; and a 367 seat performance hall. The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday’s until 8 PM and Sundays 1-5 PM. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 200 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

 

Benefits corner

As you know, dependents through the age of 26 can now be carried on a parent’s insurance coverage.  This is part of healthcare reform, officially called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  This act, signed into law in 2010, has required employers to make this and many other changes to their medical insurance plans over the last several years.

Although your dependents can still be covered by NMC insurance, there are a few things you might think about if your children do have other coverage…

  • You may be paying premiums for these children unnecessarily if they have other coverage, and they may be paying premiums at their employers as well.
  • You have to coordinate benefits for them between NMC’s coverage and their other coverage, which can be challenging.
  • Employers are now required to pay new fees based on the number of members they cover for insurance, not just on the number of employees covered.  For the NMC plans, this means fees paid to the government for over 700 covered members.

If you have a dependent that you would like to remove from your insurance, you can do so by emailing Carol Kasper with the date that the child acquired other coverage and the reason.  If this “qualifying event” did not take place since the plan year starting 1/1/13, you would not be able to terminate their coverage until open enrollment next year.

If you have any questions about this or your other benefits, feel free to contact Human Resources at 995-1362 or 995-1025.

 

Position vacancies

For information on positions currently open at NMC, please visit NMC’s web page at https://jobs.nmc.edu/  Information on internal postings has been emailed.

 

New items at the bookstore!

Summer is almost here and the crowds have thinned at the bookstore. A great time to browse and shop! Here is an idea of a few of the new things the bookstore has available.

Women’s Tees: Comes in 4 colors. Retail price $16.50
Women’s Black Cinch Tee: Dolman 3/4 sleeve. Cinches on the side. Great with white capris! Retail $24.75
Men’s Tee: Available in military green and brown with an antique cream lettering. Retail $ 9.95- $11.95
Men’s Retro Jersey: Baseball style 3/4 sleeve in a tan and charcoal color combination. Retail$24.25- $ 26.25
Ear buds: We carry 4 brands of ear buds ranging from $8.95- $15.95 in a variety of colors. Check out our variety of headphones too when you visit.
Stainless Water bottles: 4 colors. The opening is large enough to fit ice cubes and the top closes with one twist. Retail $9.95
Don’t forget about your employee discount!

earbud selection

mens retro jersey
mens tee
stainless bottles
womens tee

Employee anniversaries

The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!

Kristal Nolf                  Instructional Technology Designer                                          6 years

Kathy Sedlacek            Administrative Assistant-Records/Registration/Testing        26 years

Position vacancies

For information on positions currently open at NMC, please visit NMC’s web page at https://jobs.nmc.edu/  Information on internal postings has been emailed.

myPDCA is here─Are you ready?

If you haven’t yet done so, please login to the Intranet (linked below) to complete the Overview and Getting Started modules soon, so you can plan your SMART goals and complete your self-evaluations.

Supervisors should begin scheduling meetings soon for the annual conversations with your staff members.  All the tools you need as an employee or supervisor are available on the Intranet.

https://intranet.nmc.edu/depts/human-resources/employee-resources/mypdca/index.html

Remember, all conversations, goal setting, and annual forms are due to HR by June 30.  Feel free to email lhodek@nmc.edu or call Lori at 5-1143 if you have questions.