REACH FOR THE SKY By Barney Ballard

Creative, employment-ready educational opportunities for students in our remote area are a must, and it truly takes a village to get these opportunities off the ground.  In the fall of 2013, twelve students from the Forrest Bird Charter School and Sandpoint High School have been working together in the inaugural year of the High School Aerospace Program.  The main goal of this unique program is to provide a well-structured, comprehensive and cost-effective course of study for local area high school students to investigate and experience potential careers in the aerospace industry, interfacing with regional colleges and aerospace businesses.

The program’s fall 2013 course, Survey of Aerospace Careers, was led by local aviators and aerospace professionals Ken Larson, Randy McLain, Hunter Horvath, and Andy Berrey.  The current trimester at FBCS offers an introduction to aircraft maintenance under the guidance of Jason Hauck, a certified A&P mechanic. For the fall 2014 trimester, Tamarack Air engineer Steve Babin has offered to teach an introduction to aerospace engineering.  To facilitate those students wishing to attain a Sport Pilot license, Granite Aviation has provided a model aircraft, the Tecnam P92 Eaglet, for flight lessons. The membership of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1441 has also given generously of their time and money to support the efforts of this program.

Joining in on our exciting education-in-aerospace efforts, North Idaho College has initiated a composite program at the CDA airport with forty students enrolled in the first year of this industry specific college level certification process.  Boeing has stamped its seal of approval on this NIC course, certifying that students who complete this program have achieved an initial level of competence for job opportunities.

Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai counties are the hotbed of aviation activity in Idaho, and there is no better time than now to offer our local students an outstanding opportunity to get a leg-up on a growing industry – right in their own hometowns.

Next month: The impact of P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) for the students of North Idaho.

Chamber’s Women in Business Updates Name to Chamber Chick Connections

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and Women in Business Committee is excited to announce a new name and organization make up for their committee. At last month’s April Luncheon, the WIB announced that their strategic planning processes helped them realize the committee’s purpose and benefit to their members: Connecting.

After learning what the women of our community wanted, the name Chamber Chick Connection seemed to accurately describe their new mission, vision and purposes. One of the biggest reasons for the name change was to be more inclusive to all the women in our community. The Chamber Chick Connection kicks the stigma only business owners and managers are allowed or benefit from joining the group.

“The Chamber Chicks are at it again,” said Judy Baird, Women In Business committee member. “We’ve been shaking up our committee for the last three months and we’re excited to share some of our new developments.”

The Women In Business committee has been working with a strategic plan facilitator to hone in on their mission, vision and purpose. Their new mission is “Empower women to achieve success.” Their new vision is “live the dream.” Their 3 purposes are: Connect, Collaborate and Celebrate.

“The group has done an excellent job and worked very hard at surveying our membership, as well as their regular attendees,” explained Kate McAlister, Chamber CEO. “I am looking forward to the many good things to come.”

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber invites the community to attend the Women in Business meetings and monthly luncheon on the first Tuesday of every month.  For more information, please call 263-2161 or visit www.sandpointchamber.com. 

Community Garden Teams up with Food Bank - Sponsors Needed

Please consider sponsoring a Community Garden plot for the Food Bank at $50/each (we have 7 plots).  We need someone to "rent" the plots so that we can give the food, grown by volunteers, to the Food Bank.  The City is not able to give stuff away, no matter how great the cause.  Technically the sponsors are renting the spot and then giving the food away.  We will place a small sign on each box with the name of business sponsor.  It would be really awesome if we could just find one or two folks to cover but as long as we find a home for each of the 7 we're golden.

- Kim Woodruff, Parks and Recreation Director, City of Sandpoint

More information here: https://sites.google.com/site/sandpointcommunitygarden/