|
 Read this … “And then Otis and Gloria and Stevie and Miss
Franny and Dunlap and Amanda and Sweetie Pie
and my daddy all started to sing. And I listened
careful, so I could learn it right.” n Now, click here to find out why this sentence was cause for celebration at EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus on Jan. 26, 2009.
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Ginny Sanders and Sam Shaffer
“And then Otis and Gloria and Stevie and Miss Franny and Dunlap and Amanda and Sweetie Pie
and my daddy all started to sing. And I listened careful, so I could learn it right." Mr. Sam Shaffer read this sentence aloud, then looked at his teacher, Ginny Sanders, and smiled.
Ginny is an Adult Basic Education teacher at EMCC. She had been waiting for this moment, for Sam
to speak the final words of, “Because of Winn Dixie.” She pressed the “Send” button on her cell phone
and a one-word text message went out to her colleagues waiting impatiently outside the door. The text message read, “Now!” The ABE/GED and Workforce Services team from EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus surged into the
room to celebrate. A retired railroad worker, Sam had been coming to EMCC to strengthen his reading
skills for years. But this was the day he finished the first book he ever read cover-to-cover. EMCC faculty and administrators made a party for Sam. They presented him with a copy of “Because
of Winn-Dixie.” The lunch feast they prepared in Sam’s honor included food the characters in the book
enjoyed – egg salad sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, dill pickles and peppermints, the closest
substitute they could find for “Littmus Lozenges.” Here are some photos of the party: 
CONGRATULATIONS
EMCC President Dr. Rick Young re-arranged his schedule so he could
come to the party and congratulate Sam Shaffer.
OH, COME ON!
Deborah Vega, Mitzi Thompson and Karen Quarrels encourage their
camera-shy friends to come pose for a group photo.
THE WHOLE BUNCH
Sam Shaffer, center, poses for a photo with the ABE/GED and Workforce
Services team. Pictured from left are: EMCC President Dr. Rick Young,
Alison Alexander, WFS/ABE instructor; Geneva Atkins, ABE instructor;
Ginny Sanders, WFS/ABE instructor and STEP Youth Grant manager;
Deborah Vega, ABE instructor; Mitzi Thompson, ABE transition specialist;
Darlene White, WFS assessment specialist; Karen Quarrels, ABE coordinator;
Susan Baird, WFS dislocated worker coordinator; and Chrystal Newman,
WFS coordinator.
DR. RAJ
Dr. Raj Shaunak, left, EMCC vice president of Workforce and Community
Services, chats with EMCC President Dr. Rick Young. Adult Basic
Education and General Education Development fall under the “community
services” portion of Dr. Shaunak’s title. “Dr. Raj,” as he is known around
EMCC, pays attention to details – he even offered to make egg salad
when Ginny Sanders admitted she can’t stand the sight of boiled eggs
and mayonnaise.
n Click here for more information about ABE/GED
programs at East Mississippi Community College. |
