MTC’s Community Day Shines Light On Programs
June 04, 2018
First- Time Open House Combines Several Events
By NOLAN STOUT
Daily News-Record 6/4/18
HARRISONBURG — Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, but Massanutten Technical Center administrators kept a sunny disposition this weekend.
The technical center opened its campus for the first community day on a rainy Saturday. The event was a consolidation of several events and fundraisers the school typically holds throughout the year.
“We really felt like we could get a bigger impact if we just put everything into one big day and got a great opportunity for people to come on our campus and see what we do on a daily basis,” said MTC Director Kevin Hutton. “We felt that we’d get a bigger return on our investment if we could get people to MTC and they could check out all of our programs and participate in some hands on activities.”
The school is jointly funded by the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County school divisions.
The event included an open house so the community could get a look at MTC’s programs, such as cosmetics, auto repair and carpentry.
The day culminated with an auction of surplus items, cars used in classes and a house constructed by students.
The 1,400- square- foot modular home was designed by architectural students, built by carpentry students and wired by student electricians. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Second- year carpentry students start working in September and build the house from the ground up, said carpentry teacher Neil Tucker. This year, 13 students worked on the home. “It’s been a l o n g - s t a n d i n g project with Massanutten Technical Center to build houses,” Tucker said. Buyers, who must add appliances and flooring, typically flip the homes. One house was auctioned for $ 42,000 and later sold for $ 230,000.
“My students take a lot of pride in this house,” Tucker said. “I hear a lot of them say, ‘You know I really can’t believe we really built this’ … It’s a great accomplishment for a high school student to say they built a house before they even got out of high school.”
All the money raised goes back into the school for equipment and resources for its programs.
Hutton said the school expected to bring in about $ 50,000, but final numbers weren’t available this weekend.
Although steady rain put a damper on turnout and sent people indoors from the petting zoo and bouncy house, officials kept a positive outlook.
“We definitely feel like if it was sunny and 75 we’d probably have a lot more people out here,” Hutton said. “But for our first year, I think we’ve been very happy with the amount of people who’ve come out today.
“And the great benefit for us is getting people who don’t normally come to this campus and giving them an opportunity to check things out and be aware of what MTC is all about.
“And that’s really the main purpose in community day.”
“And the great benefit for us is getting people who don’t normally come to this campus ... an opportunity to check things out and be aware of what MTC is all about.”
— KEVIN HUTTON
Joseph, 10, ( front) and Jackson Gladden, 9, of Penn Laird, learn about welding from Turner Ashby senior Drew Huffman during a community day at Massanutten Technical Center on Saturday.
Stella Hughes, 8, of Weyers Cave, removes lug nuts from a pickup truck with help from East Rockingham junior Anthony Kee during a community day at Massanutten Technical Center on Saturday morning.
By NOLAN STOUT
Daily News-Record 6/4/18
HARRISONBURG — Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, but Massanutten Technical Center administrators kept a sunny disposition this weekend.
The technical center opened its campus for the first community day on a rainy Saturday. The event was a consolidation of several events and fundraisers the school typically holds throughout the year.
“We really felt like we could get a bigger impact if we just put everything into one big day and got a great opportunity for people to come on our campus and see what we do on a daily basis,” said MTC Director Kevin Hutton. “We felt that we’d get a bigger return on our investment if we could get people to MTC and they could check out all of our programs and participate in some hands on activities.”
The school is jointly funded by the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County school divisions.
The event included an open house so the community could get a look at MTC’s programs, such as cosmetics, auto repair and carpentry.
The day culminated with an auction of surplus items, cars used in classes and a house constructed by students.
The 1,400- square- foot modular home was designed by architectural students, built by carpentry students and wired by student electricians. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Second- year carpentry students start working in September and build the house from the ground up, said carpentry teacher Neil Tucker. This year, 13 students worked on the home. “It’s been a l o n g - s t a n d i n g project with Massanutten Technical Center to build houses,” Tucker said. Buyers, who must add appliances and flooring, typically flip the homes. One house was auctioned for $ 42,000 and later sold for $ 230,000.
“My students take a lot of pride in this house,” Tucker said. “I hear a lot of them say, ‘You know I really can’t believe we really built this’ … It’s a great accomplishment for a high school student to say they built a house before they even got out of high school.”
All the money raised goes back into the school for equipment and resources for its programs.
Hutton said the school expected to bring in about $ 50,000, but final numbers weren’t available this weekend.
Although steady rain put a damper on turnout and sent people indoors from the petting zoo and bouncy house, officials kept a positive outlook.
“We definitely feel like if it was sunny and 75 we’d probably have a lot more people out here,” Hutton said. “But for our first year, I think we’ve been very happy with the amount of people who’ve come out today.
“And the great benefit for us is getting people who don’t normally come to this campus and giving them an opportunity to check things out and be aware of what MTC is all about.
“And that’s really the main purpose in community day.”
“And the great benefit for us is getting people who don’t normally come to this campus ... an opportunity to check things out and be aware of what MTC is all about.”
— KEVIN HUTTON
Joseph, 10, ( front) and Jackson Gladden, 9, of Penn Laird, learn about welding from Turner Ashby senior Drew Huffman during a community day at Massanutten Technical Center on Saturday.
Stella Hughes, 8, of Weyers Cave, removes lug nuts from a pickup truck with help from East Rockingham junior Anthony Kee during a community day at Massanutten Technical Center on Saturday morning.
