A Great Oaks instructor, a Board member, and a business partner were all recognized for excellence by the Ohio Association for Career-Technical Education.
Angela Kovacs of the Great Oaks Business Management satellite program at Batavia High School has been named an Outstanding Educator in Community Service for 2019 by the Ohio Association for Career-Technical Education.
Kovacs, a resident of Miami Township, is a Great Oaks instructor at Batavia High School. “Angie teaches her Business Management students that a part of being a business professional—and an adult—is community involvement,” said the award nomination. “She demonstrates that both through words and examples.”
Their signature cause is Special Olympics, in conjunction with the student organization Business Professionals of America (BPA.)
For the past four years, her students have been honored for making the largest contribution among all Ohio BPA chapters, and they have twice won the national Special Olympics Award at the national BPA conference.
Each year they have surpassed their fundraising goals, and regularly raise over $10,000 for Special Olympics.
Terry Gibson of Lockland received the Outstanding Board Member award for 2019.
Gibson has been a Great Oaks Board member since 2006 and became Board Chair in 2019. He has served on and chaired numerous Board committees. Most recently, he spent two years as Vice Chair of the Great Oaks Board of Directors. Terry Gibson’s influence and involvement extends beyond the two Boards he serves as well. He is a long-time member of the OSBA Southwest Region Executive Committee, and regularly attends regional, state and national conferences in order to expand his own skills and to learn about educational trends and needs to share with his school districts. The nomination praises Gibson for his “Community spirit, his dedication to education at all levels, and his passion for student success (which) has helped to elevate Great Oaks as an essential partner in the region.”
Tom Rocklin of the Live Oaks Business Council has been bestowed the Ambassador Award for 2019 by the Ohio Association for Career-Technical Education.
Tom Rocklin of Clermont County is a long-time member of the Live Oaks Career Campus Business Council, a group dedicated to building connections between campus and community. As a member, he helped develop Super Service Saturday, an annual event that opens the campus to area residents. Families come to Live Oaks for a day of service and fun put on by staff, students, and volunteers like Tom. Thousands of residents have enjoyed the day and received assistance–from free manicures to computer repair. But that’s just one role that Tom plays. For the past several years, he has been a mentor to a group of about 20 students each year. They meet once a week and discuss personal issues and career goals. “It has been a critical effort, said Live Oaks Dean Joe Moon. “He’s helped some of these kids make it through school and begin their adult lives.”
The three were honored at the OACTE summer conference in Columbus.