HOUTZDALE – At the first meeting for the current school year, board members of the Moshannon Valley Community Education Foundation discussed details about the upcoming Knights Victory Race 5K/10K.
The KVR 5K previously included a lot of mud. This year the race will include a 10K without any mud and water. The race begins at 9 a.m. Sept. 28 at the Palcher Park, Ramey, and will follow the Houtzdale Line of Rails to Trails.
Further, the 5K portion of the race will begin at 9 a.m. with the 10K race to begin at 10 a.m. Racers are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes prior to race time. Nittany Valley Running Club will time the race, which will include prizes for timed runners.
Laura Mihalko of the MVCEF stated beginners and experienced racers may register on the foundation’s Web site, www.mvcef.org, or at www.raceit.com. Proceeds will fund grant requests from faculty for trips, books and equipment. Contributions may also be made at www.mvcef.org, she stated.
The MVCEF was the recipient of a donation to the Technical/Industrial Arts Department over the summer by the Swoope family. This gift, along with contributions from the Madera Moose Loom 1172, Houtzdale Moose Loom 327, McClelland Welding LLC and the Kruise Funeral Homes Inc., has allowed the MVCEF to provide the Moshannon Valley Area School District with a CNC Plasma Cutting System. This system will allow students to make products they design out of metal or wood and thereby encourage creativity and up-to-date skills needed in today’s workplace.
The MVCEF received a letter, stating it’s been included in the estate of Rose M. Capatch, a 1938 graduate of the Madera High School. She began her career as a teacher at Ramey Elementary School. The majority of her teaching career was as a kindergarten teacher for the Philipsburg Area School District.
Connie Chihon-Godin and Corinne Tiesi were welcomed as the newest members of the MVCEF. Chihon-Godin was named second vice president; Tiesi was named president of the MVCEF Alumni Association. Tiesi reported a number of alumni and friends Honor Wall brick order forms were handed out recently at a class reunion. Alumni, she said, will not only find information on the MVCEF Web site, but also on Facebook. Alumni T-shirts are also in the works and will hopefully be on sale at the Homecoming booth this fall, she said.
The next meeting of the alumni association will be at 7 p.m. today at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Houtzdale.
Caryn Southern was named chair of the Alumni and Friends Honor Wall Committee. Carolyn DeLattre, Doris Souder and Fran Zapsky will assist Southern on this committee. Concern was expressed as to what should happen if any bricks become damaged once the wall is built. Since the wall would be considered school district property, its liability insurance would cover the repairs.
Joseph Cervenak, scholarship chairman, will be contacting a family who has expressed interest in starting a scholarship with the MVCEF.
Elsie Harchak, chairman for Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), stated the MVCEF was approved at the end of June to receive EITC funding for six AP courses at the high school. Businesses may receive between 75 percent and 90 percent tax credit directly off of their tax bill when they donate to educational foundations.
The EITC, Harchak stated, enables businesses to get involved in the development of their future workforce by funding specific programs and potentially by getting involved in direct provision of training or specialized educational programming. Any business wanting further information may contact Harchak at eharchak@movalley.org.
An Audit Committee, to review the MVCEF’s accounts, will be formed and scheduled for the near future.
Tonya DeVecchis-Kerr, superintendent of the Moshannon Valley Area School District, shared with the MVCEF about how bids are awarded within the MVASD. The MVCEF board learned bids must follow state regulations and if they are not followed, the district could be penalized.
IKON Office Solutions has donated two box seat tickets for a Christmas show at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was decided the tickets will be used as a reward for high school students with perfect attendance. Those students with perfect attendance, during a time period decided upon by the school district, will have their names entered for a drawing.
The next MVCEF meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Nov. 20 at the MVASD office.