Welcome to the latest edition of the ETSU Research Corporation's newsletter, The Beacon! October was an exciting month for the RC, and we're sharing several updates, including our new Board of Directors and a great fundraising event happening this week. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to what November has in store!
"Our new board members, in addition to being strong supporters of the university, share in the Research Corporation’s vision and have demonstrated commitments to serving the Appalachian Highlands and beyond. I am thrilled they have so enthusiastically agreed to serve.”
– Dr. Brian Noland, ETSU president and chair of the Research Corporation Board of Directors
Join us this Thursday for Finnegan's Challenge – a 24-hour fundraising event to support families of children with birth defects. The initiative is spearheaded by retired ETSU Athletic Director Dr. Richard "Doc" Sander, whose grandson, Finnegan, was born with a rare birth defect seven years ago.
Doc Sander speaks during the Oct. 28 press conference at ETSU announcing Finnegan's Challenge. Seated left to right: Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine, ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland, ETSU Athletic Director Scott Carter, ETSU Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Learning and Development Director Dr. Kimberly Hale, and ETSU Child and Family Health Institute Director Karen Schetzina.
Doc will make over 3,300 free throws throughout the 24 hours to symbolize the 1 in 33 children born with birth defects, and proceeds will provide resources and training to families as well as early childhood educators who care for children with birth defects.
Doc with Finnegan, who is now seven years old.
Finnegan's Challenge is the kickoff fundraiser event for the organization and will take place Nov. 4 beginning at 8 a.m. in ETSU's Brooks Gymnasium.
Top: ETSU Marching Bucs presented an exhibition performance at the end of preliminary competition.
Bottom: West Ridge High School of Blountville, Tennessee, presented for the first time at Bands of America.
ETSU hosted the 2021 Bands of America Regional Championship on Oct. 30 in the Mini Dome. Sixteen of the top bands in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida competed in Johnson City throughout the day. Local high schools Dobyns-Bennett and West Ridge competed, with Dobyns-Bennett High School finishing second overall.
Research Corporation CEO David Golden congratulates the Dobyns-Bennett team on their second place victory. Golden is on the Board of Directors for Music For All, the non-profit, parent organization for Bands of America with a mission to support positive experiences through music. (Photo by Polk Chandler)
ROV Workshops
Thirteen educators from Morristown, Chattanooga and Kingsport, Tennessee, as well as Lee County, Virginia, participated in the two-day workshop.
STREAMWORKS hosted its third remotely operated vehicle (ROV) workshop for 2021 last week. These workshops are designed to help educators promote STEM in their respective school districts and prepare students for the rigors of robotics competitions. The next educator workshop is February 24-25 at the STREAMWORKS/ETSU Valleybrook Campus. Contact Dennis Courtney for more information.
Their teams will compete in various age groups at the Fifth Annual MATE Appalachian Highlands Regional Underwater Robotics Competition scheduled for May 14, 2022, at ETSU.
Highlights
Dave Clark, Vice President for Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development with the RC, speaks on why the Appalachian Highlands is the epicenter for world-class entrepreneurship in a rural setting. Video by Sync.Space.
The 2022 STRIVE application is now open! Entrepreneurial veterans will learn skills needed to launch a successful business as well as gain post-program support.
Debbie Smith, owner of U.S. Respiratory, LLC, and member of the ETSU Innovation Lab, has successfully graduated and opened a new location in Gray, Tennessee.
