Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407110173
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By CHRISTIAN TOTO Special to the Roanoke Times & World-News
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
Bolt's latest notch on her educational belt arrived a short time before another honor came her way; she was appointed chairwoman of the local board of New River Community College, simultaneously setting two precedents.
"It may sound hokey, but I'm very proud to be the first [NRCC] graduate and first woman to chair the board," she said.
The position means all the more for Bolt because the institution is where she began her collegiate career.
"I feel like I've come full circle," said Bolt, who is the lead contracts administrator for Hercules at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant.
She enrolled at New River Community College in 1973, and in 1976 earned her first degree in business management. In the next 21 years she accumulated four more degrees: a second associate's degree from the community college in accounting; a bachelor's of science in business administration from Radford University [before the school was accredited]; a master's of science in business administration from Radford; and this May, a bachelor's of business administration in marketing [after the school was accredited].
If she had her druthers, she said, her voice crisp and pleasant like a professor whose class you didn't bother skipping, "I'd go to school all the time."
Already, she's looking ahead. "I'm excited about the College of Global Studies [at Radford University]," she said. "The international arena is where all businesses are. I'd like to take some classes there."
At the arsenal, in what she calls a "very dynamic operation," Bolt helps her department oversee administrative and financial matters dealing with contracts. "We get involved in a little bit of everything," she said.
Her old-fashioned work ethic has drawn the attention of her co-workers. David Radcliffe, director of finance and administration at Hercules Inc., said Bolt is "the kind of employee who puts in extra hours" and is "totally focused on her work assignments."
Contract administrator Linda Ramsey has known Bolt for more than 10 years. "She wants you to do it right," Ramsey said. "But know that if you don't, she doesn't become upset or agitated."
Bolt "will go to bat for you if you're in the right," Ramsey said. "She wants the truth."
Bolt's new position as head of a board that gives advice and policy recommendations to New River Community College shouldn't interfere with her job, she said.
The board meets on the first Monday of every month, and "[Hercules is] involved in the community and is happy with the decision," she said.
As the chairwoman, Bolt will help the college keep pace with the region's biggest concern, the economy.
"Everyone knows defense is downsizing," she said, something Hercules has seen first hand as its work force has been cut almost in half over the past two years. She said the college must reflect the "change in employment trends" and assist dislocated workers.
Being named head of her alma mater's board was a gradual process. From 1978 to 1986, Bolt was a member of the college's Advisory Committees, citizens' groups that offered recommendations and real-world advice to the colleges' different disciplines.
In 1988, she was selected by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors to represent the county on the local community college board. Bolt, a lifelong resident of the New River Valley, and her husband, Jack, live in Belmont Farms in Christiansburg.
She recently allowed New River's personnel committee to submit her name for the position of chairwoman during this, her second term on the board. When the vote was cast, she was on vacation. "I didn't even know I got the job," she said with an embarrassed smile.
The local board advises New River on curriculum, approves the local budget and has a significant role in hiring and firing of the president. It passes on recommendations to the state board, which oversees and sets policies for all 23 community colleges.
Richard Best, Hercules' general manager at the arsenal, spoke highly of Bolt's credentials for her new position. He said she possessed a "wide, vast knowledge of the community," as well as "an excellent business background."
"She's lively and interesting and a joy to work with," he said.
"A lot of people make excuses for not getting an education," said Jack Bolt, who's enjoying an early retirement from Litton Industries in Blacksburg. "And she was working full time when she got her degrees."
Spare time is rare for Bolt. She and her husband travel when possible, and if she's not working in her garden, they squeeze in a few rounds of golf.
Bolt says she has a good feel for the New River.
"Everyone thinks of New River as a little school," Bolt said. "Tech overshadows it."
But, "if you have the same textbook and a quality teacher, what difference does it make?" Despite a budget crunch over the past few years, New River Community College has been able to maintain quality without adding positions, Bolt says. "Everyone just seems to pitch in."
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by CNB