THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 88 lines
Gary Hobbs has a large clay jar on his desk labeled ``Grandiose Schemes.'' It says a lot about the personality of the work force development director of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Schools.
Hobbs recently received the 1996 Vocational Educator of the Year from the North Carolina Marketing Educators Association and the 1995-96 VIP Award from the Health Occupations Students Association.
He oversees the eight vocational education areas offered at Northeastern High School and Elizabeth City Middle School.
Vocational education isn't just for students who don't like school anymore. In the four years since Hobbs returned to his hometown of Elizabeth City, vocational education has become much more ``grandiose.''
Some benefits for vocational education students:
College credits and advanced placement with College of The Albemarle and other colleges in the region.
Apprenticeships with several local businesses.
After-school and summer internships.
New career center at Northeastern High School.
Exposure and contacts that often result in immediate good jobs.
Clubs such as Future Farmers of America and Future Business Leaders of America that accompany the vocational courses are no longer extracurricular. They are essential. There are 333 high school and middle school students involved in the Vocational Student Organizations.
Hobbs, 48, specializes in getting students of these clubs national exposure through annual contests. During his tenure, nine HOSA students have finished first in the nation in various job-skill events. The local Future Homemakers of America and FBLA have each had members place in the top three nationally. Dozens of others have won at the state and regional levels.
``The competition is keen at the state level,'' said Hobbs. ``You are already a winner when you go that far.''
Hobbs is a robust man with a soft voice and quick smile. He says he is still a middle school-age kid at heart. Put him in a red suit and long white beard, and he could pass for Santa Claus.
He described a phone call from a desperate mother a couple of weeks ago. Her son was not doing well in school and she pleaded for help.
Hobbs relished the challenge to turn a student's life around.
``The kids with no direction are my favorite ones,'' he said.
The young man will have the choice of taking courses in agriculture, business, marketing, health occupations, family and consumer science, applied physics, career exploration, and trade and industrial skills. The trade and industrial group includes classes in construction, metal manufacturing, auto technology and drafting. In all, there are 41 different vocational or technical courses offered.
While in vocational education, the youth will be part of a four-year plan that will train him in the classroom and on the job. He can enter annual contests that emphasize job skills such as job interviewing and public speaking. Hobbs said that if the student follows the program well, he'll be successful.
Surveys say 97 percent of the vocational students are employed in North Carolina. Three-fourths of them say they might not have stayed in school if not for the vocational courses.
Whenever Hobbs reviews a new project, he keeps one thing in mind.
``If it's good for the kids, we'll look at it,'' he said.
``One thing I can say about Gary,'' said Lynda Perry, marketing coordinator at Northeastern High School. ``He sees the future. He's not content to stay where we are. He makes sure we can compete at the state and national levels.
``The sneaky part of Gary is he is always very complimentary. And you say, `Whoa, whoa, this is not me right now. This is what he sees I can become.' ''
It was the vote of marketing teachers like Perry from across the state that gave Hobbs the Vocational Educator award.
Hobbs has been a vocational director for the northeast region of the state and for two other large school systems. During his career he has guided hundreds of students through vocational systems.
``In the past there has been some baggage that vocational education is just for those going to work,'' said Hobbs. ``Everybody is going to work. If I were going to be an engineer, then what better course to take in high school than drafting? I'd have a competitive edge over others going to college.''
A student from the Greensboro school system was master of ceremonies for a national contest last year. The young man conducted the event in front of 2,000 people. In the audience were college recruiters and corporate representatives. The young man received a $42,000 scholarship from a food preparation school - Johnson and Wales University - largely because of his skills in front of that audience.
``Those possibilities are there for us, too,'' said Hobbs.
Grandiose. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by DREW C. WILSON, The Virginian-Pilot
Gary Hobbs, work force development director of Elizabeth
City-Pasquotank County Schools, is the 1996 Vocational Educator of
the Year for the state. by CNB