Letter: I would like your vote for LTCC trustee

I am one of the candidates running for the Lake Tahoe Community College Board of Trustees representing area 4.

As a quick background, my experience with LTCC began in 1976 when I started taking classes. I was first employed by the college in 1977 as technical director for a summer performance series. I first taught at the college in 1984 and was hired as a full time instructor in 1989 working until 2008. I helped design and build the Duke Theatre and was responsible for theatre operations as well as the department. I have been Academic Senate president, Faculty Association President and was also a part time administrator. I helped write the original mission statement of LTCC, participated in many annual planning sessions and three accreditations. In short, most of my career has been LTCC.

But being an effective board member is more than knowledge of how the college works. It is also understanding the community college system. LTCC is a small part of the largest higher education system in the country. The 112 California Community Colleges are all tied together in a system that has its own mission, rules and procedures as well as the laws defined in the California Education Code. Though we function independently as a school we must also work within the parameters of the system as a whole. The entire Community College system has undergone some fundamental changes over the last few years. As an example, it is no longer part of the mission to serve the needs of what was called “lifelong learning” which had been vital to communities like ours, where opportunities for personal growth helped sustain the college as well as provide all our residents with the opportunity to expand their knowledge and experience. LTCC responded to that shift in state priorities by creating and expanding CONNECT Community Education. This program helps provide some of the lost opportunities but must be self-sustaining and the college does not receive any state money for students in the program. While the new mission has eliminated personal growth there has been renewed emphasis on CTE (Career Technical Education). The state as well as the Federal government has placed emphasis on and provided resources for establishing career pathways starting in high school and moving through community college programs. By providing hands on career training opportunities in high school we can shorten the time needed for students to transition from high school into successful careers. CTE is no longer seen as simply traditional blue collar jobs or an end in itself. CTE now represents pathways with multiple entry and exit points and also represents high paying careers. This is an area that LTCC will be able to grow and provide more opportunities for our students.

I finished my career by working as an administrator at the Los Rios Community College District and the San Mateo Community College district. From this time I gained a greater knowledge and experience about how other districts and campuses achieved their mission. I was exposed to many different successful programs, policies and procedures and gained a more global perspective on how our system works.

Knowing our community is also vital. The one thing a Trustee represents is the community. This means that I must be actively involved with the greater community served by LTCC. I have spent most of my life in South Lake Tahoe. I went to Tahoe Valley elementary and graduated from South Tahoe High. Since coming back and working at LTCC I have always been involved in one or more community organizations. I served as a Director on the boards of local organizations including; Lake Tahoe Theatre Company, Tahoe Arts Project, Valhalla Tahoe, Tahoe Mountain Bike Association and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. My time on the Pathway 2007 Forum (a group which helped inform the TRPA and LTBMU plan updates) helped me get to know many of our community’s civic and business leaders. I have volunteered at numerous events and feel I have a good connection to our community. These connections are expanded through my wife, Teresa Bertrand, who owns Biospirit Day Spa. Through her, I have other connections to the business community and organizations like Rotary and the Chamber.

It is also very important that a Board member is able to work and collaborate with others. The Board of Trustees at LTCC is a single voice helping the college fulfill its mission. Individual trustees bring in their collective knowledge and ideas, but must make the best decisions as a group while working with the President and staff. Working in this way has been most of my career. Whether it is directing a play, which involves bringing a new group of people together to build a production, negotiating a union contract or working within the Boards of other organizations I work hard to help synthesize ideas and discussion into agreement and forward movement. I respect and listen to all voices in the discussion and love it when the group can create synergy on a topic.

I also feel that collaboration involves bringing and being open to innovative thinking and ideas. LTCC will always have need for innovative and forward thinking and planning to help the college remain sustainable and dynamic for the Community as well as students coming from the outside. We are not alone in trying to attract new students while challenged to meet the ever changing needs in both transfer and career programs, but as a small college in a rural area we face even more challenges to remain sustainable.

LTCC is my college and my passion and I would like to continue to serve it as a member of the Board of Trustees. If you live in area 4, I would appreciate your vote.

I have a Facebook page for the election at: https://www.facebook.com/David-Hamilton-1758444561063039/ Feel free to check in and comment and I will post any updates or participation in forums etc.