|
 Standing-room
only for HFM BOCES dedication ceremony It was
4:30 p.m., and already the HFM BOCES parking lots were starting
to fill up with cars, as students and their families – along
with area residents and educators – began to arrive for the Oct.
17 Community-Wide Open House at the new campus.
 By
5 p.m., when the program was scheduled to begin, hundreds of
visitors could be seen throughout the campus, touring classrooms
and learning more about Career & Technical programs offered to
both high schoolers and adult learners, as well as the
Alternative High School.
 Refreshments,
prepared by culinary arts students, were served in the
cafeteria, which is also used for meeting space and for
conferences when not in use by students. By 6
p.m., it was standing-room only in the main lobby as visitors
gathered together for the formal dedication ceremony of the new
HFM BOCES campus, which officially opened in September 2006
following 16 months of construction. Keynote speaker Sen. Hugh
Farley praised the community for supporting education in the
tri-county area – and for voting in June 2004 to approve the
lease-rental of the new campus.
 Also
during the program, retired HFM BOCES Career & Technical Center
Director Donald Flood led a dedication ceremony for the Kenneth
A. Smith Courtyard, named to honor Smith who served as HFM’s
District Superintendent of Schools from 1970-1988.
 Smith’s
daughter, Louise Huth, thanked HFM BOCES for dedicating the
courtyard to her father, noting that he would be very pleased to
know the new campus will continue to provide expanded
educational opportunities for area youth. Also attending the
ceremony was Smith’s widow, Joyce Smith, his granddaughter, and
sister- and brother-in-law. The HFM campus was
designed by King and King Architects and built by Turner
Construction. It houses all HFM programs and services except
special education classes, which continue to be based in
participating school district buildings. |
