Laura Hendley, the director of the Waynesville Career Center, was recently voted to the office of president-elect of the Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education.
This vote took place at the annual conference held in late July 2008. As president-elect, Hendley shall, in the absence of the president, perform the duties of the president. The president-elect also chairs the Missouri ACTE Program of Work Committee. The president-elect will succeed the current president after the 2008 annual convention.
The mission of the Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education is to promote the development of vocational-technical education within the state of Missouri. Special emphasis is placed on continued support of vocational-technical education at the secondary, post-secondary, and adult levels, while fostering partnerships with business and industry in the training and retraining of the Missouri workforce. To accomplish this, the Missouri ACTE is comprised of eleven divisions focusing on different aspects of career and technical education.
Hendley was elected from the Administration Division, comprised of vocational technical administrators from across the state. A potential slate of candidates was submitted to a committee comprised of one member from each of the eleven Missouri ACTE divisions, and chaired by the immediate past president of the Missouri ACTE. The candidates submitted application materials and were subjected to face-to-face interviews with the selection committee, who picked two finalists. Each of the two finalists made three minute speeches during the opening session of the annual convention, and ballots were cast by all Missouri ACTE professional members attending the annual convention or casting absentee ballots.
Hendley began her speech by noting that she had been a Missouri ACTE member for over 20 years, and had always found the organization to be a tremendous help to her as she worked various career and technical education positions throughout her career. She stressed the power that is gained by people working together in a common goal, and she ended her speech by promising to make it her mission to advocate for exceptional career and technical education, “Whatever it takes.”
The Waynesville R-VI School District is extremely proud to have our Waynesville Career Center director as the president-elect of the Missouri ACTE. Superintendent Judene Blackburn said that “Ms. Hendley is the ideal individual for this office. She is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about career and technical education and her skills will be an enormous asset to the Missouri ACTE. It is an honor for the Waynesville R-VI School District to have a member of our administrative team in this important leadership role.”
School Board member Jan Dye, who had previously held the position of director of the Waynesville Technical Academy and is a lifetime member of Missouri ACTE, said that “Ms. Hendley will bring an enthusiasm of Career and Technical education that cannot be matched and her leadership skills will enhance all education for the State of Missouri. Her philosophy of ‘What Ever It Takes’ will help our students in preparation for work in a global marketplace, additional education and most importantly success in life.”
Laura Hendley is humbled by the vote of confidence given to her by her fellow Missouri ACTE members, and is committed to do the very best job she can do to enhance and improve career and technical education throughout the state of Missouri, doing whatever it takes to make it happen.