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Show Lifetimes June 19, 2003 H library shelves Book donations fill b encouraging airmen to get by Beth Young Hilltop Times staff After learning that airman pursuing their education at the base's Gerrity Memorial Library found the resource materials lacking, Norma Officer's Spouses Club program chairperson wanted to help. "There was a comment made at social function by a squadron commander that he had been Col-ung- a, 5 busy with their education. He said that once he had gotten them motivated to pursue this and it came down to using the computer at the library or research material it was either not enough or it was outdated," said Colunga. "That really bothered me. I was extremely concerned with the airmen not having the resources they needed." The conversation prompted I . Colunga to initiate a book drive sponsored by the Hill Officers' Spouses' Club. An ad was run in the club's newsletter and donation boxes were places in all the Services buildings for the month of April. "We picked the month of April because that is typically junk out, get rid of, spring plus cleaning time it is when people begin to prepare for PCS," said Colunga. Xj Ail if In ' While all library patrons would benefit from more books, the original intent to help with educational materials had not been forgotten. "I knew that we would never be able to collect the current research material that the library needed people are not going to give those away. So I encouraged people to donate the opposite tons of children's books, romance novels, paperbacks, even old resource materials. JA,....tl The intent of the book drive, Colunga said, was to help the library with the lack of resource material in a more round about way. "If we got more bestsellers and such donated, then we could hopefully buy more of the resource materials (with the money that would have otherwise gone towards the donated books)," said Rose Burton, acting librarian at time of the book drive. And donations they got. The Photos by Beth Young Rose Burton, assistant librarian, sits in her office surrounded by the some of the donated books that have yet to be incorporated Into the library's collection. ..J.lil.K l '. I - J xii.lJ. j.- -. . M Alicia Miles, library technician, and Sheryl Hunt, librarian, add donated books to the shelves during a recent inventory of all the books. front office, where the books were stored, soon began to fill with everything from children's books to best sellers. Books were shoved under desks and against walls until the room was overflowing, said the library staff. "I was just amazed with how many books we got. It really improved our collection," said Burton. In the end more than 2,000 books were donated. The base library wasn't the only place to benefit from Hill's generosity. The books were sorted and all the ones that library didn't need 900 books were given to Clearfield Job Corp., where they were welcomed enthusiastically, said Colunga. While it was educational needs that sparked the book drive many other areas benefited, such as the paperback exchange program, which was revitalized with many more current books. "We were hoping, as far as paperbacks go, they would never want another one," said Colunga. "But, think what we really accomplished with this was awareness. Our airmen cannot do with out an education and our retirees have earned the right to have a good library and we need to satisfy that. Some people didn't even know where the library was and with the book di ive more attention got paid to the library." "After the results of this I think we should year's have a book drive every year. Hopefully il will give people some incentive to come to the library to check out all the new books," added Burton. Plans are in the works for a book drive next April however the library takes donations all year round. They welcome not only books, but also CDs, DVDs. VMS and , cassette tapes, especially books on tape. Donations can be dropped of in the book return. For more information call Ext. Focusing on heritage 75th Services employee uses background to encourage others by Bill Orndorff Hilltop Times editor If Ronda Reynolds had her way, "tolerate" would be stricken from the language and replaced with "appre- ciate," especially when referring to human beings. "You hear the word 'tolerate' when it comes to minori-tie- s I 4." to tolerate other t nationalities and ethnicities," V said Reynolds, who is the newly appointed special emphasis program manager for Islander Employment. "I iim'tri ii mi Ronda Reynolds in iiiiiri ifii would rather change that to 'appreciate' so others appreciate all ethnicities and what they go through on a daily basis." A marketing specialist with the 75th Services Division's Marketing and Publicity Office, and a busy wife and mother, Reynolds applied for the part-tim- e program manager position to help with her heritage as well as encourage others to explore and enjoy their own cultural background. I'm half Thai," she "I'm really proud of my heritage and said. "I want people to get to know Pacific Islanders so they can appreciate us and what we do for the community. It's also about for me. Our daughter, Maleah ("Mary" in Hawaiian) has four different ethnicities, and I want her to take pride in all those and to know that her mom is as proud of her heritage as she is." Born in California, Reynolds came to Hill when her husband, Tech. Sgt. Tye Reynolds, was stationed here with the 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron. A multicultural family, Ronda has Caucasian and Thai roots, while Tye has African American and Native American ancestors. Thai. She met my dad in Thai"My mom is land when he was serving in the military in the Vietnam War," Reynolds said. "They married and came to the states, but my mom's side of the family are all still in Thailand. "You don't appreciate your heritage until you start growing up and realize what challenges people like my mom go through on a daily basis. When my mom first came here, she couldn't speak English very well so my dad did all the Asian-America- full-blood- translating for her. I remember as a kid having to write out the checks for her because she wasn't able to write in English and the looks that cashiers would give us." As a teenager, Reynolds looked into her heritage, which led to an eventual job. She noticed that Thailand had the highest percentage of HIV and AIDS cases. Concerned that she couldn't do anything from the United States, she took Red Cross classes and became certified to teach AIDS awareness. She also taught the classes later for the Air Force. As the program manager, Reynolds works with a volunteer committee known as the council to build the program. An objective of the program is to encourage Asians and Pacific Islanders from the community to apply for jobs at Hill. "We'll make arrangements to speak at local universities and at job fairs," she said. "That way, when supervisors and managers make employee selections, they will have a vast group of people to choose from." Hill AFB has approximately 300 known and Pacific Islander employees on the base, and Reynolds plans to 'contact' each one and talk with them about the organization. Another objective is to increase the number of council members. "The more people we have, the easier it is to put on programs," she said, noting the group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m. at Club Hill. "If our council includes people from across the base, they'll reach people in their organizations which will lead to contact outside the community. Anybody is welcome to attend you don't have to be Asian or a Pacific Islander you just need a desire to help with the program." The largest activity sponsored by the program is a May Islander Awareness picnic for Month. Other plans include scholarship fundraisers, a logo contest, and entertainment and an information booth at the August Summer Bash. Reynolds' government career started almost as soon as she graduated from high school. Her father worked at Edwards AFB after retiring from active duty, and she started out there working as a clerk. She has since worked for McClellan AFB, Calif.; Boiling AFB, Washington, D.C.; and NASA as a bookkeeper, publicist and in the marketing offices. She's also paved the way for four younger brothers and sisters, all of whom work for the government. "I love marketing and I love working for the government," she said. "I like Services and the opportunities we provide for the community. We market, advertise and coordinate all Services activities." Asian-America- ic n The program manager job description allows Reynolds percent of her work time to be devoted to special emphasis work. While she doesn't receive any extra pay, she does receive skill coding. Hill has six special emphasis programs Federal Women's Employment Program, Hispanic Employment Program, American IndianAlaskan Native Employment Program, Persons with Disabilities Employment Program, Black Employment Program, Asian AmericanPacific Islander that are mandated by Air Force instrucEmployment tions. Most program managers stay in the position for two years. According to Debbie Hansen, special emphasis program coordinator for the Civilian Personnel Division, qualifications required for the manager positions include: A strong personal commitment to promote equality of opportunity for all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age and mental or physical challenges. 20 An understanding of the particular employment concerns of minority groups, females and persons with disabilities. The ability to meet and deal effectively with persons of differing age, sex, racial, ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The ability to learn and apply basic Office of Personnel Management and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations. The ability to communicate with management officials concerning sensitive EEO issues. "Right now, I'm spending a lot of time reading at home to prepare for the program manager's job," Reynolds said. "I have budgets and analysis to prepare, and I'm chairman of the council It's almost like having three jobs." For another goal, Reynolds hopes to work more closely with other special emphasis program managers and sponsor combined events. "Right now, we all work together for the Martin Luther King observance," she said, "but I would like to expand that. I'd also like to see us set up Web sites and find ways to draw ideas from each other." For more details about the program, or to get involved, contact Reynolds at ronda.reyiioldsKhill.af.mil or call Ext. |