NRCC History Book

36 the Human Resources Office. From Spring 2012 to the present, Johnston has served as an adjunct instructor in the business and technologies division. The 2005 recipient was Phyllis Holliman, a counselor for the LEAP Center. In 2006 Bradley Collins was recognized for his service at the college’s information center. He began full-time employment in Fall 2011 and continued until Fall 2018. Next, Deborah Edwards was recognized in 2007 for her contributions to the distance education testing center at the Dublin campus, the former Christiansburg location, and the new mall site. The 2008 recipient was Rebecca Whitener, a student services advisor. Whitener continued her employment in student services working with college transfer students until April 2025. Kathy Ridpath, an employee in workforce development and a graduate of NRCC, was the 2009 recipient of the part-time support staff award. Ridpath became a full-time employee in 2010 and is currently serving as the administrative assistant to the president. College Activities From 2000 to 2009 NRCC provided many activities for the community including dance classes, musical events, plays, speakers, and special interest classes. Dance and Music . During 2001 the New River Dance Club offered ballroom dance classes, including basic steps for foxtrot, waltz, and swing dancing. The Division of Arts and Sciences also offered a Middle Eastern dance class. The Fiddle, Banjo, and Dance Club Jamboree, which began in 1991 by Dr. Charlie White, held a free bluegrass concert monthly from October through April. The jamboree featured two groups at each show and included the Appalachian

Mountain Girls, Appalachian Ramblers, Dry Hill Draggers, John Viers and Friends, the New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters, and White Top Mountain, just to name a few. Roger Atkins, training coordinator for Workforce Development, managed the Fiddle, Banjo, and Dance Club beginning in Fall 2006 when Dr. White became president of WCC. In addition to the seven months of free shows, two paid shows were held each year, usually in the fall and spring semesters. Dailey and Vincent, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Gene Watson and his Farewell Party Band, Jimmy Fortune, Marty Stewart, Mel Tillis, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, The Time Jumpers, and Vince Gill are a few of the musicians who performed at the college from 2000 to 2009. Another musical group, the Old Pros Big Band Orchestra, sponsored by NRCC’s continuing education department and The Southwest Times , performed at NRCC’s graduation receptions for many years during this decade. Plays . On March 12, 2001, the college hosted actress Julie Portman and her one woman play “Three Roses,” a story about the transformation of three women after each was assaulted. From 2000 to 2009, several plays were presented by students and alumni of NRCC’s theater group and directed by English faculty and coordinator Sandra Palmer Moye. Also, some actors in these plays were participants of the college’s annual summer children’s theater camps. A few of the plays included the April 2004 performance of “Wally’s Café,” a comedy set in a café in the Nevada desert; November 2004 performances of “Trifles,” a play that explored the role of women in society; a “Rough Night at the North Pole,” a children’s play presented in 2005; and a one-act comedy for children called “Twas the Night Before Christmas” performed in 2008.

Chapter 1