Congratulations to LLCC employees honored with awards Dec. 6 in the city-wide On My Own Time (OMOT) art exhibit! This year, 116 OMOT artists submitted 253 entries at 11 in-house exhibits in the Springfield area. LLCC employees had 10 of the 59 first place pieces of art that are part of the city-wide exhibit on display at the Springfield Art Association, 700 N. 4th St. through Dec. 22. Be sure to stop by, view the art, and vote for the People’s Choice award! LLCC winners are:

Painting First Place – Greg Walbert, “Free To Be Cool”
Drawing First Place – Greg Walbert, “A.L. 1864”
Other (Paper) First Place: Pam Daniel, “Lincoln’s Perspective”
Mixed Media Third Place – Sue Rush, “Bird on a Wire”;
Photography Second Place: Michelle Burger, “Vivaciousness”; Third Place: Tricia Kujawa, “Dusk at the Badlands”; Honorable Mentions: Michelle Burger, “Release”; Tricia Kujawa, “Eyes of Lincoln”; Esteban Cruz, “Fabulous”
Participation Award Brenda Protz, “Gateway”

The Springfield Area Arts Council (SAAC) sponsors OMOT. The purpose is to help local businesses, agencies, educational and medical institutions identify and celebrate the artistic talents of people they employ. In-house exhibits in all locations were held in October 2016. A panel of local artists conducted judging. All entrants were awarded ribbons for participation in the exhibit. First, second, third and honorable mention were awarded in 12 categories. First-place award winning artwork qualified for the city-wide exhibit. The city-side exhibit entries are judged and awarded first, second, third and honorable mention in each of the twelve categories. In addition, the “Best of Show–Peg Lonson Award” is given to the overall outstanding art entry in the city-wide exhibit. (Peg Lonson was President of the SAAC Board of Directors [1984-1986] and later deputy director of the Arts Council. OMOT was one of the programs she developed in Springfield.) OMOT is supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the city of Springfield.

Thank you to all that assisted with our in-house exhibit. And congratulations to all of the talented LLCC colleagues participating in this year’s exhibit!

Today, we will switch from using the LLCC Connect emergency notification system to the new LLCC ALERT system. You will receive a test message from LLCC ALERT, followed by an email to make sure you received the test message and further instructions if you did not.

We strongly encourage you to visit www.llcc.edu/alert and log in with your LLCC user name and password to check your current contact information and manage how you receive emergency notifications. LLCC ALERT uses the information about you currently stored in the college’s Colleague system; your information is not transferred over from the LLCC Connect system, so your information may need updating. Please add your office phone number if it is not listed, and make any other revisions needed.

Do you need a gift this holiday season for a family member, co-worker, or someone who is hard to buy for or retiring?  Engraved recognition bricks make excellent gifts.

In celebration of the college’s 50^th anniversary in 2017, the LLCC Foundation has introduced the steppingSTONES recognition brick program.  Bricks will be installed in the spring of 2017 in the steppingSTONES courtyard located just outside of the A. Lincoln Commons on the Springfield campus.

Bricks are $100 for a 4” x 8” or $250 for an 8” x 8” brick with the inscription of your choice.  Don’t know what to have inscribed on the brick?  We can help or you can let the recipient choose.  Below are some examples:

Dr. THERESA TILL
NURSING PROFESSOR

ANN L. HOPKINS
LIBRARY STAFF
1972 – 2001

R. CAROL ELLRICH
RETIRED EMPLOYEE
30 YEARS

MAKE HASTE SLOWLY
DR. JOHN ROBERTS

Proceeds from the sale of engraved bricks go the LLCC Foundation’s Grow Beyond Endowment Campaign and benefit the students and programs at LLCC.

Purchase an engraved brick today by completing an order form and returning it to the LLCC Foundation Office.  For more information call the Foundation at 6-2785 or visit www.llccfoundation.org/stepping-stones.  Make history by etching your name in stone – or that of someone dear to you – by purchasing an engraved brick today!

Faculty and staff are invited to a reception to honor Joe Roth, programmer analyst, as he retires from LLCC after 29 years of dedicated service.

The reception is being held Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 2-4 p.m. in the Robert H. Stephens Room. Refreshments will be served.

Please join us as we celebrate Joe’s time at LLCC!

The SMTD Board voted at its November meeting to reduce evening hours for some routes, affecting Route 905 that stops at LLCC.

Beginning in January, weeknight service will be reduced by one hour  – Night service after the change would consist of one-hour trips at 6:45, 7:45, 8:45 and 9:45 on the current routes 901, 902, 903 and 905.
This means the stops at LLCC will occur at 7:15, 8:15, 9:15 and 10:15.
Please see the SMTD website for full route details.

Bus passes can be purchased through the LLCC Bookstore.

Employees and retirees are invited to the LLCC Holiday Party
2-4 p.m. | Student Union, Menard Hall
Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

A collection box will be available for donations for the Student Life Food Pantry.
Visit www.llcc.edu/food-pantry-list for a complete list of items needed.

We have an elf in our midst. Where will she show up next? Check out her adventures on LLCC social media and please like and share!

Ten entries from LLCC’s in-house OMOT exhibit have moved on to the OMOT city-wide exhibit, which will be at the Springfield Art Association (SAA), 700 N. Fourth Street, from December 2-21. The city-wide awards, as well as the best of show award will be announced at a reception at the SAA for all OMOT participants to be held on December 6, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

These LLCC colleagues have entries that have moved on to the city-wide exhibit. We wish them well!
Michelle Burger ~ Esteban Cruz ~ Pam Daniel ~ Tricia Kujawa ~ Brenda Protz ~ Sue Rush ~ Greg Walbert
Thank you again to all of the talented LLCC colleagues participating in this year’s exhibit.

For more information, contact Misty Hagstrom at 786.2466 or misty.hagstrom@llcc.edu.

Happy Birthday to all celebrating in December!
See which faculty and staff have birthdays this month.