By SHAELIN SWEET
FHSU University Relations and Marketing

Shelly New has always moved to the beat of her own music, and fortunately for her Texas community, she’s sharing that music with the world.

“Music is absolutely everything to me, and it always has been,” said New. “As early as I can remember, I knew that I would grow up to be a musician.”

Now, New leads other budding musicians to success as associate director of McKinney Boyd High School’s orchestra program in McKinney, Texas.

“I found my passion for teaching while I was attending Fort Hays State University. I was extremely fortunate to work with the phenomenal educators in the Music Department.”

New’s passion for teaching shows in the success of her more than 200 students. Under her leadership, the six orchestras that make up McKinney Boyd’s program have earned numerous honors, including placing in the finals of the State Honor Orchestra competition, becoming a national winner in the 2017 Mark of Excellence competition and performing at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

“It has been an amazing experience for me as an orchestra director,” she said. “It’s truly my dream job.”

Before starting at McKinney Boyd, New taught for two years at Faubion Middle School. She previously taught in Hutchinson, where she earned the 2009 Young Teacher of the Year award from the Kansas American String Teachers Association.

“The beautiful thing about where I am now is that I get to work with wonderful kids at my day job, showing them the fulfillment that playing music can have in their lives. Then I get to use music as an outlet to create and have fun on the weekends.”

When she isn’t teaching, New plays fiddle and provides vocals for The Bodarks, an Americana string band.

“I started playing around town and absolutely fell in love with the genre of Americana music,” said New. “One day I happened upon a Craigslist ad wanting a female voice and auxiliary instrument for their Americana band. It seemed to be written just for me!”

Six years later, The Bodarks have released two albums and continue to play shows around Texas.

“We play everything from classic country to ‘90s grunge rock, all in our hootenanny style. I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished as a band, and I absolutely love getting to be a part of this in my free time.”

The Bodarks self-titled album and their second album, “Uprooted,” are available on iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.

For all her success, New thanks her family and her alma mater.

“My time at FHSU truly took me to where I am today. Being in a small music department was so key to my development as a musician, and I feel that I grew and developed more because of it,” she said. “All of the department faculty knew all of the students, and we knew all of them. The Music Department is truly a family, and I cherished my time there so much.”

“At FHSU, we were all encouraged to be a part of everything as much as we could, and that helped us all grow together as a music family. I try to tell my high school students about this experience every day, because I think it is so important to consider an environment like FHSU as a college choice.”

New shares her love for music with her husband, Greg, who plays an upright bass in two local bands. They also have two sons who New says are “absolutely the joys of my life.”

“Not many musicians are fortunate enough to be able to do this for a living,” said New. “I am extremely grateful for where music has taken me.”

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

A  Kansas Leadership Center representative made a stop in Hays Wednesday on a 25-city tour to talk to local leaders about cultural change.

Thomas Stanley of the KLC talked about the four ingredients to change a culture of leadership.

Those ingredient are:

• Complete focus on a small set of ideas
• Communicate in a way or develop teaching strategies that make ideas stick with people
• Work on a small scale
• Assemble a small group of people who can help keep the change alive

Stanley expounded on these ingredients and led a discussion of a group of people who filled the basement of Breathe Coffee House.

“You can think about these ingredients in any type of culture, whether that is a culture of entrepreneurship or a culture of service. Whatever that culture is for you, we think these four ingredients are essential. We hope you can learn a little bit from our mistakes and our lessons as we try to engage and partner with communities, organizations, churches and businesses around Kansas,” Stanley said.

A small set of ideas that everyone in an organization can learn and relate to is sometimes called a common language.

“Those ideas can be different depending on the context and the issue,” he said.

Many of the attendees at the meeting said their organizations had mission statements displayed on their walls. However, Stanley said that is not enough.

“If you went to the employees and asked them what are your values and what does that look like in your organization, you would probably get a different answer or you would get a very vague answer,” Stanley said. “What you really need if you have that common language and that core set of ideas, you need ways to communicate and teach those ideas in ways that they stick. This is essential. They have to be embedded into behaviors, into the minds and into the hearts of people of actual agencies.”

Stanley asked the group to describe times when other people showed leadership and communicated ideas that stuck with them.

Rhonda Meyerhoff of Eagle Communications said her mother’s dedication to teaching catechism helped those ideas stick with her.

“She believed in it, and she loved doing it and she loved children,” Meyerhoff said of her mother.

Another participant said as he went through school he learned much more from the teachers who cared regardless of how much they knew.

“That always stuck with me,” he said. “If you are willing to put in the time and show you care about people, you can motivate, move and engage. … They took time they didn’t need to take to talk to you about something or patience when I was failing. When you are aware they are making a sacrifice for you that they didn’t have to do, you know they cared.”

Hays City Commissioner Shaun Musil talked of coaches who taught him to be respectful, a good sportsman and to go beyond what he thought he could achieve.

Stanley said the KLC is often accused of pushing people, but he said that can be good.

“(The KLC) holds you to a higher standard or pushes you further than you think you can do. It sounds like what a good coach would do,” he said. “I think (it is) that type of behavior — being with the people, making sure and walking alongside them to help them learn something and consistency over time, about pushing them further than they think they can go. I think those are the types of behaviors you would need to learn ideas. I think those types of things exist in organizations.”

Once you have the first two steps, you have to scale up.

“You have to have enough people learning these ideas in ways that stick that reach a tipping point or a shift in how things get done,” Stanley said.

The KLC has trained about 9,000 people during its 11 years, but Kansas has a population of 2.9 million people. He said the KLC has a ways to go.

“You have to have enough people around the new core set of ideas that the new way becomes the way—becomes the default,” Stanley said.

Generally, the KLC trains one person from an organization and then they go back and try to spread ideas. The analogy he used to describe this was taking a goldfish out of a dirty fish tank, cleaning the fish and then putting it back in the dirty fish tank.

“You have to engage enough people in the system or the church or the business so that the fish tank can get clean,” he said.

Finally, your organization needs a small group or backbone to keep the container of learning together, Stanley said.

He asked what might a changed organization look like.

Olga Detrixhe of Leadership Hays said ultimately in a changed organization you would see people willing to ask questions and people having honest conversations and people being comfortable raising the heat when it needs to be.

Doug Williams, Grow Hays interim director, said he has had the opportunity to work with multiple companies that were going through change. He said alleviating fear is a big component to leading change.

“Leadership needs to allow them to be afraid and allow them to bridge that gap to where you are as a leader,” he said. “It is trust, and I would tell you too, it is love. Leadership is love whether it is caring or whether it is just love. When you inspire people, it is not about the numbers. It is not about the results. It is truly about people and organizations and what your legacy is going to be. If you really establish that, you are going to get a lot of people to follow you.”

Sarah Wasinger of USD 489 said the community could do more if more voices were heard and not drowned out by naysayers. She said the community also needs to develop a common language and better communication so groups are not duplicating efforts.

Stanley said he works with many non-profits who put a lot of effort into creating programs and campaigns to achieve goals that are already being met by other groups.

Stanley said KLC offers a variety of ways to learn more about leadership.

You can register for Leadership Hays, which offers a series of leadership training classes from January through May.

KLC has a grant program that allows organizations to take advantage of up to $25,000 in leadership training. Click here for more information.

Finally, the KLC works directly with businesses to develop leadership strategies.

Fort Hays State University-Energy Division Seeking Position – Skilled Trades Technician, Plant Operations

The FHSU Energy Division/Power Plant is looking for a dependable individual to hire in the Power Plant Department.  This is a full time position with benefits. 

TASKS

Operation, maintenance and repair of industrial equipment such as boilers, generators, pumps and valves.  Work involves all aspects of boiler operation to include general maintenance and repair of related Energy Division/Power Plant equipment.  Follow written and oral procedures, reading and recording gauges and water testing.  Able to lift 30-50 lbs.

Working hours during the heating season require 24/7 operation during the months of October to April, requiring shift work for continuous operation.  Working hours from May through September are usually Monday – Friday 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.  This position may be required to work a flexible work schedule as needed.

*More than one position may be available*

REQUIREMENTS

High school diploma or GED, valid driver’s license.  Three years’ experience in some skilled trades area.  Prefer experience in electrical or mechanical trades, but this is not required.  Must be able to lift 30-50 lbs. 

COMPENSATION

Starting Pay: $14.50 / hr., with shift differential, when applicable.  Full benefits package.  Visit https://www.fhsu.edu/humanresourceoffice/Prospective-Employee/ for more about the benefits.

HOW TO APPLY

Application Process:  To apply for this position, please visit https://fhsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CAREERS.  Only electronic applications submitted through the webpage will be accepted.

Required Application Documents:  Applicants should submit a resume and names and contact information for three professional references.  Applicant documents should be submitted in one PDF.

Notice of Non-discrimination – Fort Hays State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, national origin, color, age, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, disability or veteran status.

Background Check: Final candidate will have consented to and successfully completed a criminal background check.

Notice to KPERS retirees applying for a position: Recent legislation changes working-after-retirement rules for both you and your employer if you go back to work for a KPERS employer. Please contact your KPERS representative or www.kpers.org for further information on how this might affect you.

Heightened awareness and enforcement slated for June 29 to July 1

TOPEKA – Kansas Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism game wardens will be on the lookout for boaters under the influence during Operation Dry Water, June 29 – July 1. ODW is part of a national effort to reduce accidents and fatalities related to boating under the influence (BUI) of drugs and alcohol and educate recreational boaters about the dangers of BUI. While ODW is a year-round national campaign, a heightened awareness and enforcement effort takes place around July 4th, a holiday known for the potentially deadly combination of drinking and boating.

KDWPT game wardens are responsible for patrolling the waters of Kansas and conducting boat accident investigations, boat safety inspections, BUI checks, safety programs, education classes and other boating-related activities. During ODW, officers will be looking for boaters whose blood alcohol content exceeds the state limit of 0.08. The weekend will include increased patrols, breathalyzer tests, life jacket checks and boater education. Impaired boaters can expect to be arrested or face other serious penalties. In Kansas, the consequences for BUI include fines, jail and loss of boating privileges. During the 2017 ODW in Kansas, game wardens issued 26 boating citations, 35 boating-related warnings and recorded two BUI offenses.

“We are dedicated to keeping boaters safe on our waters” said Kansas boating law administrator Maj. Dan Hesket. “Boating is a safe and enjoyable pastime when people stay alert and follow the rules. Many factors contribute to the way alcohol affects a person on the water. The combination of sun, wind, glare, dehydration and wave motion causes a person to become intoxicated three times faster than on shore.”

BUI is a major problem across the nation. According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Recreational Boating Statistics 2017, alcohol is a primary contributing factor in recreational boating fatalities. Intoxicated boaters run a significantly increased risk of being involved in a fatal boating accident. In 2017, 29 boat accidents were reported on Kansas waters, two of which resulted in a fatality, 14 resulted in injuries, and 13 involved only property damage. Of the 29 reported boat accidents, 19 people in total were injured and there was an estimated $111,819 in property damages.

OWD 2018 is a joint program of KDWPT, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and the U.S. Coast Guard. For more information, visit www.operationdrywater.org. Information about Kansas boating regulations, registration, education, and requirements is available at www.ksoutdoors.com – click on Boating.