Oorah

Oorah is a battle cry common in the United States Marine Corps since the mid-20th century. It is most commonly used to respond to a verbal greeting or as an expression of enthusiasm. Well when I think of one of our fine young students here at Vantage, I can't help but say "Oorah" when referring to his outstanding accomplishments.

Austin Weyrauch is from Ft. Jennings high school and a senior in our Precision Machine program. He is currently carrying a 4.0 Grade Point Average for the two years he has been at Vantage. Austin has not missed a single day this year and only two days last year. Austin is one of those fine young men that you can ask him to do anything for you and he will immediately respond with a resounding yes. He never backs off from any work and he gives 100% at everything he does.

 All the above accomplishments, though outstanding, are not the real reason that I write this blog about Austin. The real reason is that last weekend Austin became an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America, and he did that by accomplishing all the needed merit badges (21) that are required and also completing his Eagle Scout project. Speaking with Austin, I found out that for his Eagle Scout project, he re-created all the Stations of the Cross outside St. Barbara Catholic church in Cloverdale. Austin worked with his grandfather on this project and spent over 40 hours working to complete this project. The stations were made out of cedar and basically they were replacing the ones that were destroyed during a past tornado that went through town on November 18, 2013.

When you think of all the time that was put into this project and keeping up a 4.0 GPA, it really shows the type of person Austin is. You wont find Austin playing video games in his spare time because there usually isn't any spare time. However, the story doesn't end there. Austin also works at Federal Mogul here in Van Wert. Because of Austin's high grades and perfect attendance, he is allowed to leave for work after he finishes his academic classes around noon each day, and he works until 7:00 pm. Oh, there is one more thing...Austin is going into the Marine Corp after graduation and has been doing his conditioning and physical training with the corp on weekends so that he can go directly into basic training. Now that deserves an "Oorah". Congratulations Austin on all your accomplishments and thanks for choosing Vantage Career Center for your final two years of high school.

Don't Stress Over The Dress

Well we have turned the calendar to February and the Groundhog didn't see his shadow, so that must mean we are nearing Spring. At least we all hope so. I think we are all tired of the cold weather and snow. What this also means is that we are getting closer to prom season. Proms have changed a lot since I was in high school. I know for one thing, they cost a lot more money now then they did a few years back. It seems students like to rent limousines, tuxedos and buy beautiful dresses.  I just read that according to a 2015 survey from Visa, American families were spending an average of about $919 on their proms. Prom dresses can average around $400. You can see why students start getting really anxious about their proms around this time of year and wondering how they are going to pay for all of it.

Well let me tell you about a fantastic organization that I try to promote every year. I believe this should take some stress off of you and cut your prom cost down significantly. It is called the "Don't Stress Over the Dress" event. This is the 11th annual event. Let me tell you a little bit about it so that you can take advantage of this event if you are in need. The event is held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 8th, 9th and 10th. On Friday it is from 3:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Saturday is from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm and Sunday it is from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. This event is held at the Findlay Village Mall in Findlay. Any girl that is attending prom and is in need of a prom dress is welcome to attend. Each girl is allowed to receive only one dress. Each girl may bring one female guest to help her shop and an adult cannot shop for a girl unless the girl is present. There will be over 800 next-to-new, current gowns available at NO CHARGE! Some of the gowns still have tags on them. They also have shoes, jewelry and other prom related items. You can follow this event on Facebook at "Don't Stess Over the Dress".

Now if you are not a student but think this is an awesome event and would love to help them out, then there are several ways. If you have a gown to donate, you can drop it off up until Monday, March 4th. They also accept purses, jewelry, shoes, wraps, shawls, un-opened hosiery, make-up, perfume, and hair products. They have nine drop-off locations. You can check their Facebook page to see the drop-off locations, however there is one nearby in Convoy. The one in Convoy is at Scott Quarry, 2364 Richey Rd. and ask for Lori Brooks.

I really hope that everyone here would take advantage of this great event if you can not afford a prom dress for yourself. Please don't put the added pressure of buying a dress ruin this magical night. You are only a senior once, so enjoy this evening stress free and without going broke. And remember, be smart on prom night and make good choices. All of us truly care about you and your safety. I would like to close by thanking everyone who is involved with this great event and for all the work that you do. You have no idea how many people you have helped and made someone's night a lot brighter.