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Business Partners of the Year: Cape May County
2010—Cape May County Board of Agriculture
The Cape May County Board of Agriculture has been a strong supporter of the Cape May County Technical School District, providing opportunities for FFA (Future Farmers of America) students in the Agriscience & Horticultural Technology program. Board of Agriculture members have been instrumental in fostering community partnerships between students and the Cape May County Beach Plum Association, the county's Master Gardener's Program, and the Garden Club of Cape May. All of those argarizations have made significant contributions to defray the costs of sending the FFA students to compete in state and national FFA conventions and competitions. The partnership with the Board of Agriculture has also provided scholarships for those pursuing an agricultural career path in college, donated materials and machinery to enhance instruction and learning, and invitations to attend meetings and events that promote leadership skills, public speaking, networking, and employment opportunities.
2009—Gentilini Ford and Chevrolet
Don Gentilini, owner of Gentilini Ford and Chevrolet in Woodbine, has been an active proponent of the Cape May County Technical School. He has served on the Automotive Technology advisory committee and for the past five years his dealership has provided a car for the district's "behind the wheel" driver education course at no cost to the district.
Gentilini Ford was started by Don's parents more than 50 years ago. He is the second generation in the family business and his nephew is part of the third generation to work at the Woodbine-based business. Gentilini serves on the board of directors for Cape May County Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Woodbine Chamber of Commerce.
2008—Diane Wieland, Director of Tourism, Cape May County
Diane Wieland, Director of Tourism for Cape May County, joined the National Academy Foundation advisory board at Cape May Technical School when the school launched the academy concept for the school's travel and tourism program. One of the key components of the National Academy Foundation is an active advisory board of industry professionals to help improve education and career preparation, and for the past six years Ms. Wieland has contributed to the success of the program and students. She has included students as her guests at several tourism conferences sponsored by the county, providing them with the opportunity to meet government officials and hear professionals address the issues facing the travel and tourism industry locally, regionally and beyond.
2007—Gary Schaffer, Director of the Cape May County Public Safety Training Center
In 2004, the law and public safety program (LAPS) at the Cape May County High School established a partnership with Gary Schaffer, Director of the Public Safety Training Center located near the school in the Crest Haven Complex. In addition to opening the training center to students for field visits, Mr. Schaffer has trained over 35 LAPS students as Special Law Enforcement Class One police officers in the past three years. He is an active member of LAPS advisory council at the school, providing professional advice on a regular basis to improve and enhance the LAPS program. Mr. Schaffer's commitment to the school includes attending the state's Generation Next conference so that he would be more knowledgeable about the law and public safety career cluster. He also became a certified substitute teacher at CMC Tech in order to instruct high school students.
2006—Dr. Jeffery Vecere
Dr. Jeffery Vecere is a local dentist and orthodontics specialist who is always ready to help the Certified Dental Assisting program at the Cape May County Technical School District. Because of this commitment, the partnership between Dr. Vecere and students at Cape May Tech, both high school and adult, is an important part of each student's educational experience. For more than a decade, his office has been one of the clinical sites where students can observe first hand the orthodontics specialty in dentistry. Over the years, Dr. Vecere has employed many of our graduates who have an interest in a career with an orthodontics practice. Dr. Vecere is an active member of the Dental Assisting Advisory Council, providing up-to-date information about the skills our students need to be successful in a dental office. His generous contributions of time, equipment and expertise to our dental assisting class and the 9th grade exploratory class have been instrumental in the success of our Dental Assisting program.