Headlines

• Day One for Dr. Dunn
• A-B Tech Culinary Technology Founder Dies
• Cyber Defense Competition Team Heads to Regionals
• Children Enjoy Fine Dining
• Fascinating Facts about Faculty and Staff
• Nursing Graduate Spends 18 Days in Haiti, Returns with Passion
• Charlotte Street Computers In Need Of Recycled Computers
• Meet Foundation Scholarship Recipients
• Graduate wet welds in Seattle
• Tech Notes

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Day One for Dr. Dunn

A-B Tech’s new president, Dr. Hank Dunn, meets with Max Queen, vice president of Risk Management and Operations, and Dick Mauney, executive vice president of Finance and Information Systems Technology, on Dr. Dunn’s first day on the job March 1. A believer in Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Dunn expects listening to occupy much of his time initially, in line with Covey’s habit of seeking first to understand, then to be understood.

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A-B Tech Culinary Technology Founder Dies

Chef Tom Young with Chef Robert Werth in 2004. Werth, the founder of the A-B Tech Culinary Technology program, died Feb. 22.

Western North Carolina lost a driving force behind many of the region's chefs and A-B Tech lost the creator of its Culinary Technology program when Chef Robert George Werth, 80, died Feb. 22.

Werth, a native of France, was hired in 1968 to design and teach the culinary technology program. Although the first class had only four students and graduated two, Werth never had that problem again, with the program eventually drawing students from all over the country. He served as Culinary chair when he retired from A-B Tech in 1994, handing the reins to one of his former students, Chef Sheila Tillman.

"You wonder how Asheville became part of the food scene and it comes back to the development of Asheville in terms of the world of hospitality and Chef Werth," Tillman said. "He was dedicated to the students way before it was our mission statement. He loved having students come back and see him."

Werth, who was rarely seen without his white coat and hat, was the author of the book, "The Fruit of Experience: My Culinary Life," published in 2007. In 2004, a Hospitality Education scholarship was given in honor of Werth through the A-B Tech Foundation.

Jeffrey Piccirillo, executive director of food and beverage at The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, recalled Werth working with the hotel over the years. "In the 1980s, he was instrumental as the mediator setting up an apprentice program at Grove Park between A-B Tech and the American Culinary Federation."

Werth also worked at Grove Park from 2003 to 2006, after his retirement from A-B Tech. "Chef Werth was a dear friend and one of my mentors. As a fellow culinarian, he was generous with his knowledge and took an interest in up-and-coming chefs, while demonstrating from Escoffier classical French techniques. His impact on the culinary scene in Asheville is immeasurable," Piccirillo said.

Chef Michael Fahey, American Culinary Federation Western North Carolina Culinary Association president and executive chef/food and beverage manager at Cedar Creek Racquet Club in Cashiers, was guided in his career by Werth.

"Chef Werth was the foundation for our organization and his spirit will live on. Chef Bob was very instrumental in much of the Asheville culinary scene with his influence at A-B Tech and the community," Fahey said.

"He was a very personable man and dedicated chef, brought his skills from his home in France to the United States. He inspired people to try to attain their best and to share the knowledge of culinary arts. I was inspired by Chef Bob back in 1981 to move forward in my culinary career," Fahey said.

Chef Tim Thomas came to A-B Tech in 1986 having never known or worked for a trained chef, but thought he knew a lot about cooking. "I had even taken on that air of arrogance that many cooks and chefs exude. Then I met Chef Werth and quickly found I did not know squat," he said.

Thomas is now the executive chef for the Mountain Brook Club in Birmingham, AL, and in his previous position had the opportunity to be the chef in charge of all the meals served involving then President George W. Bush during the G-8 Summit in 2004.

"His love and passion for food, the industry and teaching inspired me to give back to the industry and to others. I say these things about myself not to toot my own horn, but to play grand anthems on Chef Werth for the world to hear, because of him inspiring me to learn, to grow and to give back to others. Chef Werth has been an important influence in my life. He is why I continue to learn and give. He will be missed," Thomas said.

A scholarship fund has been established in Chef Werth's name through the A-B Tech Foundation. To contribute, contact Jimmie Cochran Pratt at 254-1921, Ext. 179.

Culinary Technology Program   A-B Tech Foundation

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Cyber Defense Competition Team Heads to Regionals

Members of the A-B Tech Cyber Defense team prepare for regional competition March 11-13 in Columbia, MD. Pictured are, front row from left, Carson Kulp and Jacob Haug. Back row, from left, are Jonathan Meadows, Jeremy Baldwin, Matt Hollands, Brandon Hunnicutt, Justin Goodell and Chris Kelly.

Members of the A-B Tech Cyber Defense Competition team won third place in a qualifying round of competition and will move on to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) in Columbia, MD March 11-13. The winner of the Mid-Atlantic Regional will compete in national competition hosted by the University of Texas-San Antonio in April.

"Our students have put in many hours of practice and have proven themselves well beyond anything we expected. They competed against 15 other colleges and universities, beating teams from George Mason University, George Washington University, James Madison University, and University of Maryland," said Lewis Lightner, Networking Technologies chair.

Teams come from two-year, four-year, and graduate schools. This is the first year A-B Tech has fielded a team, and it was one of four community colleges in the qualifier. Five teams advance to the regional competition.

A-B Tech's team members are students Brandon Hunnicutt, Carson Kulp, Chris Kelly, Jacob Haug, Matt Hollands, Justin Goodell, Jonathan Meadows, and George Hall. Steven Marcus serves as faculty adviser.

The competition tests a team in its abilities to defend a network from attackers.

Teams are challenged to consider the legal, ethical, forensic, technical, and business aspects of both defending and maintaining the integrity of business systems, in real time.

"Each member of the team has their own specialty. We had three hours to secure the network with no Internet access to use. At the end of three hours, the judges simulate an attack and we are scored on how we held up after a cyber-terrorism attack," said Hunnicutt, team captain.

This year's business scenario involves student teams working for the City of Avalon, population 550,000. Student teams are the IT staff that supports Emergency Operations and inter/intra-agency communications. Avalon is hosting a multi-national conference bringing together high-level delegates from around the world to discuss several sensitive issues.

Student teams will be working to support the event and manage all communications between the various agencies. Early reports indicate parties are interested in disrupting the conference through electronic or even physical means. In the event of a disaster or emergency, student teams will be called upon to manage the incident along with their normal IT duties, as well as various systems running multiple applications and operating systems.

"I'll be issued a cell phone and may be called at 3 a.m. during the competition to come in and take care of the problem, just as if we are working for an actual city," Hunnicutt said.

More details about CCDC can be found at http://www.midatlanticccdc.org/CCDC/students/.

Networking Technology Program

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