Community Day to offer something for everyone

The idea behind Ozarks Technical Community College’s first Community Day is very simple—give something back to the community.

In the past, events like the annual Car and Motorcycle Show and Free Welding Day were held separately, but on Saturday, those events plus lots more will be available for visitors to enjoy.

“We are happy to give everyone a variety of activities and services at Community Day. We invite folks to come on campus and take a little time to enjoy everything we have planned for that day,” said OTC President Hal L. Higdon.

Admission is free for the event that takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of the campus at National Avenue and Chestnut Expressway.

There will be a plant sale offered by the Turf and Landscape Management program along with free lawn mower blade sharpening. Just bring the blade, not the whole mower.

Allied Health will be offering health screenings and the Continuing Education Center will be there with demonstrations and offerings for adults and kids. A seat-belt demonstrator will give visitors first-hand experience about how important it is to use a seat belt.

The Springfield-Greene County Library Bookmobile will be on hand to issue library cards, give folks a chance to check out books and hand out giveaways to the kids.

Be sure to look for the actors from our upcoming Spring Play, “Arthur’s Stone, Merlin’s Fire: The Making of a King.” The cast will be putting on sword-fighting demonstrations that will be featured in the play that opens next weekend at the Gillioz Theater. Drawings will be held for free play tickets.

Of course, the car show and free welding day will be going on at the same time.

Visitors can bring their broken lawn furniture, grills, trailer hitches, wrought iron or other decorative pieces to the event to have them repaired for free. Donations are being taken for the March of Dimes.

Another highlight of Saturday’s event will be the completed 1969 Chevy Chevelle, a replica of the car driven by local racer Dave Goldsberry, which was refurbished in part by the OTC Automotive Collision class. In addition to the public viewing, the vehicle’s 550-horsepower engine will be started for the first time.

“They rehabbed the whole thing and got a chance to see what the old cars were like,” said Kerry Wrinkle, department chair of OTC’s transportation program.

For more information about Community Day, call 447-2654.

Steve Koehler is coordinator of publications at Ozarks Technical Community College. Contact him at koehlers@otc.edu.