K-64 brings education, business, and government together to connect people of all ages with the skills needed to fill jobs and build careers in Catawba County.

K-64 Governing Board

Governed by a Board of Directors and managed by staff employed by Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC), K-64 is located in CVCC’s Corporate Development Center. K-64 leverages tax dollars, private contributions and grant funds to support program expansion and sustainability. The Catawba Valley Community College Foundation, CVCC’S 501(c) 3 educational foundation, is K-64’s fiscal agent.

The K-64 governing board is comprised of 12 members representing the private and public sectors and is supported by 8 ex-officio staff representing K-64’s founding partners.

Board Responsibilities:

  • Establish long-term vision for K-64
  • Secure continuous financial support
  • Ensure transparency and accountability for use of public funds
  • Implement concrete plans with both tangible and timely goals and outcomes
  • Direct executive staff hired in conjunction with, and overseen by, K-64 board
  • Deliver communication and engagement resulting in continued buy-in by partner organizations and community at large

Voting Members

Ronn Abernathy

Ronn Abernathy

Chief Court Counselor, NC Public Safety/Juvenile Justice/Judicial District 25; Catawba County Board of Education

Catawba County Board of Education

Cole Setzer

Cole Setzer

Catawba County Board of Commissioners

Rick Coffey

Rick Coffey

President and COO, McCreary Modern, Inc.

Private Sector
Mike Ellwanger

Mike Ellwanger

Technology Committee Chair; Director, Global Cable Product Development, Corning Optical Communications

Private Sector

Kimberly George

Kimberly George

Character Development Committee Chair; Vice President, Communications and Corporate Citizenship, Alex Lee, Inc.

Private Sector

Dr. Bryan Graham

Dr. Bryan Graham

Gunter & Graham, DDS

Hickory Board of Education

Guy Guarino, Jr.

Guy Guarino, Jr.

K-64 Board Chair, Chief Development Officer, Catawba Valley Medical Center

Amanda Hetzel

Amanda Hetzel

Marketing Committee Chair, Business Chief of Staff, Network Integrity Systems

Private Sector

Jeanne Jarrett

Jeanne Jarrett

Assistant Chief Financial Officer, Catawba County

Newton-Conover Board of Education

Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson

President, Mike Johnson's Hickory Toyota

Private Sector

Stephen Shuford

Stephen Shuford

Workforce Solutions Committee Chair. CEO, Shurtape Technologies LLC

Catawba County Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors

Chris von Drehle

Chris von Drehle

DevOps Engineer, VonDrehle Corporation

Private Sector

Ex-Officio Members

  • Dr. Bryan Taylor, Superintendent, Hickory Public Schools
  • Mary Furtado, Catawba County Manager
  • Dr. Garrett Hinshaw, President, Catawba Valley Community College
  • Lindsay Keisler, President & CEO, The Chamber of Catawba County
  • Scott Millar, President, Catawba County Economic Development Corporation
  • Dr. Aron Gabriel, Superintendent, Newton-Conover City Schools
  • Dr. Matthew Stover, Superintendent, Catawba County Schools
  • Dr. Fred Whitt, President, Lenoir-Rhyne University

Meetings

The Board meets quarterly, March, June, September and December, on the first Thursday of the month at 12:00 noon. Meetings take place in the Alex Lee/MDI/Lowes Foods Corporate Conference Center in Catawba Valley Community College’s Workforce Solutions Complex, 1980 Startown Road, Hickory but locations may vary due to special circumstances.

All Board’s subcommittees meet as needed.

 

 

 

 

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