GENTRY — Students at Ozark Adventist Academy may soon have the option of fulfilling their work-study requirements on campus at Skyline, a new graphic-design business being operated on the Gentry campus.

What began as a small inhouse screen-printing operation expanded at the beginning of this year - thanks to numerous donations - and now can embroider T-shirts and clothing items in upto 15 colors at a time; print graphics up to 54 inches wide (without a seam) on vinyl, paper, canvass and polyester; and do laser engraving on acrylic, wood and metal, with color marking.

The school’s art instructor, Mark Decker, has been doing graphic design work for some time and operated the school’s screen printer, but a number of donors and business people saw the opportunity to expand the industry and provide an opportunity for Academy students to fulfill the school’s work-study requirements on campus and also gain work skills which may benefit them for a lifetime.

Most of Skyline’s jobs so far have been for religious and non-profit groups, according to Andrea Salguero, Skyline’s business manager, but that too may change as other businesses and individuals in the area learn of the services the campus industry offers.

Decker still does much of the graphic design work on his computer.

Daniel Hoover, who formerly worked in food services at the campus, is now production manager for the new business and operates the industry’s equipment and will supervise student workers. Hoover said he likes cooking, but this job gives him new things to do everyday.

Kiefer Dooley, a junior atthe Academy, is the only student employee so far, but that is expected to change soon as the business begins to growand take on more jobs. Kiefer spends his mornings doing a variety of jobs. On Wednesday, he cut out a vinyl banner and then worked on a screen-printing job.

The company’s expansion was made possible by individual donations but is also being supported through the work of a group of local businessmen who have formed the Ozark Academy Industrial Committee to help with the school’s workstudy business enterprises. The committee has applied for 501(c)3 status so that it can accept donations for the school industries and help support and guide them. Any profits made by the industries as they expand would then be given back to the school for its religious and educational work.

Skyline’s equipment was purchased through donations, Salguero said.

“Everything in there (the work area at Skyline) was donated by school supporters,” she said.

The committee is made up of Mike Clark, retired fromClark Dist. Co.; Jimmy Crone, of Siloam Springs Nursing andRehab; Kevin Dooley, Compu Weigh; Bob Hosteter, Mid-America Cabinets; Rody Hosteter, Rody’s Cabinets; Kim Krein, Krein Development; Kenny Lambert, Kenny’s Auto Service; Ray Netzel, Netzel Cabinet Sales; and John Uhrig, in the drywall business.

“We have had many prayers answered through help from those in the community,” OAA Principal Mike Dale wrote on the school’s Web site.“We have a new industrial committee that has been formed by the different successful business men in the area to help develop an industry that will provide work for some of our young people. It will provide an opportunity for some to learn a trade, and others have the opportunity to expand their art talents through the industry as well. This industry will also help provide other sources of revenue for the school. This industrial committee will help to ensure stronger financial stability for the future of the school,” he wrote.

News, Pages 1 on 04/21/2010