The Board of Trustees found a new member to replace Jo Ann Sharp, who resigned Nov. 1, 2010. The new member, Rick Brenneman, was sworn in Dec. 9, 2010. Brenneman has lived in Liberal for the past 11 years, where he has been the owner and director of Brenneman Funeral Home along with his wife, Melissa Brenneman. Rick Brenneman was born in Newton, and has also lived in Casper, Wyo. and Hutchinson before moving to Liberal to buy the funeral home. Brenneman attended both Kansas City Community College and Central Kansas Vocational School to get his two-year degree. He feels this will help him with his position on the Board of Trustees, since he has experience in both a community college and technical school. Other connections with Seward County Community College/ Area Technical School are that he and his wife have been the host family for a basketball player in the past, and his wife is on the college’s Foundation Board. “I felt we had a strong connection, so I wanted to see how I could help or develop the school,” Brenneman said. Brenneman believes SCCC/ ATS has a strong foundation. He has seen that the instructors and faculty have a priority of developing ways to help students in the best ways they can. He has also noticed that instructors at ATS have a great interest in the community and really want to help their students. “The students I’ve talked to have been very impressed with the instructors and have enjoyed the one-on-one attention,” Brenneman said. He’s also been impressed with the structure and administration staff. “The trustees and Dr. (Duane) Dunn have done a lot of good work and made it easy for me to come on board,” Brenneman said. During his time as a trustee, Brenneman would like to see the college grow and to continue to develop and look at programs. He would also like to see the campus become a little more user-friendly and easier to navigate for both students and the public. The position Brenneman is filling will be up for election in April.