B.E.S.T. Program Gives Certificates to Area Students

Hudson, NY – The Columbia and Greene County Chambers of Commerce are pleased to announce that 49 students from Columbia and Greene Counties received the B.E.S.T. Program Certificate of Employability for completing the program based upon the guidelines provided to each school. Twenty-seven students from Questar, fourteen students from Catskill and eight students from Taconic Hills received the certificate. The students were honored in a ceremony on May 29 at Stageworks/Hudson.  Click here to view the photo gallery.

The Columbia-Greene B.E.S.T., Business Employment Standards Transition Program certifies the work readiness of students so that when they apply for local employment or admission to college they can easily demonstrate that they have the skills, behaviors and knowledge necessary in the workplace and/or college. The B.E.S.T. Certificate is based on standards set by local area businesses. It verifies student's competence through an assessment of their academic performance, school attendance, community and career exploration activities. Each student's experiences are compiled into a portfolio that demonstrates the application of his/her skills.

The Columbia-Greene B.E.S.T. Program is operated in Catskill School District , Taconic Hills School District and Questar III Educational Center . Local business participation is critical for the success of this project. Businesses are able to participate in a variety of different ways including internships, mentoring, job shadows, classroom skill development, portfolio reviews, etc.

The following students received the B.E.S.T. Program Certificate from Taconic Hills School District : Ayla Kimple, Renée Burlarley, Amanda Snow, Anthony Crawley, Will Moody, Elizabeth Call, Fallon Costa and Magdalene Madison.

The following students received the B.E.S.T. Program Certificate from Catskill School District : Thomas Velasquez, Nicholas Vespucci, Joseph Rothrock II, David Smith, Meghann Law, Ramon Velasquez, Heather Darling, Veronica Hilcken, Heather Rios, Tiarra Felix, Tatiana Gjergji, Tyler Chewens, Melissa Hulbert and Erica Rossano.

The following students received the B.E.S.T. Program Certificate from Questar III Educational Center : Houston Hines – Culinary; Joseph Pulver – Culinary; Christopher Sandagato – Culinary; Amanda Brown – Culinary; Athena Batsios - New Visions; Samantha Root - New Visions; Rene Fournier – Welding; Brett Keller – Auto Tech; Clayton Harvey – Auto Tech; Douglas Blish – Auto Tech.; Barbara Tyski – Construction; Steve Olah – HVAC; Kayla Sieburg – New Visions; Kelly Amos - New Visions; Jonathan Morrissey – HVAC; Amanda Smith – LPN; Todd Clark – HVAC; Crystal Brown – LPN; Chris Puff – Construction; Krystal Thomas – Business; Tabitha Marchesani – Business; Michael Veeder – HVAC; Greggory Dick – Construction; Colin Byng – Business; Alyssa Traceski – LPN; Teal Federman – LPN; and Jessica Semanick – Early Childhood.

The B.E.S.T. Program has received the support of the Columbia Hudson Partnership, Greene County Economic Development, Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, Greene County Chamber of Commerce and the Workforce Investment Board of Columbia and Greene Counties.

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, with its 850 members, is the leading voice of business in Columbia County , providing advocacy, promotional and benefit solutions for its members. Those seeking more information concerning the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and membership can contact the Chamber at (518) 828-4417 or visit the website at www.columbiachamber-ny.com.