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Ron Norton Reel |
Newly elected CCA President Ron Norton Reel is very aware of the miracles that take place every day in California community colleges.
After all, he is one.
The son of itinerate farmworkers, -- (his mother was Cherokee Indian and his father, Irish) Reel traveled with his parents and 10 siblings up and down the Central Valley, harvesting beets, potatoes, tomatoes, and other crops. The work brought the family to McFarland, Delano, Arvin and Bakersfield. He even worked in the grape fields where Cesar Chavez was organizing farmworkers.
“I’d work from 6 a.m. until it was time to go to school and then head back to work as soon as school was out,” Reel recalls. This schedule went on until he developed rheumatic fever in sixth grade, when doctors told his parents he had six months to live. Because Reel was unable to attend school, a teacher taught him at home. Ron recollects that the teacher was doing this out of the kindness of his heart. It was much later in life when he found out the teacher had been required to meet with him; but, he says, “I had already promised myself that if I lived, I’d become a teacher.”
Despite his dire prognosis, Reel recovered and on his home teacher’s recommendation, decided to pursue public speaking in the eight different high schools he attended. No one was more surprised than he when he started to compete and win speech contests. By that time, he was hooked, and continued his studies at Bakersfield and San Joaquin Delta Colleges. He has taught at two community colleges, first at Bakersfield College, and for the past 20 years at Mt. San Antonio Community College. He became the first speech coach to with both state and national honors for Mt. SAC. Today the Mount SAC’s forensics teams continue to win awards statewide, nationally, and internationally.
“All through my life, it’s been teachers who said ‘There’s more to life than working in the fields,’ “ Reel says. “Now I tell my students, ‘You can do whatever you want to do.’ I think if we model the behavior we want for our students, they will rise and they will exceed their expectations.”
Reel’s dedication to improving student achievement didn’t stop at his classroom door. As he looked around the campus, he realized the faculty were being taken advantage of and no one was speaking up. So he joined his faculty association, which first launched a “Got Respect?” button campaign, and then decided to work to change the board of trustees.
Electing new trustees took time, energy and work, as well as a financial commitment by faculty members to contribute to a Political Action Committee. To make sure the faculty was united on the issues, Reel and Carolyn Inmon, (now out-going CCA president) held morning, afternoon and evening meetings to attract members and review crucial issues.
That was a few years back ago. Today, the faculty helped elect four of the five board members and have replaced the college president with one they like. The local chapter continues to be robust and has fielded several CCA leaders, including Carolyn Inmon, board member Joan Sholars, and Mt. SAC faculty association president Terri Smith Long. The Mt. San Antonio faculty association has worked to improve morale on campus in other ways as well, including sponsoring the annual “Puttin’ on the Hits” in which faculty, staff, students, administrators, and board members do a lip-syncing show that has raised more than $120,000 for student scholarships.
Reel’s savvy with his local chapter propelled him into office within the Community College Association in 1999. In the past few years, he has served as District F Director, vice president, treasurer and now, president, an office he assumes in June.
In addition to guiding the organization statewide and working with the Chancellor and other faculty organizations, Reel hopes to work with chapter leaders in obtaining more reassigned time for them to conduct union business. He also plans to use an NEA grant to help increase member participation in local chapters. He believes how well the locals function is a testament as to the real strength of CCA. He plans to make the locals stronger.
“I certainly respect where CCA has been and where we are today,” Reel says. “I want to make it an even stronger, more vibrant, chapter-friendly organization.”
