A New Year, A New Blog

Happy New Year -- and the start of some new web-based services from the Offutt Base Library, which is operated by United Tribes Technical College (UTTC). I'm Becky Sims, the Director of the Thomas S. Power Library - the base library for Offutt AFB.

First, a disclaimer. Nothing I write has been reviewed or approved by the Air Force, Offutt AFB, DoD, the U.S. government, UTTC, or anyone else. While I'll do my best to stay within guidelines, don't take anything I say as the opinion or policy of any of the above.

And who is UTTC?

The staffing of the Offutt Library is contracted to United Tribes Technical College of Bismarck, ND. While all of us who work at the Library live in the Bellevue area, UTTC is the primary employer. (A couple of us work for LABAT-Anderson, subcontracted to UTTC, which has been involved in staffing and running the Library since 1997, which is when I started.)

From the UTTC website:

[UTTC] is a nonprofit corporation chartered by the State of North Dakota and operated by the five tribes wholly or in part in North Dakota. Those tribes are the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation, the Spirit Lake Tribe, the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

The College was founded to provide a community in which Indian people can acquire an education and obtain employment. Programs which have been added over the years have kept this initial purpose in mind, providing not only occupational education and training but also individual and social skills in a culturally-relevant setting, with an emphasis on children and families.

Pat (the Library's #2) and I drove up to UTTC last year to visit, and we felt right at home. The campus is on the grounds of the old Ft. Abraham Lincoln (the 2d one), and has a parade ground and architecture much in the style of Offutt's old Ft. Crook area. Add in that UTTC is located right next to the Bismarck airport, that they have a Child Development Center, an elementary school, student married housing on the campus, a nice-sized library in a building that looks like the one where the Heartland of America Band practices, and the similarities are uncanny.

As you hang around, another similarity comes shining through -- how much they care for the people who live and work and study there. We are proud to call them our employers. For more information on UTTC and their excellent program, check out their website.

Currently reading: "Cat Body, Cat Mind: Exploring Your Cat's Consciousness and Total Well-Being" by Michael W. Fox - a gift for my son from my sister-in-law
Currently listening to: "Aces High" by Iron Maiden (metal)