Good Works

Ralph Smith to address inaugural Leaders in Action Awards April 18

The senior vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation is headed for Boise in April to deliver a keynote address at Concordia University School of Law.

Ralph Smith, a lawyer, is speaking at Concordia’s inaugural Leaders in Action Awards Dinner April 18.

Smith is managing director for the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, a national effort to improve reading proficiency among low-income children. He’s going to talk about increasing literacy and closing the achievement gap.

The event is presented by Alliance Title and Escrow and is being held at the law school, which opened its doors to its first class last summer.

Smith is also a founding director of the National Center on Fathers and Families and the Philadelphia Children’s Network. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization in Philadelphia.

Concordia’s Leaders in Action Awards dinner will raise money for student scholarships. Linda Clark, Superintendent of Joint School District No. 2 and Richard C. Fields, senior partner at Moffatt Thomas Barrett Rock & Fields, will be honored with the 2013 Leaders in Action Award.

IBR Staff

Invent Idaho participants display at Statehouse

Eighteen children from around the state set up their inventions in the Idaho Statehouse March 27 after winning their regional contests in the annual Invent Idaho competition.

Trevor Glander, a sixth-grader at North Idaho STEM Charter Academy in Rathdrum, created a safety device to warn drivers about trains before they cross the train tracks. Glander’s invention won him the place of grand champion at his school and “Best of Show” at the state Invent Idaho competition March 8 and 9 at the University of Idaho. Glander won a $250 savings bond, other prizes, and a meeting with a patent attorney in Coeur d’Alene.

Jessica Holte, a third-grader at Genesis Prep Academy in Post Falls, won “Best of Show” for her age group for a milk dispenser designed to help children who are struggling with gallon containers. Holte also won a $250 savings bond and other prizes.

More than 1,000 children statewide participated in this year’s Invent Idaho. The program was started in 1989 by Beth Brubaker, a sixth-grade teacher at North Idaho STEM Charter Academy, and Diane Garmire, a teacher at the Libby Center gifted and talented program in Spokane, Wash. The two train teachers around Idaho to help children with the invention process and enter the contest.

“We teach them the process of brainstorming and prototyping, and then we hope they’ll become real-world problem-solvers,” Brubaker said. “And we’re having fun doing it.”

Brubaker and Garmire are now working with teachers in Washington who are starting a statewide school invention contest there.

“We want our kids to be honored and respected just as much as sports figures are,” Brubaker said. “These kids are winners too.”

Invent Idaho sponsors include University of Idaho, LCF Enterprises, Discover Technology, Rustlers Roost, Lukins & Annis Attorneys, and Trademarc Sign & Display.

IBR Staff

Hewlett Packard hosts ‘Bring your child to work day’

Hewlett Packard is hosting a Bring Your Inventor (Child) to Work Day April 25 from 9 a.m to 4 p.m.

The Boise technology company has hosted the event for 10 years. Spokeswoman Madison Fisher said 1,000 HP employees and their children will tour HP labs and see educational demonstrations from local organizations. The hands-on activities focus on the environment, innovation and technology.

Sessions include an edible compost class, a session on chromatography and an opportunity to work with the photo digital oasis.

IBR Staff