Retirees to be announced at annual CWC luncheon

Two retirees will be announced at the Central Wyoming College staff luncheon on Friday, May 8. Longtime employees Ruby Calvert and Martha Davey will be honored during the event.

Ruby Calvert – General Manager Wyoming PBS

Ruby Calvert, who has been the general manager for about nine years, has been with the station for more than 30 years and during that time, has seen it go through many transitions. She was one of the original ten hired for the station, which at the time was known as KCWC. It was set to launch in January 1983 however, 20 feet of snow prevented the station from putting the tower on Limestone Mountain, postponing the station’s opening to May, 1983.

“We were getting everything prepared to go on air from production schedule to scripts,” Calvert said.

The station was originally formed to carry distance education to Wyoming residents who could not come to town, such as farmers and ranchers. These tele-courses aired throughout the state and offered about 14-18 courses ranging from English, History and Spanish to computer technology. The internet changed the course of the station as more people started taking online courses and the station saw a decline of viewers in the 2000’s.

In 2008, as a statewide station and during their 25th anniversary, a new name was established: Wyoming PBS. Officially the station is licensed as KCWC through Central Wyoming College from the Federal Communications Commission but is best known as WPBS. The station is a full PBS member and the offices and studio are located on CWCs’ campus in Riverton, Wyo.

Of the ten original employees only two are currently working at the station; Calvert and Bob Connelly, assistant general manager and transmitter engineer.

Calvert’s last day will be June 30 and she said she has plenty of options to enjoy her retirement. Her plans are to spend time with family and in Arizona and even take a few classes in pottery or photography but her future endeavors won’t end there.

“I would like to get back into production and start my own little production company,” Calvert said. “There are so many stories in Wyoming that WPBS doesn’t have time to do them all.”

Calvert will continue to be on boards that she is already a member of, one of them is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in which she is chairing an education advisory committee.

“WPBS has been such a part of my life and in my blood that it will be hard to leave but it will be good for both of us,” Calvert said. “We need new energy and new ideas, it’s a good thing.”

Calvert has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Wyoming and completed the two-year course in broadcasting from CWC in 1982.

Martha Davey – Associate Vice President for Academic Services

After more than 20 years at CWC, Martha Davey is retiring on June 30. Davey was originally hired as the job developer for the cooperative education program, a grant funded program in December 1993.

Davey, a Lander native, received her bachelors of science degree in accounting from the University of Wyoming. After graduating Davey moved to Torrington and worked as a CPA in an accounting firm.

“I spent 18 years fighting to get out of Lander and spent 15 years fighting to get back,” Davey said.

When the position at CWC opened Davey was quick to apply and excited to be accepted for the position. She moved back to Lander and commuted to CWC for more than 20 years.

“I’ve always enjoyed the commute; I could always get my day organized on the drive to work and relax and get my mind off of work on the way home,” Davey said.

Davey has had many positions at CWC throughout her years here. She was an assistant professor for computer networking, taught other courses like accounting and business law, was the coordinator for the committee for the self-study in 2005 which was the colleges accreditation at that time and was the assistant dean of student learning and curriculum development, just to name a few.

Although Davey is counting down the days to retirement “54” to be exact, she said she will miss CWC.

“I’ve loved my time at CWC,” Davey said. “I really like this time of year and watching our students walk across that stage when they graduate and to see that smile on their faces.”

“I like to watch the high school equivalency graduate as well, the guts it takes them to come back to school and finish is amazing.”

Davey will be joining her husband in retirement. He retired a year ago and now the two plans to do a kitchen remodel, go to more Colorado Rockies games and spend time in Phoenix, among other things.

“I’m looking forward to spending time in my community and my friends will be thrilled that I will start golfing again,” Davey said. “I’m also going to do whatever Rich tells me to do.” The couple has an on-going joke about retirement to which last year her husband Rick said he was going to do whatever Martha told him to do.

“I have worked since I was little,” Davey said. “It’s going to be interesting not working.” Davey also said that she has a lot of books that have been collecting dust that she would like to read and she looks forward to spending time with her dog.