{"72684":{"#nid":"72684","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Dreger Enjoys Yellow Jackets \u2014 and Bees","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf it hadn\u2019t been for curly cucumbers, Chris Dreger never would have pursued what has become one of her favorite hobbies \u2014 bee keeping.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAbout four years ago, the cucumbers in my garden were growing in these curly shapes,\u201d said Dreger, client and patron services manager for the Ferst Center for the Arts. \u201cI had read somewhere that this was the result of poor pollination, so with some help from my husband\u2019s aunt, I got into bee keeping.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the following summer, Dreger\u2019s cucumbers looked more uniform and the rest of her produce was thriving, all improvements that she attributes to the bees. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOf course, caring for the two hives has its disadvantages.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI get stung almost once a week,\u201d she said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut it has its advantages, too. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe honey is a perk that I hadn\u2019t even considered,\u201d Dreger said. \u201cBut the best part is that my 7-year-old granddaughter enjoys helping me, and she\u2019s just the light of my life.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had a chance to learn more about Dreger and her time at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you want to be as a child? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI wanted to be a nun; I just always thought they were so beautiful, calm and orderly. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to Georgia Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EWell, I had a job where I trained armed security guards, and one day, my father-in-law, Jim Dreger, who was a professor at Tech, encouraged me to interview for a job here. I really didn\u2019t think I was going to leave my training position. But, I was offered the position, decided to take it and have been at Tech for 26 years.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us a few things that you want people to know about your job.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u2019m responsible for both the box office and for coordinating the details of all rental\u0026nbsp; events that happen at the Ferst Center. There\u2019s always something going on here \u2014 we hosted 260 events last year. And the Ferst Center doesn\u2019t just host Tech events. We also provide space to various community events like dance recitals, cultural shows and conferences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is most satisfying for you about your work? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI really enjoy working with the different groups of people who use this venue. One day I\u2019m working with people from China, the next it\u2019s Bill Cosby, and the next it\u2019s Tech students for Homecoming. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is a professional accomplishment that you\u2019re proud of? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen I was asked to take on the responsibilities of my current position, I had no idea where to start. I had to teach myself the software and everything else involved in running a box office and coordinating theater events. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhich do you prefer: Facebook, Twitter, or a world without all of this social media stuff?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI like Facebook. It\u2019s an easy way to keep an eye on my friends and family. For example, my youngest (of three) daughters is 22. I can keep an eye on how she\u2019s doing on Facebook, without bugging her too much. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best advice you\u2019ve ever received? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy father always used to say, \u201cLife is not a dress rehearsal.\u201d I get really focused on doing things just right, so he\u2019d say this to remind me to live a little and not sweat the small stuff. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is something about you that we didn\u2019t cover that you want to make sure people know?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI make all of my own greeting cards \u2014 and have a Christmas card list of 100 people. And I learned how to ride a unicycle when I was 10.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf it hadn\u2019t been for curly cucumbers, Chris Dreger never would have pursued what has become one of her favorite hobbies \u2014 bee keeping.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"If it hadn\u2019t been for curly cucumbers, Chris Dreger never would have pursued what has become one of her favorite hobbies \u2014 bee keeping."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-11-15 10:55:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:38","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-11-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72681":{"id":"72681","type":"image","title":"Chris Dreger","body":null,"created":"1449177942","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:25:42","changed":"1475894661","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:21","alt":"Chris Dreger","file":{"fid":"193704","name":"chris_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chris_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chris_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1510333,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/chris_0_0.jpg?itok=HyyAA1_S"}}},"media_ids":["72681"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"15081","name":"Chris Dreger"},{"id":"261","name":"Ferst Center for the Arts"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}