Local leaders converged on East Mississippi Community College’s Golden Triangle campus on Wednesday to celebrate the continued growth and impact of regional industry.
EMCC hosted the 27th annual Industry Appreciation Luncheon, welcoming local business and government leaders to recognize the year’s successes.
Raj Shaunak, EMCC vice president of manufacturing technology and engineering, presented Yokohama Tire Corporation and Paccar Engine Company with Director’s Awards.
The awards represent “the highest level of recognition through workforce training, demonstrating management excellence with superior outcomes, continuing to improve and build upon outstanding results and excellent systems and deploying world class processes.”
Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle also received the Best Practices Award for workforce training, quality management and model business practices.
Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Glenn McCollough delivered the keynote address for the luncheon. He said it’s an “exciting time” for the Golden Triangle, and lauded the region’s cooperation between economic developers, government and businesses as an example for the rest of the state.
“Teamwork that you see in the Golden Triangle is paying off in economic development,” McCollough said.
McCollough said the EMCC is on the leading edge of workforce development training, which is evident through the continued growth of Yokohama, Paccar, Aurora Flight Sciences, Airbus, Steel Dynamics and other local industries.
“It’s teamwork,” he said. “EMCC, they’ve partnered with three other community colleges–East Central Community College, Meridian Community College and Jones County Community College. They are four community colleges all blending their resources to say ‘We are going to be the best in workforce training. And that sort of collaboration and teamwork among our community colleges in Mississippi is the key to a better-trained workforce.”
EMCC President Tom Huebner said Wednesday’s luncheon was a chance to thank the countless people involved in making Golden Triangle industry successful.
He also talked about the role EMCC plays in helping draw business and industry to the region.
“What we know is, all things equal, when business and industry is looking to locate somewhere, they want to know about the workforce,” Huebner said. “We have great people here in East Mississippi, but being able to let them know about opportunities to help train them and prepare the people to meet the needs of the industry sets us apart and makes us a unique and important player in the economic development equation.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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