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Caption: (l-r) Mark Sorrells. Golden LEAF Foundation; Steve Mauney, MGSD; David Hollars, Centralina Workforce Development Board; John B. Marek, Statesville Regional Development; Jessica Stewart, Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation; Mike Smith, Statesville Regional Development; Carol Johnson and Dr. Tim Brewer, Mitchell Community College; and Steve Johnson, Iredell County Board of Commissioners.
Mitchell Community College received a check in the amount of $418,742 from the Golden LEAF Foundation. Mark Sorrells, senior vice president for the Golden LEAF Foundation presented the check to Dr. Tim Brewer during Advanced Manufacturing Week. The funds are enabling the College to purchase high-tech mechatronics, robotic, and robotic welding equipment.
David Hollars, executive director, Centralina Workforce Development Board; Mike Smith, executive director, Statesville Regional Development; John B. Marek, director of BRE and Marketing, Statesville Regional Development; Jessica Stewart, existing industry and marketing manager, Steve Mauney, executive director of secondary ed/CTE at MGSD; Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation; and Steve Johnson, chairman, Iredell County Board of Commissioners were on hand for the presentation and to see demonstrations of the equipment.
According to the Foundation, the grant, awarded to Mitchell Community College out of the Essential Skills in Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, will help manufacturers, some of the largest private-sector employers, with qualified workers. The grants awarded under this Initiative will provide citizens from tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and rural communities with access to skills training for high wage jobs, connect the state’s industries with the skilled workers they need, and upgrade the capacity of training institutions. North Carolina leads the Southeast in manufacturing jobs, with more than 18 percent of the rural workforce earning $8.5 billion in manufacturing wages.