Mississippi’s third district Congressman Michael Guest spent the day with his Bay Springs constituents before the Easter break touring Hol-Mac Industries, Jasper County General Hospital and Jones College’s Jasper County Center. While at the Jasper County Center as the guest of Jones College President, Dr. Jesse Smith, the Congressman met with students, faculty and staff along with the Center’s Director, Grant Crowder to see first-hand the various programs.
“Congressman Guest is definitely a friend of workforce and growth, and we don’t know where we’d be without him,” said Smith. “He’s doing a great job, and we’re glad he was able to tour the Jasper County Center to see how we’re making a difference in his district.”
The tour included visits through the practical nursing lab and classrooms, health care assistant, phlebotomy, high school equivalency, machining, welding, commercial truck driving, the lineman academy, and academic classes, which are all meeting at the Bay Springs facility.
“These programs meet the specific needs in the community, but as I’m traveling and meeting with business leaders, the programs that you all are offering here are not just needed here in this part of the state, but they’re also needed across the state. Y’all are doing a great job with training the future workforce and meeting the needs to make Mississippi competitive as we seek those next economic development projects. I mean, anytime you have groups coming in, they want to know if we can meet their workforce requirements. If we’re going to look at bringing in the next Nissan, Toyota, Amazon, or those sorts of companies, we’ve got to have the workforce necessary and y’all are training that workforce here,” said Congressman Guest.
As he visited the classrooms, Congressman Guest encouraged the students in the practical nursing program to continue their education, sharing, “I remember my days in school were not always fun, but they were very rewarding. When you look back one day, you’re going to be extremely proud of all the hard work you put in. This is going to open up a lot of opportunities in the future that you wouldn’t have without this education and training.”
Crowder explained to Congressman Guest that the Jasper County Center has a vision to expand as demand grows, however the Center’s success comes from those who work here.
“The staff and faculty here really made this campus what it is and we’re happy you came down to see them in action,” said Crowder. “We’re also thankful for the county’s support, as we are able to help the county prosper as well.”
For more information about the Jasper County Center in Bay Springs, call 601-477-5473 or 601-764-9393, or check out the website: https://www.jcjc.edu/workforce/locations/jasper-campus/
