TCAT Hohenwald receives one million in second round of GIVE 2.0

On Thursday November 18, 2021, Governor Bill Lee announced the grant proposal projects receiving funding through the second round of the Governor's Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE 2.0) which prioritizes learning opportunities in rural counties and enhances career and technical education statewide. Governor Lee has made notable progress in rural workforce development in recent years which has resulted in new jobs and in capital investment in rural counties.

The Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) at Hohenwald will receive another $1,000,000 in post-secondary funding for several new programs. TCAT Hohenwald's Grant submission was titled "Partnering to GIVE Careers in a Year." With this grant, we were very fortunate to have many partners, said Kelli Kea-Carroll, TCAT President and GIVE Grant writer. The grant required partners from many area employers which included Hassell & Hughes Lumber Company and C'wood Lumber (Wayne); the local workforce development agency; Southern Middle Tennessee Workforce Development Board, headed by South Central Tennessee Development District Director Jerry Mansfield with Program Director Barbara Kizer with Walt Wood and Anita Turnbow; School Directors, Eric Lomax of Perry County Schools and Marlon Davis with Wayne County Schools; CTE Directors Heather Warren and Lisa Thompson (Wayne), Ginger Cagle (Perry), and Trina Weaks (Lewis); economic development directors - Rena Purdy (Wayne) and Helen Ozier (Lewis), chambers of commerce - Director Debbie Landers (Lewis) and Christine Chapman (Wayne); and county and city officials Mayor Jim Mangubat, Mayor Danny McKnight, Mayor John Carroll, Mayor Wes Ward, City Manager John Hickman; Sara Cook with Wayne Digital Hub and the full support of our Senator Dr. Joey Hensley and Representative David Byrd. "It takes a full collaborative of partners---and there are too many to completely name, but I wish to say "thank you" to all who contributed----and soon the hard work begins! We are delighted to add to continued workforce development in the south central area and post-secondary industry credentialing." continued Kea-Carroll. Once the grant is signed, TCAT will be providing more information on the programs to come!

Since creating GIVE, Gov. Lee has invested $50 million in the program to support rural workforce development through technical education. The first round of GIVE funding in 2019 served an estimated 8,000 students, and this second round will serve about that, or even more.

The second round of GIVE grants will fund 27 projects statewide. The 27 funded projects will serve all economically distressed counties and 25 of the 30 at-risk counties. The south central area continues to include many "at-risk" counties, with Perry County, still noted as "distressed'.

By developing a highly skilled workforce, Tennesseans' lives are transformed, and companies are choosing to invest and expand in our state at record rates.

Gov. Lee continues to highlight rural workforce development by hosting Rural Workforce Development Summits in each of the three grand regions. The Governor's Rural Summit focuses on at-risk and distressed counties by engaging city and county mayors, education and economic leaders, and cabinet members.

A complete list of funded GIVE projects and recipients may be viewed on tn.gov.