JACKSON— Monday marked the first day of Jackson’s three-day manufacturing camp designed to help local students learn about modern day manufacturing, teamwork, and local manufacturing facilities.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s office helped organize this camp to help Ohio students learn about the manufacturing process. Coordinators for the event included Coalton Mayor Kim Milliken, Jackson Mayor Randy Heath, Oak Hill Mayor Roy McCarty, and Wellston Mayor Connie Pelletier.
Those invited to participate included: The Jackson City School District, Wellston City Schools, Oak Hill Union Local Schools, General Mills, Kenworth, Bellisio Foods, the Jackson Mayor’s Office, Wellston Mayor’s Office, and other local agencies.
The Camp began on Monday, July 27 at 8:30 a.m. and ran Tuesday and Wednesday, July 28 and 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The participating agencies and tour sites included Bellisio Foods, General Mills, Kenworth Truck, Shawnee State University, the Southeast Ohio Regional Library Systems (SEORLS), and TechGrowth Ohio.
A total of 29 students participated in this special camp. Students attending the camp were: Daniel Ford, Jesse Ford, Gavin Potts, Feleschia Tackett, James Bixler, Trace Martin, Camryn Rose, Caleb Rose, Steven Spadoni, Victoria Wright, Kaitlin Simpkins, Lydia Greer, Kaitlynn Jones, Lucas Smith, Tori Canter, Sam Rowland, Shelby Glassburn, Cassie Glassburn, Jacklynn Heath, Cyrus Cox, Wesley McClain, Miriam Harley, Danielle Corvin, Grant Plummer, Jordan Bell, Hunter Perry, Mazie Wechter, Gideon Lyall-Wolford, and Kylee Hendershott.
“Manufacturing means inventing, creating, and building the tools, vehicles, and machines that will power the future,” said Brown in a media release. “We need talented, imaginative young people to become the next generation of Ohio manufacturers who will turn dreams into reality.”
In his release Brown thanked all of the mentors and parents, and their partner organizations for their work in making this event possible, as well as other camps held across the state.
According to Jackson Mayor Randy Heath, Jackson County had a higher participation rate than any of the other counties, and Jackson was the only county to provide the camp at no charge to the participants. This was possible because of the generosity of sponsoring businesses and organizations such as WesBanco, Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, McDonald’s Restaurants, Oak Hill Chamber of Commerce, Wellston Chamber of Commerce, and Jackson County Economic Development.
Other contributors were: The Jackson City School District, Jackson County Jobs and Family Services/Ohio Means Jobs, Oak Hill Local School District, Ohio Board of Regents, Sts. Peter and Paul School, and the Wellston City School District.
“This learning opportunity gives local students in grades 5 through 8 the opportunity to learn about careers in their community, tour local manufacturing facilities, and learn from experts,” Brown continued. “Students learn how products are made, participate in team-building exercises, and work on a project specific to their community.”
The camp was based at Jackson Middle School located at 21 Tropic Street in Jackson under the supervision of Assistant Principal Emily Crabtree. Oak Hill and Jackson School Districts provided buses to transport the students to the various manufacturing facilities.
“I would say this was a phenomenal success,” Heath stated upon completion of the camp. Heath indicated that all of the manufacturing facilities the students toured pulled out all the stops to make their experience educational but fun at the same time.
Prior to the end of the camp, the Senior Appalachian Regional Representative for Senator Brown, Jeanne Wilson, presented each participant with a certificate from the Senator. She also presented each student with two special folders from the U.S. Senate. According to Wilson the Jackson participants were the only ones to receive the special folders this time around.
From Times Journal | July 31, 2015
