Thirty four Muhlenberg Job Corps students traveled on February 23^rd to watched, Jamel Morant, who plays for Murray’s men’s basketball team. Morant is widely considered one of the top prospects and a potential top-three pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Morant contributed 17 points and 14 assists as Murray beat Southeast Missouri State 85-67 giving Murray its fifth win in a row since a loss at Auburn. A couple students said they had never been in a facility as nice as Murray’s CFSB Center. CFSB Center is the current home of Murray State men’s basketball. The multi-million dollar facility is a state-of-the-art arena that can host other events besides basketball. Muhlenberg Job corps enjoys being able to providing students with these types of memories and moments.

(Picture from L to R: Charles Munson, Shanise Thompson, Anthony Cray, Seth Peterson, Tavon Hill, Brandy McGee, Academic Manager Julie Gillette, Travon Hill, Kayla Usher, Alexis Ross, Markus Overton, and Catalaya Ramirez)

Man Suan Lun and Samual Fangafanga presented their PowerPoint created for their Information Technology class credit.  The PowerPoint was built to tell the story of their life. It explained where they came from, how they got to Muhlenberg Job Corps, what they accomplished while on campus and then plans for the future. Both students enjoyed the meeting and getting to share their experiences.  Both were surprised when they were presented their high school diploma by Robbie Davies, Muhlenberg Board of Education Head Superintendent.  Samuel Fangafanga has already started his new job in Nashville making fifteen dollars an hour. Man Suan Lun is scheduled to leave Muhlenberg Job Corps campus February 28^th with several job opportunity leads. MJCC looks forward to watching these two grow and prosper in life.

(List From L to R: Muhlenberg Board of Education Superintendent Robbie Davies, Samuel Fangafanga, Man Suan Lun)

Whitney Young Job Corps Building Construction Technology grad receives various credentials and employment opportunity to show his worth. Billy Bryant, 22, from Williamsburg, KY needed to make a change in his life and gain stability. At 17, he began staying with friends and worked various fast food jobs not really preparing for a future. As Billy was getting tired of depending on everybody else and wanted to do things on his own, a friend told Billy about another person who went to Job Corps and turned his life around. Billy knew he had to give Whitney Young Job Corps a try.

“It open my eyes and changed the way I looked at things and on what I can become”. said Billy. Billy began his journey at the Whitney Young Job Corps Center on June 25, 2018 and completed the BCT / Facility Maintenance skills trade on March 2. In 9 months Billy received his OSHA 10, FEMA, RAMSET, HUD, GASTITE and HPIP credentials as well as his drivers license. Being that Billy was very interested in the electrical aspect and passed the entry exam, he accepted a Work Based Learning (WBL) assignment with Arts Electric. Billy is now hired by Arts Electric as an Electrician Helper and will begin the Electrical Apprenticeship in July.

Billy is very grateful for the opportunities Whitney Young Job Corps has provided. Namely his BCT Instructor, Rod Ussery, who provided many life lessons wisdom in addition to teaching the trade skills. Billy is most grateful for the connections for his WBL experience which allowed Billy to save money for an apartment before he graduated. Billy continues to impress the HR Manager at Arts Electric and is looking forward to living independently while beginning a great electrical career.

“If you come to do what you need to do, they will not let you down” Job Corps works said Billy.

Charleston Job Corps Center’s “Modern Men” group have been long standing supporters of the Herbert C. Henderson’s Office of Minority Affairs.  The Modern Men are pictured during the Black History Month Lecture Series of which they volunteered.  This was a two weekend request for these men to help with manning the admissions tables, serving and clean up during the event in honor of Black History Month at the culture center. Pictured are Modern Men from L – R Back row: Terrance Deon Odum  Clifford Jr, Brigadier General Christopher Walker, James Carter, student employee Tori Goodman and  Oscar Delgado Front Row:  Russell Scritchfield, Alezander Howell, Jamonte Hunnicutt, Darnell Ellis and Brandon Deya-Gonzalez.

Viola Wood, a Nutrition Education Program Assistant for Muhlenberg County Cooperative Extension office spent some time in February educating a few of the Muhlenberg Job Corps students. The program Viola presented was Kentucky Nutrition Education Program’s Healthy Choices for Everybody, through the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. The program teaches clients to achieve and maintain good health, through healthy eating, food safety, and increasing physical activity levels.  Over the four weeks, clients in the program learned to recognize what healthy eating looked like and focus on building a healthier plate with My Plate and recognizing healthy foods.  In hands on classes they learned to read recipes and prepare easy and affordable meals that tasted great, usually preparing two dishes per week.  Also, they received tips to save money of groceries through reading food labels, meal planning, budgeting, and improved use of their food dollars skills that will be beneficial to them when they leave Job Corp and begin their careers.  Lastly, they learned the importance of food safety, how to prepare and store food safely, to reduce the risk of food borne illnesses and waste less food.  The students that completed the program were given a bag of basic kitchen tools to set up their kitchens when the leave the Job Corp and a Certificate of Completion.

Michelle Swift said that preparing the small meals in class was her favorite part and it allowed her to try different things. Camri Mixon also enjoyed fixing the small meals and it gave her several new ideas for when she leaves Muhlenberg Job Corps. All the students had one thing they agreed on and it was they loved Viola Wood in the classroom. They enjoyed her knowledge, passion and the time spent with her on Tuesdays. Muhlenberg Job Corps would like to thank the extension office for investing time in our students to help them be better prepared for life after job corps.

Picture From L to R: Viola Wood, Keywanna Jones, Kyara Wortham, Terrica Dixon, Camille Phenizy & Kiara Overton

On February 21, Muhlenberg Job Corps hosted its annual Community Relations Council meeting. Brian Hancock, MJCC’s new BCL, worked hard to gather some of the great community influences. Heather Melton, MJCC’s Food Service Manager, helped her staff prepare a top notch meal. Heather thought country fried steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, salad and desert would be a great way to start the council meeting. Thirty-seven attendees filled the multi-purpose room for the one hour event. Three mayors, Judge Executive, sheriff, business supervisors, along with numerous work base learning sites were in attendance. Brian said the turnout displayed how supportive the great community is for its fellow businesses, the county and for Muhlenberg Job Corps. Brian said, “Its days like this that make you very proud to have been born and raised in Muhlenberg.”

The theme of this council meeting was to share the success of MJCC through statistics and through the completed projects in the community. Brian focused on the Work Base Learning at MJCC and its importance. Brian showed that MJCC almost doubled the national average per graduates for Work Base Learning. Brian shared several projects that MJCC has done in the community. Some of these projects were one day project, while some stretched out for six months. Brian then shared the importance of Work Base Learning for the students, along with the different types, that MJCC would use to help reach and teach their students. MJCC Center Director, Peter Lafleur, stated he has been working for job corps for 38 years and this was one of the better council meeting turn out that he had been a part of. MJCC would like to thank all of the community partners for being so supportive and allowing our students to help in the community.

Pete LaFleur, Muhlenberg Job Corps’ Center Director, and Brian Hancock, Muhlenberg Job Corps’ Business Community Liaison, attended the first “KY Works Collaborative” meeting in Frankfurt on February 28. The meeting was led by Governor Matt Bevin and Melissa Aguilar, KY Workforce Investment Board Executive Director. Numerous cabinet members attended, such as: state labor, education, human services, and secretaries.  Also in attendance were the KWIB leadership and college presidents. The theme of this meeting focused on the overall goal which is to take the KY Workforce Development System to the next level and help meet current employers’ needs as well as attract new businesses to KY.

WIOA integration and strategic plan implementation will be driven by the Governor Bevin, KWIB, Local Workforce Development Boards and the KY Works Collaborative. Job Corps is a WIOA “core” partner. Governor Bevin has established the KY Works Collaborative in hopes of merging key public and private stakeholders. And, to implement WIOA and the KWIB’s strategic plan “KY Work Ready: An Urgent Call to Action.”  These vested partners are to develop new and enhanced approaches for building and strengthening KY’s workforce at state level, which in turn supports the local level in implementation and continued local strategies.

Pete was selected to represent the seven Kentucky Job Corps along with Jeff Barton, Earle C. Clements’ Center Director. Jeff was chosen as a proxy in case of Pete’s absence for the remaining scheduled meetings. Pete said that he looks forward to reporting progress of the KY Works Collaborative meetings to the Kentucky Job Corps as the strategic plan unfolds and phase implementation begins.

(Photo Taken By) Kim Saylor Brannock from the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet

The Clinical Medical Assistant students gained valuable experience as they hosted a successful health fair for staff and students. Over 50 people, even guests from the CRC meeting, stopped by to have their vitals checked such as blood pressure, Cholesterol, BMI and more. Giving the 20 plus students a great opportunity to coordinate, plan, execute and wrap up a real health fair. Students were stationed in various designated areas for 3-4 hours to take care of their eager patients. From conception to completion the CMA students managed the entire operation with a welcome and waiting area and more.

The CMA students were very excited to exhibit the skills that they have been taught because it feels and looks like a real health fair. Although they realized what a demanding day it was to host a health fair, they thoroughly enjoyed it and are looking forward look forward to hosting a health fair once a quarter.

Vicki Yonts, Program Manager of the Felix E. Martin Jr. Foundation, directed another successful Read to Lead event for Muhlenberg County. Vicki and staff teamed up with several businesses, along with community leaders, to support the importance of the need for our youth to read.

The event uses Dr. Seuss’ birthday as a day to promote reading across America. The day started with the Dr. Seuss characters, Thing One & Thing 2, reading Oh, The Places You’ll Go at Depot Gifts and then at Corner Fashions in Central City. The main event took place at the Muhlenberg County courthouse.  The Lorax, Cat in the Hat, Horton, Thing One & Thing 2 stood out front welcoming the community to come inside for books and treats. Once inside the courthouse, the children would visit each community leader’s office for a free book and a treat. The offices that participated were the offices of Judge Ex. Curtis McGehee, Sheriff Ricki Allen, Mayor Jan Yonts, County Clerk Crystal Smith, County Attorney Ryan Rice, Coroner Larry Vincent, and PVA Belinda Mckinney.

Read to Lead brought through 206 adults and 277 children for a total of 483 people in two hours. The event gave away nearly 1,700 books. This would not have happened if not for some amazing sponsors of the event. Some of those sponsors were SOAR, Lu-Ray Park, Pennyroyal Prevention Center, First Steps Head Start, Muhlenberg Count Health Department/Hands, Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital, UK Extension Office, Depot Gifts & Corner Fashions and Muhlenberg County Library.

For the third year in a row, Muhlenberg Job Corps has helped with the Dr. Seuss characters. Muhlenberg Job Corps brings students to wear the costumes and interact with the community. Brian Hancock, Muhlenberg Job Corps BCL, said it was enjoyable to see all the little children running up and smiling wanting a picture with all the characters. Muhlenberg Job Corps thought its students did a tremendous job and are looking forward to the event next year. Staff involved were Brian Hancock and Ashley Thompson, who is an academic instructor. Students involved: Abraham Wrigley, Kayla Sharpenberg, Natalie Rolley, Tiarra Talley, Anatoliy Sweet, Catalaya Ramirez, Joshua Kimbrew, Destiny Douglas ,Paris Balford, Darious Sharps and Elijah Taybron.

Charleston Job Corps Alumni Graduate of the Quarter
Nayim Wells, who served as a Vice President of Dorm Leadership completed the Certified Nursing Assistant program this month and is the Graduate of the Quarter.
Nayim received certifications in Home Health Aide, CNA, OSHA, CPR, and Bloodborne Pathogen’s. He has secured an apartment in the Charleston area and is gainfully employed with Eastbrook Nursing Facility.
“I was homeless and working as a porter and cleaning apartment buildings prior to coming to Job Corps.” “My cousin enrolled at Job Corps so I decided to give it a try as well,” says Nayim.
Nayim says, he received good training and learned quality leadership skills from being in the Job Corps Program. He feels the Job Corps experience taught him the value of accountability and to remain humble. Wells’ future goals are to continue his education through the employee assistance program at Eastbrook to become a Registered Nurse.

Student Alumni/Graduate of the Quarter

Jacksonmville, Fla.
On March 28th the Bamberg Student Government Officers visited the Jacksonville Job Corps center. Bamberg is the sister center to the Jacksonville Job Corps per contractor. Both goverment recently elected shared goals for ther invidua administrations, participated in a center tour and exchanged ideas over lunch.

The Bamberg officers were accompained by their student government staff advisors. Bamberg is located in South Carolina. Ms. Tianna Stover, Jacksonville Job Corps SGA President led the discussions and provided an overview of how the Jacksonville Job Corps Student Governemnt manages the Jacksoville Job Corps Center.

It was informative and engaging for both centers and future visits and video conferencing are planned for the future.

Jacksonville, Florida
The Jacksonville Job Corps Center impacted over 150 pre-schoolers during the “Read To Lead-Reading Across America” Campaign. The students visited several Learning Academies to provide amazing storytelling with vivid imaginations. It was amazing to see the intereaction between the story tellers as they captured the attention of thier young listeners.

The audiences included three, four and five year olds who have an abundance of energy and curiosity. The sessions began with a puppet show by Ms. K. Carter who is a reading instructor at the Jacksonville Job Corps Center. The students were mesmerized and captivated as stories were told through the puppets.

Student readers are planning ongoing projects to read across Jacksonville in the coming months.

Jacksonville, Florida

The Student body at the Jacksonville Job Corps Center elected new leadership for the 2019 bi-annum. The students campaigned and shared their vision to make the Jacksonville Job Corps Center better. Offices decided were: President, Vice President, Secretary, Chief Justice, Activities Coordinator, Male Dirm President and Female Dorm President. Quad Leaders and Assistance are apart of the Student Government Council.. The board meetrs weekly to plan student actrivities.

CNA grad Nayim Wells now works at Eastbrook Nursing Facility
Nayim Wells, who completed the Certified Nursing Assistant program at CJCC, is the center’s Graduate of the Quarter. Wells earned certifications as a Home Health Aide and CNA, and earned additional certifications for OSHA, CPR and Bloodborne Pathogens. He also took on leadership roles at CJCC, serving as dorm vice president.

He is now working at Eastbrook Nursing Facility and has his own apartment in the Charleston area.

Wells notes that his life has taken a positive turn since coming to Charleston Job Corps. “I was homeless and working as a porter and cleaning apartment buildings prior to coming to Job Corps,” Wells said. “My cousin enrolled at Job Corps, so I decided to give it a try as well.”

Wells praises the quality job and leadership training he received at CJCC and feels the Job Corps experience has taught him the value of accountability and humility.

His future goals are to continue his education through the employee assistance program at Eastbrook to become a registered nurse.

On March 21-24th The Turner Job Corps Center held the NJCAA Basketball Tournament!
A total of six centers were able to be a part of this event:

Potomac(A & B Team)
Charleston
Earl C. Clements
Gadsden Job Corps Center
Turner Job Corps Center

The Women’s National Winners are none other than Charleston’s Girls Basketball Team. The Men’s National Winners were our Hotel Roommates the Gadsden Job Corps Center. Each game Gadsden was played with a lot of fight. During each game, Gadsden came out on top after at least a 10 to 15 point deficit. These guys played hard and never gave up when they were down.

After defeating our Men’s team by 4 points, Charleston and Gadsden were outside laughing and talking about the game and what each other could have done and complementing one another.

Participation for the National Tournaments have not been very high, but we anticipate participation to rise in the coming years, as we work hard through the Y2Y Campaign to enforce positive behavior and non-violence. We feel this is the beginning of the rebirth of sportsmanship for Job Corps Centers around the nation. We want to thank Turner Job Corps for their hard work and dedication in hosting the tournament. Recreation Managers met regarding next year’s tournament, of which the location is TBA.

Team Standings
Girls Basketball Rankings
Charleston Ladies- National Champions
Turner Ladies- Runner Up

Boys Basketball Rankings
Gadsden JC Guys- National Champions
Earl C Clements – Runner Up
Charleston – 3rd Place
Turner- 4th Place
Potomac(A)- 5th Place
Potomac(B) – 6th Place