MADISONVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ANNOUNCES NEW BUSINESS CHAMPIONS COUNCIL | MCC

    MADISONVILLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ANNOUNCES NEW BUSINESS CHAMPIONS COUNCIL

    Madisonville Community College (MCC) has lost a significant amount of state funding over the last several years, and business leaders are stepping up to let legislators know they agree with Gov. Matt Bevin that Kentucky can do better. Several local business leaders are serving as Business Champions as part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System s (KCTCS) Fuel the Force campaign, which is asking for restoration of postsecondary education funding.

    The Madisonville Community College Business Champions Council is asking legislators to support the Council on Postsecondary Education s (CPE) budget request that recently was submitted to Gov. Bevin. In the request, CPE asks for half of the decrease in state appropriations since 2008 to be restored to the nine public postsecondary education institutions, which includes KCTCS.

    Business leaders are concerned about how loss of funding is affecting their ability to hire skilled workers and the effect it has on local economies. Twenty five business champions signed on to the MCC campaign, and members elected Mayor Jan Yonts, City of Greenville, to chair the Council. They are part of a statewide group of hundreds of business leaders who ve become Business Champions.

    Other local Business Champions are:

    Deanna D. Ashby, Hopkins County Schools
    Jim Bailey, Baptist Health Madisonville
    Rhonda Callaway, Webster County Schools
    R. Steven Cox, Hancock Bank amp; Trust Company
    Dr. Susan Edington, Murray State University Madisonville Regional Campus
    Donald Fishman, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital
    Stan Hill, Kentucky Career Center
    Hon. Arthur T. Johnson, City of Earlington
    Lee S. Lingo, Madisonville - Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
    Dr. Dan Martin, Hopkins County Health Department
    Tom McFarland, First United Bank
    Lisa Moberly, Hudson Toyota
    Ken Robinson, Muhlenberg Alliance for Progress
    Heather Roy, Murray State University Madisonville Regional Campus
    Ron Sanders, SurfKY News Group, Inc.
    Ryan Senter, Hibbs Electromechanical, Inc.
    Monroe Slaton, DVM, Animal Medical Center
    Timothy W. Thomas, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights
    Hon. Carolyn Townsend, City of Dixon
    Ben Van Hooser, City of Greenville
    Dorothy Walker, Greater Muhlenberg Chamber of Commerce
    Rick Welch, The Messenger
    Bruce West, McCoy amp; McCoy Laboratories, Inc.
    Jack Whitfield, Jr., RJ Temper, Inc.

    Community colleges are the engine of Kentucky s workforce and are the state s largest providers of workforce education and training, said MCC Business Champions Council Chair Yonts. To be a better state, we have to have a well-educated workforce and now is the time to reinvest in Kentucky s higher education.

    Even though the recession ended several years ago, Kentucky is one of only a handful of states that has not begun reinvesting in higher education. Additionally, Kentucky is one of only three states in the nation joining Oklahoma and West Virginia that has continued to cut per student funding for higher education each of the last two years.

    We re very appreciative of the Business Champions Council and their willingness to tell policy makers how they re being affected by state budget cuts to higher education and the importance of reinvesting in our college so that Kentucky can become better, said MCC President Dr. Judith L. Rhoads. These leaders represent the companies we work with regularly and have built relationships with over the years. We are partners in education and job creation for this region.

    The Business Champions Council will take part in a business showcase event during the 2016 General Assembly to highlight the careers they offer and how they align with MCC programs. Additionally, Champions will attend a legislative rally and reception on February 18 in Frankfort. Other outreach efforts include calls, emails, and inviting legislators to visit a workplace or other face-to-face meetings.


    About Fuel the Force:

    Fuel the Force is a statewide campaign created to inform elected officials about the dire need of public postsecondary state appropriations for the 2016-2018 biennium. Business Champions from across the Commonwealth will share personal stories with legislators and the governor about the role local colleges play in the community, and how funding cuts have hurt local employers and the local economy. To learn more about the Fuel the Force campaign and sign a petition of support, visit FueltheForceKY.com.