Event Galleries

The FORGE Foundation in partnership with Mississippi Construction Education Foundation (MCEF) and EMCC recently hosted its third Forge Your Path Career Expo on October 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th at EMCC’s Communiversity. Different than your typical career fair, this career expo included a variety of construction themed hands-on activities designed to generate interest in the various capacities of the construction industry. Open to 8^th graders from 18 different schools, attendance throughout the day totaled around 2,000 students and 200 chaperones.

The FORGE Career Expo kicked off at the EMCC Communiversity, on Tuesday, October 18, as FORGE partnered with the Regional Business After Hours event sponsored by the Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. Industry and business leaders had the opportunity to see the Career Expo firsthand. They enjoyed operating equipment, laying bricks, roofing, finishing concrete, and sitting in bulldozers just like the kids.

In conjunction with the Career Expo, they hosted a Counselor’s Workshop in which 40 counselors and career coaches from across the state were given a guided tour of the expo and an in-depth hands-on experience through building a corn hole board.

We owe a big thank you to our vendors for doing a fantastic job providing activities for students. Vendors who participated in the 2022 Expo are:

• APAC MISSISSIPPI
• BUILDWITT
• BURNS DIRT & CONSTRUCTION
• COLUMBUS-LOWNDES PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEMS
• DELTA INDUSTRIES
• EMCC
• GRAHAM ROOFING INCORPORATED
• HUSQVARNA CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS
• IVEY MECHANICAL COMPANY, INC
• LOWNDES COUNTY CAREER AND TECHNICAL PROGRAMS
• MCCRARY-WEST CONSTRUCTION
• MCEF
• MCKELLAR TECHNOLOGY CENTER
• MMC MATERIALS, INC. 
• MSU COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
• NEW HOME BUILDING STORES
• PACCAR
• PHILLIPS CONTRACTING COMPANY, INC
• STARKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL CULINARY PROGRAM
• STARKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL MECHATRONICS PROGRAM
• STARKVILLE MILLSAPS
• THOMPSON MACHINERY
• TRANSFRVR, INC
• TRONOX
• WATERS TRUCK AND TRACTOR
• WEST BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION
• WEST POINT CAREER & TECHNICAL PROGRAMS
• 4-COUNTY ELECTRIC POWER

Our Volunteers:

• Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) – Lauren Odom, Weezie Horn
• Mississippi Construction Education Foundation (MCEF)- Ebony Bracey, Sherri Blount, Lane Bell, Lauren Hunt, Patrick Etheredge, Brent Bean,
• Mississippi State University Research & Curriculum Unit
• Columbus Schools – Tiffinie Johnson
• East Mississippi Community College Ambassadors – Approximately 24 Total
• Columbus Brick – Misty McCraw
• Burns Dirt Construction Volunteers
• West Brothers Construction Volunteers
• AGC MS – Jessica Housdan
• Mississippi Concrete Association – Joel Waters

Thank you to our various sponsors for your donations! Our sponsors for the 2022 Career Expo are:

GOLD

• EMCC
• MCEF
• Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce
• Renasant Bank
• Bank of Commerce
• FBBINSURANCE

SILVER

• ABC MS
• Wade Lunday & Associates
• Superior Distribution
• AGC MS
• Ross & Yerger
• Delta Industries
• Citizens National Bank
• The Starkville Partnership
• Mississippi Concrete Association
• HUB
• TELETEC