Event Galleries

The FORGE Foundation in partnership with Mississippi Construction Education Foundation (MCEF) recently hosted their first Forge Your Path Career Expo on October 30^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 in Lowndes County, Clay County, and Oktibbeha County, attendance throughout the day totaled around 1,000 8^th graders and 60 chaperones.

In conjunction with the Career Expo, they hosted a Counselor’s Workshop in which 18 counselors from across the state were given an in-depth hands-on experience through building a dog house. Shawn Forrester and Justin Carter from West Brothers Construction taught counselor’s how to read blueprints and use the tools and materials necessary to build their dog house.

We owe a big thank you to our vendors for doing a fantastic job providing activities for students. Vendors who participated in the 2019 Expo are:

• 4 County
• APAC
• Burns Dirt Construction
• EMCC
• FL Crane
• Graham Roofing, Inc.
• Husqvarna
• JBHM Architects
• Lowndes County Career Tech
• McCrary West Construction
• MCEF
• McKellar Career Tech
• Millsaps Career Tech
• MSU Building Construction Science Program
• National Women in Construction Association
• Secretary of State Office – voting machines
• Thompson Equipment
• Waters Truck & Tractor
• West Brothers Construction
• West Point Career Tech

Our Volunteers:

• Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) – Weezie Horn, Sherry Dunlap, and Robert Jacobs
• Mississippi Associated General Contractors (AGC) – Jessica Housdan
• The Growth Alliance – Lisa Klutts
• Greater Starkville Partnership Development – Hunter Harrington
• West Brothers Construction – Shawn Forrester and Justin Carter
• Flexx Chiropractic – Stephanie Flake

Thank you to our various sponsors for your donations! Our sponsors for the 2019 Career Expo are:

• AirGas – Hardhats and Safety Glasses for Counselor’s Workshop
• Botrel/ESI – Safety glasses and earplugs for students and chaperones
• Brand Safeway – Scaffolding Stage for student group pictures
• Fastenal – Water
• Greater Starkville Partnership Development – Lunch for vendors/volunteers
• The Growth Alliance – Lunch for vendors/volunteers
• The Link – Breakfast and snacks for vendors/volunteers
• MS ABC – Hardhats, Safety Glasses for Counselor’s Workshop and a financial contribution
• MS AGC – Financial Contribution
• Mississippi University for Women – Water
• McKellar CTC, Lowndes County CTC and West Point CTC – Counselor’s Lunch