Southwest’s Impact Highlighted at 2024 Legislative Day

Community partners, legislative representatives, and industry leaders met during the 2024 Legislative Day at Southwest Tennessee Community College to discuss the college’s impact on the Mid-South’s workforce.

The impact of Southwest Tennessee Community College can’t be underestimated or undervalued, according to President Tracy D. Hall. She highlighted the College’s benefits and growth during the 2024 Legislative Day hosted Aug. 12 on the Macon Cove Campus.

The annual event aims to connect decision-makers with Southwest, emphasizing the importance of building stronger workforces and relationships to support opportunities for underserved communities within the Memphis metro.

More than 40 attendees, including legislative representatives, community partners, and industry leaders participated in the event.

“We all know that I’m the head cheerleader for the school, so this year we’ve asked our partners to tell what we are doing in the community,” Hall said.

Bob Nardo agreed, highlighting Southwest's importance to the Frayser community – specifically the significance of the Elbert T. Gill Jr. Center where Southwest has provided educational opportunities since 1983. Nardo is the founder and executive director of the Libertas School of Memphis, a public charter school in the heart of Frayser, serving nearly 500 students from pre-K to sixth grade. The charter school recently purchased the Gill Center, which will open in the fall of 2025 as Libertas’ new middle school.

“The Gill Center was created to give the Frayser community opportunity. Growth is what we should be held accountable for,” Nardo said, pointing to opportunities the community will continue to have. “Value and mission don’t change.”

Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW) is a longtime partner of Southwest and is essential for building future staff, according to Interim Human Resource Director Angela R. Hewlett. MLGW is the largest three-service municipal utility in the U.S. with more than 2,500 employees.

“We turned to Southwest to help address a skills gap,” Hewlett said. The result was the creation of Summer Boot Camps for local high school students, giving them hands-on training for utility and line work, automotive technology, and soon, customer service.

Mark Yates, regional vice president for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), pointed to the Do Good Here Project which includes the Southwest Workforce Solutions Center as an option to obtain valuable skills to enter and enhance the workforce. The Do Good Here Project is TVA’s internal employee growth program. He said Southwest is essential in developing a workforce for both TVA and MLGW as Blue Oval City nears competition.

John Threadgill, Bartlett Chamber of Commerce CEO, reached out to Southwest in 2009 to assist in developing a hiring template and connecting MLGW and TVA with a large employer focused on energy efficiency. The result was the formation of Team Green Zone, a local network of Energy Solutions Providers that work together to inform and serve the community to reduce energy usage and costs.

Rep. Mark White, chairman of the House of Education Administration Committee, echoed the sentiments of previous speakers: “We got to have you (Southwest). What you do is so important in the community. The state is so focused on workforce education and Southwest is critical.”