The Pike County Chamber of Commerce presented its Oliver Emmerich Community Service Award to Jim Alford during its annual banquet Thursday, although the award winner said his community-minded wife Libba might be upstaging him in qualifications.
Gary Felder of McComb presented the Emmerich award to Alford.
Felder said Alford was a great choice for this award, which is named after the late Enterprise-Journal publisher — “a highly principled man who stood behind his word.”
He explained that Jim Alford also is that type of man.
“He believes in this community,” Felder said of Alford. “He is a community servant in many ways and has served in many areas over the years, including as a chamber president and working with Boy Scouts. He was the chairman of the Pike County Economic Development Foundation.”
“I am truly honored,” Alford said. “I think it’s funny how my wife, Libba, who isn’t from here, is more well known than me, the guy that was born and raised here. Thank you for this award.”
Chamber Director Catherine Sanders presented the Ambassador of the Year Award to Laiha Pevey, explaining the point system they use to choose the recipient.
“The ambassadors are the face of our chamber,” Sanders said. “They work to connect with our members, they show up at ribbon cuttings, they host events and they make phone calls to members in an effort to reach out to them and let them know we care about their business. They earn points when they participate.”
Pevey, who works for McComb Coca-Cola Bottling Co., also was the chamber’s Ambassador of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2015.
The banquet was held at the Workforce Training Center at Southwest Mississippi Community College — a fitting venue, given that incoming chamber president Wendy Smith is the director of the center.
During the night’s presentations Smith issued a request to Pike County businesses to become involved with training offered at the center.
Keynote speaker Patrick Sullivan, president of the Mississippi Energy Institute, reiterated her request.
“The way I got to know Wendy was when I was talking to people about workforce. I was asking leaders in our community, ‘What are the skills that are needed by the businesses in your community? What are the skills needed for prospective businesses? What are the demands in your area?’ ” Sullivan told the audience of about 200 people.
“My message is that there is tremendous untapped potential in the people of Mississippi,” he said.
Smith said in her speech that she wants to offer workfroce training and education to local people nd businesses.
“Education is my platform. I have always been about education, because without an educated workforce, industry and businesses will not come here,” she said. “This is a great initiative. My policy is getting people to work. We are looking for businesses in this area who will provide internships, on-the-job training or shadowing.”
Sullivan gave a presentation about a statewide Mississippi community college initiative called On the Grid, a source for those interested in getting a GED and training for a career in the medical field, business technologies, the oil fields, electrical and construction and other areas. All of such training is offered at places like SMCC’s Workforce Training Center.
“It’s going to be worth it to you who are business owners to get involved in this initiative with us,” he said. “I think Pike County would be talked about all over the state and so I hope you will be successful in your effort.”
The workforce training initiatives are funded by a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant that supplies funding to areas of the U.S. that have a high rate of poverty and perceived obstacles to education and training.
“We are looking for individuals in high school, those who do not have a GED and those that do but do not have certification in a field of training who want to go to work,” Smith said.
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For more information about the center, call 276-3720.
