Tuesday evening, 100+ Women Who Care Columbus announced its second Impact Award, with 14 organizations vying for the $13,900 prize.
The group was founded in May, based on a simple idea: Bring 100 or more local women together who will pledge $100 twice a year to support an organization that serves people in Lowness County.
Tuesday, the FORGE Foundation was selected from among three randomly selected finalists by a vote of the 100+ Women who gathered at the Courtyard by Marriott.
The FORGE Foundation (Family Organizations Recruiting Great Employees) will use the money for its efforts to revive interest in long-neglected area — recruiting and training young people for work in the trades and construction industry.
Now a little more than two years old, the organization was founded for a very practical purpose.
“We couldn’t find employees who had the basic skills we needed,” said Katie McCrary, who owns McCrary-West Construction with her husband, Lu.
The McCrarys realized it was a common complaint in their industry. With so much attention devoted to advanced skills needed by area industry, grooming workers for the construction business seemed to have been left out of the equation.
“We’re comprised of eight locally-owned businesses who came together to bridge the skills trade gap and help kids find paths to (East Mississippi Community College) programs or employment,” McCrary said.
FORGE provides workshops, including a Soft Skills University, as well as scholarships for training programs and assistance with costs associated with certification.
The need for such basic training was driven home to the McCrarys soon after they hired a 22-year-old.
“He was very respectful, a great kid,” McCrary said. “But when he showed up for work the first day, my husband asked him to bring him a crescent wrench. He had no idea what that was. Our 7-year-old son had to show him.”
The lack of basic skills is not just important to those in the construction and trades business, it’s important to everyone.
“We all like to be able to turn our lights on or flush our toilet,” McCrary said. “That’s pretty important.”
FORGE was presented with $13,900, and the total will likely increase as the $100 pledges continue to come in.
“It’s a wonderful thing for us,” McCrary said.
The two other finalists — Lowndes County 4-H and Life Choices Pregnancy Care — received $500 each and will be eligible for the next Impact Award, which will be presented March 24. The other nominees, along with any new organizations nominated by membership before Feb. 24, will also be eligible for the award.
Beth Imes, the group’s co-founder and mother of Dispatch publisher Peter Imes, noted that interest in the group is still growing.
“I think we’ve added about 10 new members tonight,” she said. “So that means we’re up to about 180 members. We’re very excited about that.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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