Saturday, June 2, 2012

Welcome! ....to the Tennessee Technology Center.

Bare with me for a moment, the initial segment to this post has to do with Dickson County….
Now, as many of you have asked me before – why are you sharing news from other counties? Well, the simple answer is that I have several Tennessee counties of comparable size, close proximity and others that I keep up with just to learn what is going on in other counties. I like to think that it assists me with what we can do here in Robertson County so as to be the best for our citizens.
Sometimes, as it is with this story out of Dickson County, it coincidentally ratifies just what we are doing here in Robertson County.

This is one of those “heart-warming,” “feel-good” stories about a young lady who was compelled to drop out of high school – being pregnant and inevitably in an abusive relationship. She seemed to have no options to further her education, she enrolled in the Tennessee Technology Center at Dickson. In her words –
“The Tennessee Technology Center has put me on the path to a career that I have always dreamed of,” Taylor-Thompson said. “The skills and knowledge I've learned will allow me to be a safe and efficient nurse, and has also given me job security and will allow me to help support my family - and that means so much to me.”
So, back to the original question – just what does this have to do with Robertson County? Well, just this past month, in a effort brought by the RedI arm of the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce, the Robertson County Commission passed a resolution to pave the way for having our own campus for the Tennessee Technology Center.
WHEREAS, Robertson County, Tennessee is the owner of a certain building and lot located on 7th Avenue West in Springfield, Tennessee, being the former site of the Robertson County Board of Education Alternative School; and
WHEREAS, the Alternative School has been moved from this location, the building is currently vacant, and the County Building and Grounds Committee has approved the lease of this property to the Tennessee Board of Regents for the purpose of operating a satellite campus for the Tennessee Technology Center; and
You can find the entirety of the resolution here. Summarily, this resolution authorizes the leasing of the property/building where the Alternative School was previously located to the Tennessee Technology Center. With state funding – and what I think is an interesting part of the process – students from the Tennessee Technology Center will completely renovate the building. This lease and renovation will bring a satellite campus of the Tennessee Technology Center to Robertson County.
What exciting news for Robertson County!
Why is it exciting? Well, initially, once it is ready for enrollment, the campus will offer several programs in the fields of nursing (LPN certificates), information technology and cosmetology. Here is a link to the Tennessee Technology Center at Nashville for more information of what they are all about.

The Director of the Tennessee Technology Center at Nashville, Mark Lenze, spoke at the May Regular Meeting. He shared with us just how excited he was with the effort, and what it would mean for Robertson County. What caught my ear was just how many of the students who attend the Nashville campus are Robertson County residents – now those students will be able to attend courses closer to home.
It will be a positive for our local businesses – Mark Lenz also shared that the LPN program will have apprenticeship opportunities with employers such as NHC Healthcare of Springfield.
This effort is nothing but positive from each and every angle you evaluate it – Robertson County citizens will certainly look forward to welcoming the Technology Center to our county.
I was proud to be a small part of this effort, and will look forward to watching the dividends unfold for our Robertson County. – many, many thanks to REdI, and the Robertson County Commission Building and Grounds Committee for working towards moving this project forward.

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