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The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission met on May 18 in Abingdon. The commission approved 11 funding requests for education programs that will support workforce development efforts across Southern and Southwest Virginia. Among the approved projects were one at Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC) and another at Wytheville Community College (WCC).
With its 2021-2022 Workforce Financial Aid awards, the commission supported programs that helped 1,268 students gain education and credentials in high demand fields. The awards approved at this meeting are a continuation of the commission’s long-term support of these programs. The commission also approved extensions and modifications for a variety of projects and adopted a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Tobacco Commission Chairman, Sen. Frank Ruff, said, “As always, I am proud of the work the commission has done here in Abingdon. The commission has been a supporter of education, and in particular our community college system, for its entire existence. That support has continued here with the approval of a number of grant awards that will ensure students in Southern and Southwest Virginia have access to top quality programs. A well educated workforce, with the skills and credentials employers are looking for, is critical to the Commission’s job creation efforts. The commission’s investment in education is an investment in the future of our region. By ensuring that our students have access to the education and training they need, we are creating a more skilled workforce that is better prepared to compete in the global economy.”
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Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade and Tobacco Commission Acting Executive Director James E. Campos said, “Education is critical to growing a successful economy and the programs the commission will support through the grants approved here in Abingdon will provide opportunities for hundreds of students. In my short time with the commission so far I have talked to many of our partners and stakeholders, visited a number of commission funded projects and learned more about the impact the commission has had on Southern and Southwest Virginia over the last 20 plus years. I couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds for the commission and, more importantly, the role the commission can play in being a catalyst for growth in Southern and Southwest Virginia.”
Among the projects approved by the commission was a $240,000 grant for VHCC to support an programs in Administration of Justice, Law Enforcement Career Pathway: Education, and Educational Specialization in Teacher Prep.
Another $240,000 grant was awarded to WCC for its Forging Futures Scholarship Program to support programs in Education, Law Enforcement Career Pathway: Administration of Justice, and Corrections Science.
