Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon featured Texas State Technical College Foundation. TSTC is a state wide college with 10 campuses and a wide range of programs and degrees. They work closely with local business to tailor their programs to produce graduates who can fill jobs locally.
Andy Weaver, Provost of Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood and Sweetwater, spoke about the recently enacted changes to the funding structure at TSTC and how it has changed their outlook. He said that “our job is to put skilled graduates to work” and that their funding now better reflects this mission. He explained that TSTC doesn’t get funded to “put butts in seats” and that they receive funding based on the number of graduates who go on to get high-paying jobs. Teachers and programs at TSTC are focused on helping graduates get to those high-paying jobs.
Cindy Burnett, TSTC’s Executive director of Workforce Training and Continuing Education spoke about the expansion of the Professional Driving Academy to Brownwood to meet the increased demand for CDL drivers both locally and across the state. She also spoke about working with Hendrick Medical Center to expand their coding and medical billing program. And meeting with other local industries to discuss how to meet their employee needs.
Brandon Thomas, Senior Field Development Officer, discussed the local impact of TSTC programs for students and families. He said that many of TSTC’s students are the 1st of their families to pursue higher education, that they come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and many are currently struggling. TSTC has an ‘Ark Food Pantry’ that services these students as well as guidance counselors who pursue grants and scholarships on their behalf. The TSTC foundation supports all 10 campuses across the state and provides an innovative source of funding to support TSTC staff, faculty, operations, and students and accepts donations from private and corporate sources. For more information visit https://www.tstc.edu/give/.
Special shout out to our very own Raquel Mata. She is Provost at Brownwood and serves as an ambassador at the chamber. She an amazing friend and volunteer in our community.
For more information about enrolling at Brownwood email Rebecca Hargus, Workforce Training and Continuing Education enrollment communications specialist at rebecca.hargus@tstc.edu. or visit https://www.tstc.edu/apply/
We also had a few words from Nancy Byler, President of the Brown County Retired Employees Association. Nancy urges all to vote yes on Prop 9. She explained that teachers who retired from 2004 to now have never seen a cost of living adjustment for their retirements and Prop 9 would be the 1st pension increase for our retired teachers in over 19 years.
Our October Monthly Luncheon is Presented by AccelHealth. AccelHealth has a brand new Brownwood facility at 2100 Crockett and serves the medical and dental needs of Brown, Erath, and Comanche County. They are a federally qualified health care provider and also help our under insured population.
Aces Wild, Presented by Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood, is up to over $4000 this month. Tim Espinoza of Texas Bank had a chance to draw and got a Jack, winning just $20. Join us next month and maybe you could win the jackpot!
Supporting Sponsor is Performance Pipe.
Door Prize Sponsors are AccelHealth, Brownwood Lyric Theatre, Davis Floral Co, Western Bank & State Farm Insurance-Mike Hall Agency, Vanity Tan, and the TSTC Foundation.
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