Category: Press Release

ELLISVILLE – Jones College’s Office of Student Affairs will be hosting its annual Black History Leadership program on Tuesday, February 12, at 10 a.m. in the JC Fine Arts Auditorium.  The public is invited to attend this free event to hear featured guest speaker and COO of the Mississippi Economic Council, Cathy Northington. She will speak on this year’s event theme, “Leading to Make a Difference.”

“I believe Cathy is a perfect example of taking challenges and adversity in life and turning them into something positive. Everyone needs to be reminded of the gifts, skills and talents that they’ve been blessed with and to use them to help others around them. Leaders like Cathy are definitely making a difference in our communities and I thought that her story and experience would be a great reminder for our campus community,” said coordinator of the event and Jones College’s assistant to the president for corporate training, Dr. Samuel Jones.

Before being named the Chief Operating Officer for the state’s largest broad-based business organization, Northington served the MEC as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. She began at the MEC more than fifteen years ago as a part-time employee and has continued to work her way up by managing a variety of key projects and programs. Since 2007, she has directed the nations’ second-oldest leadership program, Leadership Mississippi. Northington and her team also manage the MEC’s three major meetings: The MEC Annual Meeting, the MEC Hobnob Mississippi and the MEC Capital Day, which hosts more than 1,500 business and community leaders, and elected officials.

The Jackson native studied marketing at Mississippi College and is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management, an intensive four-year nonprofit leadership training program conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at the University of Georgia. Northington also enjoys giving back to the community through her volunteer work as a member of the Junior League of Jackson, United Way of the Capital Area and American Heart Association’s Circle of Red. A mother of three, Northington is also a member of the Madison Ridgeland Rotary Club and a board member of the R.E.A.L. Christian Foundation.

Some of the honors Northington has received include being chosen as the Our Mississippi Magazine 2018’s Business Women of the Year, the Women’s Fund 2018 Business Woman of the Year, the 2017 Young Gifted and Empowered Leader of the Year, Savvy Magazine’s 2016 Leader of the Year, a 2012 recipient of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 award, and she was a member of the Mississippi Business Journal’s 50 Leading Business Women in Mississippi for 2014.

ELLISVILLE – Jones College’s Workforce College is offering a welding day class at the Whitehead Advanced Technology Center in Ellisville in January. The course will meet Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., beginning Monday, January 22, 2019, through Friday, March 29, 2019.

This 8-week welding class will cover welding safety, Oxyfuel cutting, basic metal preparation, weld quality, SMAW (stick welding), steel prep and basic fabrication. A workforce certificate will be issued to successful students upon completion of the course.  The cost of the class is $350.  Students are responsible for their own personal protective equipment. Financial assistance may be available to qualified students.

To register and pay for the welding class please come to the Whitehead Advanced Technology Center or call 601-477-4114 to register and to pay for the cost of the class with a credit card.

 

ELLISVILLE – The Culinary Arts department at Jones College is welcoming the President and Publisher of the magazine, Louisiana Kitchen & Culture, Susan Ford to campus to share her new holiday recipes on Tuesday, October 30. The event, “A Louisiana Holiday Lunch & Learn” will feature the New Orleans resident’s recipes in the upcoming holiday edition of her magazine in the Culinary Arts Dining Room located in the Information Technology Building at Jones College. The 1986 Jones alumna and Laurel native will discuss how the recipes are developed as the meal, prepared by 21 students in the culinary arts program supervised by Chef Micah Gatlin, will be served to a limited number of guests.

The menu includes smoked duck and andouille sausage gumbo, a holiday salad, Steen’s cane syrup glazed pork chop with apple demi-glace, potato and parsnip puree, roasted asparagus, Boston cream pie, ginger crackle cookies and more.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for my students to network with Susan Ford before and after the Lunch & Learn,” said Chef Micah Gatlin.  “It’s all about introducing them to a variety of career options such as working for various magazines that employ chefs in test kitchens.  It also helps students learn more about the contributions from chefs in our region.”

The cost of this special Lunch & Learn, which begins at 11:45 a.m., is $30. To make reservations for, “A Louisiana Holiday Lunch & Learn,” call 601-477-4206 and for more information about the menu or event, call Chef Micah at 601-477-4209.

Susan Ford was born in Laurel and then moved to Pascagoula when her father took a job at Ingalls Shipyard in 1969. The East Central High School graduate came to Jones in 1984.  She graduated with an associate’s degree in business and transferred to USM on a full academic scholarship. While at USM, she changed her major to journalism with a public relations emphasis, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and a minor in business.

She started her publishing career in 1990 when she went to work for a commercial real estate magazine in Novato, California.  While there, she was on the “launch team” for numerous magazines, websites and email newsletters, in both the high-tech and lifestyle categories.

After Hurricane Katrina, she left the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to New Orleans to bring her publishing expertise to Louisiana in 2007, as a consultant with Louisiana Cookin’ magazine. Becoming immersed in the Louisiana seafood, travel, tourism, hospitality, and culinary industries inspired her to form the business, Our Kitchen & Culture, LLC. In 2011, Ford launched “Louisiana Recipes,” a free, weekly email newsletter with more than 37,000 subscribers, and companion website, louisiana.kitchenandculture.com before her own magazine debuted in April 2012.  The magazine is published six times a year and has paid subscribers in 50 states and several foreign countries.  It is available nationally through North America’s largest newsstand distributor.

She has served on the membership committee of the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association since 2008, and she served a year as the first Associate Board Member of that association. Ford served two years as the chairman of the Louisiana Travel Political Action Committee and currently remains a board member. Ford has close ties to Louisiana’s most influential chefs, restaurateurs, and tourism professionals.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for their talents, and the perfectionist attention to detail they devote to their craft. I’ve made some great friends, I’ve learned a lot, and I look forward to continuing to create a magazine that celebrates the unique culinary culture, heritage, and cuisine of Louisiana,” said Ford.

 

ELLISVILLE – Plans are underway to make Homecoming at Jones College a special event.  The weekend of activities will incorporate the Homecoming theme, “Inspiring Bobcats through the Ages” beginning with the student Homecoming pep rally on Thursday, October 18 at 7 p.m. at the Lake.  The “glow pep rally” is sponsored by the Student Government Association and will provide glow-necklaces and glow-sticks for everyone in attendance. This event will be canceled if there is inclement weather.

 On Friday, October 19, the Homecoming festivities begin at 5 p.m. with a Legacy Tree Dedication Ceremony on the Jones Hall Plaza. Four Jones College alumni will be added to the “Legacy Circle of Honor,” which consists of a circle of live oak trees created in 2016 to honor the significant contributions of alumni. This year, the Honorable Judge Charles Pickering of Hebron will be honored and in memory, the lives of Harry Bush of Laurel, Julius “Judy” King of Heidelberg and Laurel, and Vic West of Wayne County and Laurel will be recognized for their dedication and service to Jones and their communities. A reception will follow this ceremony in the Tullos Suite of Jones Hall.

At 5:30 p.m., a State Historical Marker will be revealed on campus honoring the 1955 football team that played in the Jr. Rose Bowl. Following this event, the JCJC 1955 Class Reunion Dinner begins at 6 p.m. at the President’s Home.

 The 50-year Reunion Dinner honoring the JCJC Class of 1968 will gather in the C.L. Neill Student Center at 6 p.m.   Additionally, the 1983 and 1998 Football Team Reunion Dinner will meet in the C.L. Neill Student Center at 6 p.m.

Homecoming Day, Saturday, October 20, is slated with numerous activities for a day of fun for all ages. Events will begin at 9 a.m. with a brunch for alumni and friends at the Terrell Tisdale Library.  Members of the Ellisville High School Reunion for the 1960-1965 classes are invited to register during the brunch.

At 10 a.m. the JCJC Homecoming Parade will wind through the streets of Ellisville and the campus. The parade will feature floats made by the student body incorporating the theme, as well as the Maroon Typhoon Marching Band, JCJC cheerleaders, Touch of Gold, and of course, the 2018 Homecoming Queen and her court.  Parade Marshals are the 2018 NJCAA Division 2 National Championship Softball Team, led by their coaches, Chris Robinson and Bob Herrington.

At 10:45 a.m. the public is also invited to join the Jones family for a pep rally following the parade in front of the C.L. Neill Student Center.   At 11:30 a.m. the JCJC Alumni Luncheon will be held in the A.B. Howard Gymnasium.  During this luncheon, three JCJC alumni, Dennis Bohannon of Laurel, Paul Culliver of Raleigh and Clyde Dease, Jr., originally from Taylorsville and currently living in Picayune, will be honored.  Reservations for the luncheon can be made through the Alumni and Foundation Office at 601-477-4145 or by emailing, jcjcalumniinfo@jcjc.edu.

Before the game, the Ellisville High School Reunion Classes of 1960 through 1965 will meet “Tailgating under the Tents” at the Sim Cooley Football Field, near the Tennis Complex beginning at 11:30.  The cost is $10 per person with a reservation deadline of October 10, by calling 601-477-4049.

The Homecoming pre-game festivities will begin at 1:30 p.m. with the marching band’s pre-game show on the Sim Cooley Football Field at Bobcat Stadium. The game against Co-Lin Community College will begin at 2 p.m.

At halftime, the Homecoming Court will be presented with the crowning of the 2018 Homecoming Queen, Haley Smith. Also during halftime, the JCJC and the Ellisville High School honored classes, and the 2018 Honor Alumni will be recognized.  The festivities will end with a performance by the Maroon Typhoon and Touch of Gold. For more information call the Foundation and Alumni Office at 477-4049 or email jcjcalumniinfo@jcjc.edu.