2022 Business Partners of the Year
What does it take to bridge the gap between education & employment? The answer to successful students, prosperous businesses, and thriving communities is relationships. It is through our relationships with schools, businesses, and communities that we are able to all work together to inspire career choice for our kids.
At the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner and then at our Education After Hours, both in March, we recognized nine amazing businesses that bring community and career connected learning to life. These professionals, business owners, educators, and advocates are involved in our programs, our events, our learning labs, and our Network. They are our 2022 Business Partners of the Year. Thank you to all of the organizations and individuals who are investing in the future of our youth in Washington County and Appalachia.
Our Career Mentor Partner of the Year is Marietta College. Their Office of Community Engagement has been integral in making our annual county-wide college field trip happen for our middle school students and their mentors.
Our Job Shadowing Partner of the Year is Colegate Woods Veterinary Hospital. They are always willing to host students who are interested in pursuing a career in veterinary sciences. They always find time to work with students and provide hands-on experiential learning that creates a lasting impact on each student that they connect with.
Our Internship Partner of the Year is Appalachian Children Coalition. While they are still a relatively new organization in the region, they are working to strongly impact the workforce around youth behavioral health. They recognize the importance of inspiring high school students interested in this career pathway and have partnered to help us provide paid high school internships in this field.
Our Discover Days Partner of the Year is Perry & Associates. They not only became a Foundation Partner to ensure that BB2C could offer our new Discover Accounting Day, they led the way in developing what the day would look like and they hosted it as well. Students were able to truly experience accounting in a comprehensive way.
Our Family Career Awareness Day Partner of the Year is Southeast Ohio Port Authority. Their sponsorship of this event helped bring it back in-person after being virtual for two years. This is an event that requires numerous businesses to share time, talent, and treasure to make it happen for our middle and high school students and their families.
Our Real World Problem Scenario Partner of the Year is Micro Machine Works. Linn Yost always says yes to any educator, any class, and any school district who is interested in partnering to help bridge the gap between education and employment by bringing businesses into the classroom and letting students solve real business problems.
Our Makerspace Partner of the Year is AT&T. AT&T funded the launch of our STEM-2-Go Labs; helping mobilize Makerspace activities to help schools in Appalachia overcome barriers that would otherwise prohibit them from participating in the enriching STEM opportunities our Makerspace offers.
Our Small Business Incubator Partner of the Year is The Gateway Harmar, LLC. This brand-new business is being launched by Heather McCarter. She has been an amazing partner with us due to her diligence and coachability in developing a business plan for a new business venture in the Harmar Community
Our BB2C Network Partner of the Year is Highland County Workforce Leadership Council. They worked with BB2C to develop community & career connected learning in their community by bringing their schools, businesses, and community together. They have made great strides and we welcome them to our Network of community & career connected learning organizations.