HAMLET — The Richmond Community College Foundation has named Sen. Tom McInnis Citizen of the Year in recognition for his work to promote workforce training for rural North Carolina.

McInnis, a Republican in his third term representing District 25 which includes Richmond, Anson, Moore and Scotland counties, will be the honored guest at the Foundation’s annual gala on March 7.

“As a Richmond Community College alumnus and a lifelong resident of Richmond County, few honors have meant more to me than this one,” said McInnis. “It’s hard to overstate what our community college means for this entire region – the families it has touched, the lives it has transformed, the industries it has supported, and the quality of life it has sustained.”

McInnis started a scholarship at RCC for students studying to become public school teachers in North Carolina in honor of his parents, Woodrow and Mary McInnis. The senator has also secured funding for the 10-week trainings for truck drivers and electric linemen which earn students needed certifications to enter the workforce.

Since fall 2016, the truck driver program has graduated 50 truck drivers. The electric lineman program, which started last fall, has graduated three classes of students, with a fourth class graduating in December, according to RCC.

The next lineman class in January is already filled to the limit with 24 students.

McInnis also co-sponsored a bill last summer to expand dual enrollment to allow ninth and tenth-grade high school students to take college classes for free, earning transferable credits.

The dual enrollment program at RCC, known as Career and College Promise, currently has 625 juniors and seniors taking advantage of free college classes while in high school, according to RCC. In the 2017-18 academic year, Richmond and Scotland County families saved $960,716 by taking 12,641 credit hours in high school for free as part of the Career and College Promise and early college programs, the college said.

McInnis is the chairperson of the Senate Transportation Committee for Policy and Appropriations and also serves on the committees for Commerce and Insurance, State and Local Government, Agriculture, Environmental and Natural Resources, the Select committee for Prison Safety and Education and Higher Education.

For information about attending the Gala on March 7 at the Cole Auditorium where McInnis will be honored, contact Dr. Hal Shuler at (910) 410-1807 or email [email protected].

McInnis
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_McInnis-4.jpgMcInnis

File photo The Richmond Community College Foundation has named Sen. Tom McInnis Citizen of the Year.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_rccclock3_color-3.jpgFile photo The Richmond Community College Foundation has named Sen. Tom McInnis Citizen of the Year.

File photo The Richmond Community College Foundation has named Sen. Tom McInnis Citizen of the Year.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_RCCpic-3.jpgFile photo The Richmond Community College Foundation has named Sen. Tom McInnis Citizen of the Year.

File photo Senator Tom McInnis speaks on May 17, 2019 at Richmond Community College’s graduation ceremony for its second class of electric linemen.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_Electric_Lineman_2nd_graduation011-1-1-3.jpgFile photo Senator Tom McInnis speaks on May 17, 2019 at Richmond Community College’s graduation ceremony for its second class of electric linemen.

Staff Report