Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 3-22-16 Edition

Local
CDC Of Tampa, Inc. Graduates First Class From Tampa Vocational Institute
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
6-Week of Classes led to jobs
On March 1, 2016, the Cor- poration to Develop Commu- nities of Tampa, Inc. (CDC) held a celebration to recognize the first class that graduated from its Tampa Vocational In- stitute (TVI) Green Construc- tion Class.
For 6 weeks, 7 students at- tended classes, where they not only studied hands-on, but ac- ademic and other soft skills, stated Ernest Coney, Jr., Chief Executive Officer.
The classes were held in partnership with University Area Community Develop- ment Corporation (UACDC), who offered scholarships for 6 of the students in the Univer- sity Area to attend CDC’s TVY. The classes were also held at UACDC and Walter Smith, Jr., is the TVI Construction Instructor.
One of the accomplishments
of the class that Coney is most proud of is that the graduates earned stackable certification, meaning they are certified for OSHA, national construction certification, operating forklift and other equipment.
Once the students complete the course work, they transi- tion into working on soft skills job training at CDC of Tampa, who also worked with the stu- dents on job placement. Two of the students have been hired by Saunders Construc- tion.
Additional partners for the hands-on experience and training were Habitat for Hu- manities of Hillsborough County Florida and the Mu- seum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Coney said he expects to start new 6-week classes every week. Other than the UACDC, other partners are: Work- Force, Hillsborough County, City of Tampa, and other non- profit low income communi-
From left to right are: Walter Smith, Jr., TVI Construction Instructor; Joel Garcia, Charlos Cifuentes, Evangeline Best, CDC Board Vice Chairwoman, Rashaan Pierre, Christopher Mahone, Ernest Coney, Jr., ties. CDC of Tampa President/CEO; and kneeling, David Jones, Career Resource Center Manager and Willie
Marshall.
Health Forum Targets Men And Women
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
For more than a year, or- ganizers of The Men’s Group have hosted health forums. While the title of the organi- zation may be misleading, the forum is free to the public and targets both men and women.
The next Health Forum is set to take place on Friday, March 25th. It will begin at 11 a.m., and will be held at the College Hill Church Of God In Christ, 6414 N. 30th Street, where Superintendent Charles Davis is the pastor.
Each month, the organizers invite health professionals and those working organiza- tions related to health care as guest speakers. The speakers have ranged from dietitians to professionals practicing holis- tic health.
This month, the guest speaker is Bankers Life Insur- ance Executive, Angela Birdsong. Her topic will be various types of insurance.
Ms. Birdsong moved to Tampa in 1989, and currently serves as a Board member of the Sickle Cell Awareness Foundation. She is the Chair- man of the Board, West Coast
MS. ANGELA BIRDSONG
AIDS Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Com- mittee for Heartbeat Interna- tional.
Ms. Birdsong joined the company in 2014 and is a reg- istered agent in the State of Florida. She earned her Asso- ciate’s Degree from Funeral Service Commonwealth Insti- tute and her Bachelor of Sci- ence Degree from TV & Radio Ithaca College.
The forum is open to the public, and men and women are encouraged to attend. For additional information about the forum contact, Chester White, at (813) 237-6061, or Coach Billy Reed, at (813) 744-4923.
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