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Speaker: Grants to two Newport firms helped retain about 300 jobs; Innovation Center showcases workforce training
Summary
An unidentified speaker said grants to two businesses damaged by Helene kept just over 300 jobs in Newport, Tennessee, and highlighted an Innovation Center program that brings sixth- through eighth-grade students through hands-on STEM and industry rotations to build a local workforce pipeline.
An unidentified speaker in Newport, Tennessee, announced that grants made earlier that day to two companies damaged by the storm Helene helped keep those businesses in the area and retained "about 300" jobs.
The speaker said the companies "could have left the state" after the storm but "they chose to stay," and that the grants supported reinvestment that preserved "just over 300 jobs right here in Newport." "It's a big deal," the speaker added, describing the announcements as a day to celebrate.
The visit also included a stop at the local Innovation Center, which the speaker said benefited from the governor's innovation school program that allowed the district to buy equipment. The speaker described a program bringing sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students to the center daily to rotate through exposure to agriculture, medical careers, career and technical education (CTE), STEM and other industries so students "are trained, aware, skilled" before entering high school.
The speaker framed those education efforts as part of broader workforce development, saying the afternoon would be spent touring industrial sites in Cobb County to view private-sector reinvestment opportunities. The speaker credited "Governor Lee's leadership and our General Assembly's leadership around rural, economic development" for enabling the local initiatives.
The announcement did not include the names of the grant recipients or the dollar amounts awarded. The speaker characterized the day as an example of economic activity in rural Tennessee and emphasized the goal of keeping jobs and building a pipeline of skilled workers through early exposure to industry and STEM opportunities.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the remarks; details on grant terms, funding sources, or next administrative steps were not specified by the speaker.
