Motorists coming into Columbia from Mississippi 13 North will have a distinct welcome sign to greet them thanks to the collaboration of several local entities.
The new sign was a project of the 2017 Leadership Marion County Class, which in turn involved students at the Marion County Carl Loftin Career and Technical Center. The students presented designs to the class, which were in turn voted on by members of the public both online and in person, beginning with last October’s Heritage Festival.
“It meant a lot when I saw some of their faces,” Jan Sears, director of the career center said. “Many of them had not seen it since it had been placed along the side of the road and mounted. It looks super great.”
Chris Pigott, whose students helped design the sign, said the project was fun to take on.
“For the engineering and the welding department it was really good for them to see that it takes a long time to make a project come together. It takes a lot of short-term goals to accomplish those goals to lead to the long-term goal. It’s very difficult for students to see the short-term coming together with the long-term. It’s really good for our students and our technical student association to work on these long-term goals and can reap the benefits of projects like this.”
Mayor Justin McKenzie was part of the Leadership Marion County class that instigated the project.
“It’s great to see the new addition to our entrance into town,” he said. “From the mayor’s stance, it’s just small part of many things to come for Columbia and we hope improvements over the next four years. It would be great to see this and many other improvements over the coming years. As a part of the leadership course, it was truly a group effort. A lot of time and thought went into this. It really good being able to work with the school and being able to bring the students in on it.”
Leadership Marion County Class of 2017 Participants included: Sabrina Pope, State Bank & Trust; Alene Varnado, Citizens Bank; Percynthia Newsome, Marion County Schools; Andrea Porter, City of Columbia; Sharon James, Care At Residence Services (CARS); Lisa White, Columbia School District; Chris Smith, Citizens Bank; Brock White, Dungan Engineering; Ryan Stringer, Marion County Schools; Monica Watts, NASA; Dalton Miller, Looks Great Services; Peggy Gates, Marion County Chancery Clerk’s Office; Erik LaVine, Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association; Candis Mingo, Crown Health Care Laundry and Justin McKenzie, City of Columbia.
Pictured Above: Surrounded by Leadership Marion County class members, city officials and students from the Marion County Carl Loftin Career and Technology Center, Mayor Justin McKenzie cuts the ribbon for the new welcome sign on Mississippi 13 North. | Photo by Mark Rogers
