2019-2020 President's Report

Inaugural WarriorFest ECCC hosted its inaugural WarriorFest in April 2016 with more than 500 people attending the family friendly event held on the north end of campus near the Pavilion and Lake area. Activities included a Hot Air Balloon Glow, 5-K Nite-Glow Run/Walk, KidZone and a fireworks show. 5 Finger Discount out of New Orleans, La., the feature band, played throughout the evening. A Golf Ball Drop fundraiser was also held, and a Festival Food Court served carnival style food. All proceeds benefited the ECCC Alumni Association. Special Needs Prom ECCC’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, the international honor society for two-year colleges, hosted the first of what would become an annual prom for special needs students in the five-county district in November 2016.

equivalency classes, workforce training opportunities, and evening for-credit academic courses are among the uses for the center. GenCyber Program Grant ECCC was awarded a $74,646 grant from the National Security Agency and National Science Foundation to offer free GenCyber Camps for girls in summer

2019 in

locations throughout the college’s five county district.

The free camps for girls entering grades three through five were designed to get

more females interested in careers in the computer science industry. Each camp provided hands-on learning activities that allowed participants to learn cybersecurity vulnerabilities, cybercrime, and how attention to safe online behavior is crucial to their personal safety. EC Cares for our Community ECCC held its first EC Cares for our Community Day in March 2019 as faculty, staff, and students spread out across the college’s five-county district to perform community service. More than a dozen locations were served and activities included cleaning and organizing, painting, landscaping, carpentry, shelving books, office work, and playing games and interacting with nursing home residents, among other requested tasks. The idea for the annual day of service originated among members of the college’s Administration, Faculty, and Staff Association. All those participating received EC Cares T-shirts.

The prom has been held in the

Mabry Cafeteria and at Pierce Castle in Decatur and features a meal, dancing, and party favors.

ECCC students serve as dates for the participants. PTK members raise the money to stage the prom through various fundraisers and the help of area businesses that purchase sponsorships. Students and individuals throughout the community donate prom dresses. Forest Career Advancement Center ECCC opened its Forest Career Advancement Center in fall 2017. The college leases a building in Forest thanks to federal grant monies provided through the Mississippi Community College Board’s Office of Adult Education. The Forest Center gives the college a presence in all five counties it serves. High school

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