(MARSHALL) –The Texas State Technical College Foundation is solidifying a relationship with the Greater Marshall Chamber of Commerce by serving as a dinner sponsor for the organization’s annual banquet.

The event, with the theme “There’s No Place Like Home,” will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, at the Marshall Convention Center on East End Boulevard South in Marshall. Chamber leaders will announce the Citizen of the Year and Ambassador of the Year and celebrate the work and progress of businesses in Harrison County.

TSTC in Marshall Provost Barton Day is the chamber’s chair-elect of the Board of Directors for 2018, and Jessica Ford, a field development officer for The TSTC Foundation, is a chamber ambassador. TSTC is a chamber member.

“The chamber is here to enlist the help of industries, retail and wholesale businesses, even our professional services and citizens, to make sure we all play a part as stakeholders in the economic development of our community and Harrison County,” said Stormy Nickerson, the chamber’s executive director.

Nickerson has personal experience with TSTC. One of her sons is a Biomedical Equipment Technology graduate and another son is scheduled to graduate in the same program this spring. Her husband, Brian Nickerson, is an instructor in the technical college’s Electrical Lineworker Technology program.

“TSTC is in the market of placing individuals for quality employment after they graduate,” Nickerson said. “We appreciate elements of their programs, like the Money-Back Guarantee. They are making a bold and brave statement to train people to move forward in the work environment. We need all the relationships with higher education. It’s vital we have the jobs to boost our industrial community, and TSTC helps us get there.”

Lewis Engineering Co. on East Houston Street in Marshall is an active chamber member. Adam Hopkins, the firm’s quality manager, graduated in 2011 from TSTC with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Aided Drafting and Design.

Hopkins, 28, a Marshall native and graduate of Texas Early College High School, said he has been fortunate to be able to stay close to family throughout his career.

“I think it’s awesome to have a technical college here that offers those skills that are in demand here in the region,” Hopkins said.