BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Marcie Hanson has dedicated 30 years to Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) in Martin County. As the Kiwanis Club guest speaker Thursday, she introduced a new JAG KY program to help young adults ages 18 to 24.
The Kiwanis Club meeting took place at Giovanni’s in Inez.
“Our program is one of the strongest in the state,” Hanson said of the Martin County High School JAG that she previously directed. “We’ve really impacted the youth in their employability skills and their leadership skills. Really that’s what I have always described JAG KY as—it’s a leadership program. We’re teaching students how to become great leaders out there in the world of work.”
Hanson, who retired from the school system, serves as JAG KY’s vice president of operations. When JAG KY wanted to expand its reach, she began working on securing grant funding last spring. By August, JAG KY’s new Out-of-School program was underway in four eastern Kentucky counties.
“This is brand-new to Kentucky,” Hanson said.
“We’re doing a great job with keeping our students who start the JAG program in school. But we are still seeing students who are dropping out of high school or who graduate from high school but don’t really have those skills that they need to be successful.”
JAG partnered with the Office of Adult Education and initiated the OOS program in Martin, Lawrence, Boyd and Greenup counties. The program employs two specialists.
“I almost hate to use the word ‘pilot,’” said Hanson. “It’s just the beginning; it’s not really a pilot. If it doesn’t go well, we’ll figure it out and what needs to be done so that we can get bigger and better every year. Our goal is to expand to have at least 10 programs in the next five years, so this is just the beginning for us. I can’t think of a better place to start than right here in my hometown—a place that I love and a place where I know the issues that we have. I know what it takes to be successful.”
Hanson introduced the JAG specialist for Martin and Lawrence counties, Jacob Bowling.
“He will be around to talk with you all. He will be working with our young adults ages 18 to 24,” explained Hanson.
“We help young adults turn adversity into advantage. …We are an all-encompassing program in the classroom, on the job and in the community. What we try to do is lift obstacles for young adults by uplifting neighborhoods, the economy and our country.”
Hanson mentioned that JAG’s 40-plus-year history shows that it works, and 3.6 million participants agree that it works.
JAG is a national program with over 1,400 locations in 39 states serving 1.5 million students.
In Kentucky, JAG is active in 79 high schools, 19 middle schools, six alternative schools and two OOS programs.
OOS focuses on providing young people with the necessary support to complete their education and acquire essential job skills. Participants receive assistance in overcoming various challenges, such as academic difficulties, personal issues and environmental factors, to ensure they can successfully transition into employment or further education.
The program emphasizes employability skills, leadership development and community involvement, preparing participants to become leaders in the workforce.
OOS offers individualized, tailored support and resources to help young adults succeed.
“We inspire, empower and prepare young adults 18 to 24 who are seeking a GED or high school diploma or who have graduated but need those extra skills to be successful,” Hanson said.
OOS can help with:
- Employability skills
- Individualized GED and job preparation in partnership with the Office of Adult Education
- Leadership development and competitive opportunities
- Career counseling and soft skills training
- Community, civic and social engagement
- Trauma-informed care
- Post-secondary education, credentialing and occupational support
The OOS program sees students through to the completion of their goals and follows up for 12 months afterward. During the follow-up period, specialists contact students twice a month to help them succeed in whatever they choose to do.
In Martin County, OOS’s main headquarters are beside Sugar Momma’s in the old Economic Development Office in Inez. The program is currently working in conjunction with Martin County Adult Education at the Collier Center, White Oak Hill and Serenity House. In Louisa, the program is located in the KEDC office.
In Boyd and Greenup counties, native Martin Countian Kyla Horn Preece serves as the OOS specialist.
“She is remarkable,” said Hanson, sharing a heartwarming story about Preece helping a young adult who was living out of his car. In another instance, Preece assisted a young woman who, like many other young people, lacked experience filing income tax papers.
Bowling spoke to the Kiwanians, saying he had fallen in love with the community in the past weeks. He identified some of the biggest obstacles that young adults face locally: poverty, limited educational opportunities and limited employment opportunities.
“There’s a big void,” Bowling said. “And people don’t have direction.”
The specialist has been recruiting participants.
“Getting them in and signing them up is important,” Bowling remarked. “And we’ve done really well with that.”
Currently, Martin and Lawrence counties have 31 participants, while Boyd and Greenup counties have 37.
Hanson mentioned that transportation is another obstacle, as in Boyd County, 60% of young adults ages 18 to 24 do not have a driver’s license.
“In Greenup County it is a massive problem,” added Hanson.
In the long run the benefit of choosing OOS is a better future.
“We want employers to hire our students,” Hanson said. “We have two national businesses [Cole’s Department Store and Archer Daniels Midland Wild Flavors] that work with our program.”
Students applying for jobs at Cole’s and Wild Flavors can show diplomas or transcripts with JAG on them and specify they participated in JAG for a guaranteed interview.
“That does not mean they will guarantee them a job, but they guarantee them an interview,” Hanson clarified.
Hanson seeks local partners to support OOS and help send young adults toward empowerment and productivity. She thanked the Kiwanis Club for inviting her and Bowling to share information about the program.
Kiwanis member Bobby Hale complimented OOS’s follow-up efforts.
“Kids, when they’re starting out, so many times they’re left out there,” Hale said. “We live in a society now where many of them don’t even have parents to help them. With a system that follows up, it shows that someone cares and is trying to help them.”
Hanson agreed, admitting that many times she had taken students to register for classes because they had no one to help them.
Kiwanis president Melissa Phelps talked about how Hanson transformed JAG at the high school during her years of teaching and directing.
“Around the time I was in high school, JAG started,” Phelps recalled. “I remember it was if you were going to college, you didn’t do JAG, you didn’t do vocational school, you didn’t need those. But that was totally the farthest thing from the truth. Looking back, I wish I had done JAG because it prepares the kids who are in school for that next step in life and teaches them how to be adults.”
Over the years, JAG’s influence and reputation have grown. Phelps noted that Hanson’s leadership has been instrumental in that growth.
“You transformed that program into what it is now,” said Phelps. “Everyone wants their kids to be in it because that’s how they become productive members of society and leaders. They’re ready for college because of JAG. I do not doubt that you will take this new little baby and make it as successful as you did JAG at the high school.”
Hanson urges everyone to send young adults her way.
“You can find me right beside Miss Ida’s and Sugar Momma’s in the old economic development office,” she said.
For more information or to enroll, contact:
- Marcie Hanson: m.hanson@jagky.org | info@jagky.org
- Jacob Bowling: d.bowling@jagky.org | (740) 307-3140
- Kyla Horn Preece: k.preece@jagky.org | (859) 363-6211
