Contributed RIBBON CUT — Federal, state and local officials gathered Aug. 23 to cut the ribbon outside the Utica Shale Academy Energy Training Center’s newly expanded space in Salineville to herald the Connecting Communities Through Workforce Training Project in partnership with local agencies.

SALINEVILLE — The Utica Shale Academy is being heralded as a transformative beacon for the community and education of youth and adults.

The adjective was often quoted during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Connecting Communities Through Workforce Training Project on Aug. 23. Federal and state officials joined local leaders, agencies and stakeholders in celebrating the culmination of efforts to expand opportunities for career-tech students to displaced workers.

Dozens of participants were on hand representing the Congress, Ohio Statehouse, Governor’s Office on Appalachia, Sustainability Opportunity Development Center of Salem, Mahoning Valley Pathways HUB, USA, Southern Local Schools and officials from Carroll and Columbiana counties.

Since its inception roughly a decade ago, the academy has established a campus in the village comprised of the Hutson Building, the Energy Training Center, the Williams Collaboration Center and an outdoor welding site along East Main Street as well as the Utica Shale Academy Community Center, which housed on Church Street.

The Williams center was the latest addition, thanks to the donation of the four-story building by Williams Energy which used it as a district office. USA was the first recipient of Gov. Mike DeWine’s $500 million Appalachian Community Grant program last year, earning $2.35 million to construct a new building to expand their welding, heavy equipment and robotics programs.

USA Superintendent Bill Watson thanked everyone for being part of a journey which has had a transformational effect upon the region. He recalled meeting with Ohio Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-Columbians, and U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, last year to discuss the future of the local Appalachian communities through the Connecting Communities initiative.

He said the heart of the project was revitalizing towns and cities through construction and renovation and creating a foundation for long-term economic stability.

The project also provides hands-on experience for workforce development programs where at-risk students and current workers have the opportunity to gain valuable, in-demand skills. He said the programs are tailored to meet the unique needs of the region and the challenges faced by at-risk students, such as transportation and access to quality training equipment. It is also dedicated to upskilling the current workforce to ensure they thrive in a rapidly changing economy while community health workers address health disparities of underserved populations. Hopes are to expand throughout Appalachia to give opportunities to more people.

Rulli recognized Watson, USA Dean of Students Carter Hill and Grant Coordinator R.B. Mehno for their efforts and said he has often discussed the program in his meetings.

“It’s about the changing of the dynamic and the fabric of America and the workforce and how we proceed forward,” he added. “We have jobs in Ohio but no people to fulfill them. This is probably the proudest project I’ve done and it’s come full circle. This project kept growing and the philosophy of Utica Shale Academy is giving kids hope.”

Blasdel was not surprised by USA officials’ dedication to accomplishing their task.

“Not only did their Connecting Communities Workforce Training project receive the highest score in the first round of applicants for funding in DeWine’s Appalachian Community Grant Funding initiative, but it was also the first to be completed,” she added. “I could not be prouder to support the transformational impact that it’s having here in the 79th District that I represent and, more importantly, the impact its graduates are having on the entire region.”

State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, said he and other state legislators have supported the mission since learning about it about four years ago.

“This is such an incredible opportunity in our part of the state, an opportunity to make sure that our children and our children’s children have an incredible future,” Catrona said.

Julie Needs, executive director of the SOD Center in Salem, said the center played a role in the project by training, upscaling and career exploration for the incumbent workforce of underemployed and unemployed people.

“I’m standing here today as part of this extraordinary project because five years ago the Governor’s Office of Appalachia believed in creating a workforce development training center in the heart of Salem Industrial Center. The collaboration with Utica Shale Academy leads back to the opportunity we were given and has culminated into something truly transformational for the region.”

Cathy Hergenrother, director of the Mahoning Valley Pathways HUB, said the collaboration has been integral in improving community health.

She said community health workers had created a support system to identify and mitigate risk factors that connects individuals and their families to essential medical, social and behavioral health care, and the grant program enabled officials to continue work and extend its reach beyond Mahoning County into Columbiana and Jefferson counties, as well. GOA Executive Director John Carey concluded the comments and was very excited to see the project thrive.

“You are an example for the rest of us. You are the very first one to be completed. There were $350 million in requests in the first round and we had $50 million available. Utica Shale Academy was the top scorer out of more than 50 applications in the region,” he concluded. “If (ODOD Director Lydia Mihalik) was here, she’d say we’re empowering communities to be successful. This is what you’re doing and we’re so proud of it.”

USA is a dropout recovery-and-retention school focusing on career-tech education for at-risk students who have obtained more than 1,100 certifications and graduated 150 pupils since 2021.