PRCC to host manufacturing program

This week in the Pine Belt business scene starts off with a manufacturing certificate program, along with several other events to look forward to.

•Pearl River Community College will conduct its initial session of the Pinebelt Works Basic Manufacturing Skills certificate program in April.

Designed to provide local residents with an opportunity to improve their qualifications for well-paying manufacturing jobs in the Pine Belt, the program equips each student with the technical skills necessary to become a valuable asset to local manufacturing employers. The 80-hour intensive training leads students through the latest manufacturing techniques in Precision Measurement, Lean Manufacturing/5S, and Statistical Process Control, along with equipping students with First Aid, CPR and OSHA 10-Hour certifications upon graduation.

The five-week program, held at PRCC's Lowery A. Woodall Advanced Technology Center in Hattiesburg, will start April 7 and will meet from 5:30-9:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Graduation will be held May 12.

The program cost is $60. Program applicants must complete enrollment at the WIN Job Center, and take the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) test with a score of silver or above to be eligible for the class.

For more information, call the PRCC Woodall Center at 554-4646 or the WIN Job Center at 584-1202. More information can also be found on the Woodall Center website at www.woodallcenter.com by clicking on "Pinebelt Works" at the top of the page.

•Hancock Bank has again been named among America's strongest, safest financial institutions, with a BauerFinancial Inc. 5-Star Superior rating for the quarter ending Dec. 31. That rating affirms the bank's longstanding stability for the 102nd consecutive quarter.

BauerFinancial awarded the 5-Star rating based on criteria such as capital ratio, profitability and loss trend, level of delinquent loans, charge-offs and repossessed assets, investment portfolio, regulatory supervisory agreements, Community Reinvestment Act rating, historical data and liquidity.

Based in Coral Gables, Florida, BauerFinancial is one of the country's leading independent bank rating and analysis firms. No bank can buy or opt out of a BauerFinancial rating.

Consumers can review free bank ratings at www.bauerfinancial.com.

•Jarden Consumer Solutions recently announced that its employee-funded JCS Community Fund donated $14,000 to local charities in the fourth quarter of 2014. The fund is committed to providing essential services and opportunities to at-risk youth, women and families in communities where JCS employees live and work, and has donated more than $5 million across the country since its creation in 2004.

Hattiesburg Area Habitat for Humanity received $5,000 to help build a home for a local community member. The organization partners with low-income families to build simple, decent and affordable housing in the Hattiesburg area. The American Cancer Society received $6,000 to help support cancer research, patient services and educational materials in Wayne County and surrounding areas. Additionally, The Mission at the Cross received $3,000 to provide assistance to at-risk men during rehabilitation. The funds will help in strengthening participants to better support their families and communities by purchasing meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for those residing in shelters.

•Leaders at Hancock Holding Company, parent company of Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank, recently announced its financial literacy partnership with Washington, D.C.-based EverFi Inc. to provide more than 155,000 middle and high school students across the Gulf Coast with an interactive, web-based financial management program that reinforces classroom learning at no cost to schools or taxpayers.

Titled "Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank Financial Cents," the program is just in time for National Financial Literacy month, which starts April 1.

Using new-media technology such as simulations, avatars and social networking, Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank Financial Cents makes complex financial concepts more relevant and easier to understand.

Hancock Holding Company operates as Whitney Bank in Louisiana and Texas and Hancock Bank in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Across its five-state footprint, the company will offer Financial Cents at 200 public schools, including 99 schools in Louisiana and Texas. Program launch events and student certification ceremonies will take place later this spring.

•Mitch Stennett, longtime president of the Economic Development Authority of Jones County, recently retired.

Stennett had been with the EDA for more than 25 years.

•The Pine Burr Area Council and Orkin will present the 40th annual Ray Guy Boy Scout Golf Tournament on April 17 at Hattiesburg Country Club.

Registration will begin at noon, followed by tee time at 1 p.m. and an awards party at 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Rob Harrison at 582-2326 or robert.harrision.scouting.org.

•Verizon Wireless customers will experience faster, more reliable wireless calling, data streaming and web surfing thanks to investments the company made in 2014.

During the past year, the company invested more than $41 million in wireless network enhancements for customers across South Mississippi, from Jackson to Biloxi. This investment includes enhancements to its XLTE and 4G LTE services, introducing new cell sites and initiating projects to expand and enhance services for its customers.

XLTE utilizes Verizon's AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum, which allows Verizon to deliver significantly increased capacity — at a minimum, doubling the capacity — over its high-speed 4G LTE network.

Haskel Burns is the Hattiesburg American's growth and development reporter. Contact him at 584-3061 or gburns@hattiesburgamerican.com.