During the summer of 2015, the Carroll County College and Career Academy had an opportunity to spotlight Sugar Foods Corporation at the annual GACTE (Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education) Convention. Sugar Foods has been a business partner with Carroll County Schools and Work Based Learning since 2012. The partnership presentation at GACTE allowed the CCA to bring home an award from the Georgia Department of Education for their “Unique Business Partnership” with Sugar Foods Corporation.
On November 11th, at the monthly “Villa Rica Rise and Shine” downtown networking association meeting, Mrs. Morris and Mr. Turner presented Sugar Foods with an award as the 2015 Business Partner of the Year. The plaque read, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” ~Mother Teresa~
Since the start of what is now a very large-scale partnership with Southwire, Sugar Foods is the first manufacturing company to “test the waters” of hiring high school students. Mrs. Morris says, “We are so thankful and appreciative of the partnership with Southwire, but we also believe that other manufacturing facilities can provide an excellent internship for our students and in turn benefit from hiring young, trainable employees that may stay continue employment with the company after high school. We encourage more companies to take the challenge, just as Sugar Foods has done. They started with three students in 2012, and have had as many as 10 students working at one time.”
Teresa Fisher, Human Resources Recruiting and Branding Manager, Sugar Foods Corporation, Villa Rica said, “Not only did the students that we hired do an excellent job, they brought a breath of fresh air to our company. The adult employees working with the students were excited to see them come to work each day, and eagerly watched as these students grew from somewhat immature high school students, to productive, enthusiastic members of our Sugar Foods team. One of our goals in hiring students was to retain them as workers. Two of the workers hired during the first two years have been retained as valuable employees and have both been promoted to new positions. We are happy to announce that during this fall, we have seven high school students working, and one of the students who is already 18 has just been hired full time and will be eligible to enroll for full health care benefits. This program is a “win-win” situation for both the students and for Sugar Foods.
For more information on Work Based Learning students and business partnerships, contact Marcia Morris at 770-294-7108 or [email protected] or Christi Runyan at 678-857-4503 or [email protected].
