Columbus, Miss.—Delbert Hosemann’s latest ad, launching in Northeast Mississippi this week, uses humor to draw attention to a subject critically important to the State’s future: workforce development.
The 30-second spot features Katie McCrary (McCrary-West Construction) and Nic Parish (Burns Dirt Construction), who, along with other small business owners across Mississippi, are facing a shortage in the skilled workers necessary to power their businesses.
Hosemann is running for Lieutenant Governor. A central tenet of his platform is increasing career and technical opportunities for K-12 students in order to grow the State’s economy.
“‘Englebert’ Hosemann will support public schools, build an educated workforce for our future, and incentivize small businesses,” McCrary says, in a nod to Hosemann’s iconic commercial from his 2007 run for Secretary of State, which played on his unique name to inform viewers of his goals if elected.
Parish tries to correct McCrary throughout the spot (“It’s ‘Eggbert,’ Katie”), finally concluding: “Let’s just call him Lieutenant Governor Hosemann.”
“That sounds great to me,” McCrary responds.
Hosemann first connected with McCrary and Parish in February 2018, when Hosemann helped organize a meeting between the Lowndes County School District, East Mississippi Community College, and small businesses in the Golden Triangle region. The meeting was aimed at brainstorming ways to ensure students have the opportunity during high school to gain practical skills training.
Since then, McCrary, Parish, and other business leaders have joined together to form a group called FORGE, which works with K-12 schools to “make trades cool again” and increase awareness about job opportunities in the community. FORGE launches its website this week: https://forgeyourpath.org.
“We cannot wait until Graduation Day to ask our students what they want to do for the rest of their lives. We have to start preparing them now, and businesses in the Golden Triangle have taken a significant step toward making this happen in their community,” Hosemann said. “I look forward to supporting them in their efforts as Lieutenant Governor.”
The General Election is November 5, 2019. For more information about Hosemann’s campaign for Lieutenant Governor, visit www.delberthosemann.com.