The Leadership Union County Class of 2022 enjoyed Industry Day on July 21. The day began with coffee and a quick breakfast at the Union County Museum. From the museum, facilitators Robbie and Gail Corum chauffeured the group to Clayton Homes in Maynardville. Bill Monroe and other Clayton employees summarized the history of manufactured home building and then provided a tour of the completely climate-controlled manufacturing facility. Class members viewed the process of building a manufactured home from the plans to ready for delivery and learned about the skilled labor necessary to produce a quality home.
The next stop was American Business Equipment with a concentration on a small Union County Business known as Thunder Road Printing and Graphic Design. Marvin Jeffreys had custom made badges complete with the class member’s name, picture and Leadership Union County. Marvin also presented each class member with an assortment of personalized print material such as tablets and notepads.
By midday, the class was ready to eat some spicy tacos at Tacolandia. Nourished with lots of soda, chips, salsa and tacos, the class traveled to Luttrell to tour a deep mine. Ben Hopkins of Carmeuse and his colleagues gave an overview of the mining operation. Class members boarded mining trucks to travel a few hundred feet into the mine. Upon resurfacing, the class witnessed a rare sight: the blasting of a section of the mine. Safety measures were in place, but they still felt the ground shake as they witnessed the small explosion.
Returning to the museum, class members completed their evaluations and discussed the day. LUC President Wayne Toppins developed the Industry Day agenda and sponsored the breakfast and lunch.
The class experienced Orientation Day in April, Government and Criminal Justice Day in May, and Health and Human Services Day in June. Coming up in August will be Agriculture and Tourism Day and September will be Education Day and Graduation.
Anyone interested in joining the Class of 2023 should send an email to wtoppins@utk.edu for information and costs.