Bonham -- It was a 'full house' Thursday evening, February 9 as Bonham ISD Superintendent Dr. Marvin Beaty and faculty and staff of Bonham High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program played host to this eighth iteration on the Bonham Manufacturers’ Roundtable in Ms. Stacy Hunnicutt’s Purple Haze Café – culinary arts classroom.

The Bonham Mfgs’s Roundtable was first held in September 2014. It meets three times a year as a networking opportunity for plant, facility and general managers of manufacturing operations located in Bonham. The Roundtable is the cornerstone activity of Bonham’s BREP – Business Retention and Expansion Program - also serves as a venue for these key employers to meet with senior city elected officials, staff, BEDCO directors and staff, and representatives of local & regional educational institutions, workforce and workforce training agencies and other mfg. support organizations.

Mayor Roy Floyd presided at last night’s event welcoming attendees and helping guide the conversation through a variety of impactful topics. Following an opportunity for networking and a light supper catered by local Bonham ISD Culinary Arts students The Purple Haze Cafe, the mayor invited Superintendent Beaty to recognize CTE faculty present and brief attendees on the extensive facility planning underway for the new high school facility. Marvin outlined several of the recurring challenges confronting public school systems all across the state in general, and Bonham ISD in particular. Beaty was clearly very proud of BHS and all of BISD’s personnel and students as they again rededicate themselves to ensuring the $30 million bond proceeds are well invested in facilities that will serve students and the whole community long into the future.

Dr. Beaty was followed by Kip Thrush who spoke of Clayton Homes’ commitment to partnering with BISD to offer expanded construction trades related skills & courses.  Earlier Mayor Floyd had re-capped December 2016 unemployment statistics for Fannin County (3.6%) and surrounding counties all (except Lamar County 4.5%) with unemployment rates well below 4% illustrating the on-going importance of “growing from within” our future workforce. BHS CTE Coordinator Shelby Lowrey then spoke of the current and planned CTE offerings at BHS, their duel credit offerings with Grayson College and encouraged participants to share their future skill needs with BHS so that courses and curriculum are demand-driven by employers.

Joining the manufacturers last night was James Douglas, senior on-site manager of Bonham’s Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center. While not a manufacturer “our VA” is the largest employer in all of Fannin County – now 770 FTE’s – and also hosts interns and CTE Healthcare students.

BEDCO’s Board President Emily Porter was joined last evening by board members Ray Clark and Jack Lipscomb. Terrence Steele represented Workforce Solutions Texoma, Lynn Tomaszewski from TMAC and in addition to those local firms already mentioned were; Kelso Technologies, Lone Star Reel, McCraw Oil, Renlita, Right Pointe, TCI Trans Cable International and first-time visitors from Tongrun whose principals now live in Bonham.

Roundtable #9 is forecasted for the May-June timeframe. 

photos courtesy of Steve Filipowicz, Executive Director, Bonham Economic Development Corporation