Councilman Thrift experiences Tech’s value

In the opinion of Joel Thrift, Oconee County councilman, the area’s technical college is meeting its role in a period when education and job skills are increasingly needed by employers.  Thrift had a personal story to relate after Tri-County Technical College presented its annual budget request to the county.  Thrift, a Westminster businessman, saw his lumber company in shambles at the start of the Great Recession:  “I had about 42 employees.  The majority of them did not have a high school diploma.  It was the hardest thing I ever faced in my life for these people to enter the workforce unprepared,” he said.  But Thrift credits Tech, among others, with helping prepare the displaced workers to re-enter the job market.