Campbellsville woman testifies before congressional committee
Find the original article and photos at ColumbiaMagazine.com

By Michael Dodge
Office of U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis

WASHINGTON, DC -June 15, 2007 - Virginia Flanagan, director of the Campbellsville University Technology Training Center from 1999-2006, traveled to Washington Thursday to offer testimony before a full hearing of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.

The hearing, the first in a series of hearings on promoting U.S. workers’ competitiveness, focused on the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program.

Flanagan, accompanied by current CUTTC Director Carol Sullivan, shared her perspective on how TAA has worked in Campbellsville and how it can be improved in the future. She was invited to testify by U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis, a member of the committee.

“Campbellsville’s economic recovery provides a remarkable example of how one community can be resourceful in the face of economic hard times and develop partnerships to elevate regional employment and quality of life,” said Lewis. “Ginny’s testimony on her community’s experience has provided our committee with useful guidance on future TAA discussions.”

Lewis led a roundtable discussion with numerous state and local leaders in Campbellsville in May 2004 to examine how Taylor County retrained workers and created over 3,700 new jobs following the close of the Fruit of the Loom factory.

U.S. Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA), a colleague on the Ways and Means Committee, attended the 2004 roundtable and recalled his impressions during Thursday’s hearing.

“In Campbellsville, Kentucky, I witnessed first hand the application of Trade Adjustment Assistance in a public/private effort to stimulate a healthy environment for jobs,” said Herger. “This winning combination of local leaders, businesses, educators and federal officials improved the local economy well beyond where it had started.”

The TAA program is designed to assist manufacturing workers, with temporary income support and employment training opportunities, after trade-related job loss. TAA funds were used to create the Technology Training Center at Campbellsville University, helping hundreds of local workers gain new skills to better compete in a changing global economy, ultimately attracting 13 new companies and thousands of new jobs to the region.

Photos:

Photo of Virginia Flanagan with U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (KY-2).

Photo of Virginia Flanagan being greeted by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (NY) during her visit to testify about the effect of Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helped Campbellsville, KY turn a devastating plant closure into a winning situation, with 13 new industries recruited after Fruit of the Loom left town.

Ed. Note: Virginia Flanagan is the wife of Dan Flanagan, a farmer, former Campbellsville University administrator, and current Vice Chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education.