LUMBERTON — Robeson Community College will partner with the Lumberton Youth Baseball Association to host the Dixie Youth World Series in July and August.
LYBA President Tim Locklear and Treasurer Bruce Mullis appeared Monday before the college’s board of trustees to announce the partnership.
“We expect this event to have a $1.2 million to $2 million economic impact for the community,” Locklear said. “There will be 3,000 individual hotel stays, and there will be more than 750 families in town.”
Dixie Youth officials will use four classrooms, the cafeteria for breakfast, and the auditorium for church services during the course of the event.
“It has been a dream for LYBA for a number of years to bring the World Series to Lumberton,” said Mullis, who is a founding board member of the 22-year-old youth baseball program. “Lumberton has the hotels and restaurants to host an event like this. We’re the perfect location.”
RCC President Kimberly Gold sees an upside for the community and the college in the event.
“We researched the feasibility of working with Lumberton Youth Baseball Association, and we’re very positive about the partnership,” Gold said. “This is a great opportunity to assist in the economic development of the community and to show off our campus.”
Trustees heard Monday that enrollment for the spring semester is 1,704, compared with 1,794 last spring. The Career and College Promise program, which offers classes on high school campuses, declined in enrollment from 318 in 2017 to 273 students this year.
The college has created a special program for licensed practical nurses to earn registered nursing degrees in as few as three semesters, trustees were told. The college expects an initial enrollment of 10 students, according to William Mauney, vice president for Instruction and Student Support Services.
Licensed practical nurses candidates must meet academic and employment requirements and complete an application before the March deadline.
Another nursing degree program for emergency medical technicians is in the planning stages, Mauney said.
William Mashburn, director of RCC’s Respiratory Therapy program, introduced three of the five members of RCC’s state championship team. The team competed during the recent North Carolina Respiratory Therapy Society’s annual meeting in Wilmington.
“We answered the question about ‘who’s the best,’ in a college bowl-type competition,” Mashburn said. “There are 14 respiratory therapy programs in the state.”
The team consisted of Gerri Maynor and Taylor Locklear, who are Purnell Swett High School graduates, Tiffany Love, a Red Springs High School graduate, Matthes Steeno, Mickea Randle and Rachel Bowser.
In other business:
— The college completed the purchase of 383 computers and other equipment at a cost of $316,811. RCC replaces computers every four years.
— A Community Development Block Grant of $170,000 was awarded to RCC for drainage mitigation.
— RCC was host for the 44th annual Southeast Fire/Rescue College and Law Enforcement Expo, which took place Friday through Sunday. More than 700 fire and rescue personnel from across North Carolina attended.
— Several other events were hosted on campus, including a local theater production of “The Crucible,” the Public Schools of Robeson County’s Battle of the Books and a high school counselors luncheon.
— RCC’s Career Fair is set for March 13 from 10 a.m. to noon in the student center.
