George Foreman to Be Honored at Job Corps 50th Anniversary Celebration

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--George Foreman, author, entrepreneur and Olympic Gold Medalist boxer, has been selected as one of Job Corps’ 10 Graduate Heroes in honor of the program’s 50^th anniversary. Foreman received his training at the Grants Pass Job Corps Center in Grants Pass, Oregon, and at the Parks Job Corps Center near Pleasanton, California.

More than 200 Graduate Hero nominations were received by the National Job Corps Association and its partner organization, the Foundation for Youth Opportunities. From these nominees, the 10 Heroes were selected based on their personal stories of courage, determination and inspiration.

Established by President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 signing of the Economic Opportunity Act, the Job Corps was created to fulfill the country’s promise to provide economic opportunity and job training to all youth regardless of race, creed or color.

“I felt myself changed and changing daily,” Foreman wrote about his Job Corps training in his autobiography By George. “I had been reborn.”

To honor the Graduate Heroes, the National Job Corps Association and Foundation for Youth Opportunities will host a 50^th Anniversary celebration and dinner at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC on April 21, 2015. The event will also celebrate employer and corporate partners, local Job Corps students and staff, and the program’s champions from Washington and across the country.

“Over the past 50 years, Job Corps has helped almost 3 million young people transform their lives by teaching them the skills critical to find and sustain employment,” National Job Corps Association CEO Lonnie P. Taylor said. “The Job Corps program changes lives, and it is important as we mark its 50^th Anniversary to take time to honor our graduates as well as those who support the badly needed mission of helping young people.”

Job Corps is the nation’s largest and most successful residential and educational workforce training program for economically disadvantaged youth, ages 16 through 24. The mission of the National Job Corps Association is to unite the Job Corps community through activities and services that strengthen the program for the benefit of students, staff and employers.

To interview Mr. Foreman or receive a media pass, please contact:
Randy Ford, Strategic Communications Specialist
[e-mail]

To purchase a table/ticket to the celebration/dinner, please contact:
Morgan Pinckney, Client Services Specialist
[e-mail]