Celebrating the Chamber of Commerce’s newest BEST partnership between South Cleveland Church of God and Blythe-Bower Elementary School are (back, from left) Sherry Crye, coordinator of BEST program, Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Joel Barnes, principal, Blythe-Bower Elementary School; The Rev. Edwin Lipsey, senior pastor, South Cleveland Church of God; and Laura Murray, guidance counselor, Blythe-Bower. In front, representing the Blythe-Bower Bobcats, are Roman Radovenchuk, Markia Goins, Christopher Dwyer, Donovan Martin, Hayley Colorado and Weston Woods.
Much like South Cleveland Church of God exists to be a loving community of believers, where people find hope and freedom in Jesus Christ, so Blythe-Bower Elementary School is committed to providing a community in which all students develop skills to become caring, respectful, and productive citizens.
South Cleveland became a member of the Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce in December 2015. Although the church has partnered with Blythe-Bower for several years, the two officially became BEST partners early this year.
BEST, an acronym for Business & Education Serving Together, is a program of the Chamber of Commerce that connects a business and a selected school to enhance the quality of life for our community and provide business support for our educational programs.
"South Cleveland Church of God is excited to partner with this great school, staff and community,” Dawn Lipsey, coordinator of the partnership at the church, expressed. “Our [church’s] mission is love, hope and freedom. Being a BEST partner is one way we can offer and exemplify these.”
Ms. Lipsey continued, “Our goal is to give of ourselves—our love, our time, our energy and our finances—to make a difference even in the smallest of ways to bless the children, the staff, the parents and even the community connected to this great school. We are proud of what Dr. Barnes and his staff are doing at Blythe-Bower Elementary and are proud to partner with them.”
Joel K. Barnes, Ed.D., is principal of Blythe-Bower at 604 20th Street SE.
“I am so thankful that Blythe-Bower and South Cleveland are finally able to make our BEST partnership official,” Principal Barnes said. “Over the past three years they have been assisting us with our registration nights by providing food, games and school supplies to our students. As we are aware, we can’t do it alone, and I look forward to seeing this relationship grow and prosper over the next few years.”
He added, “When we work together, the possibilities are endless!”
Sherry Crye, director of workforce development for the Chamber of Commerce and coordinator of the BEST partnership program, agreed with the principal.
“We instituted this program 24 years ago as a workforce development initiative to help our local schools do what they do not have the staff or funding to accomplish on their own,” she explained. “However, BEST partnerships are not all about giving money to the schools, although that is often beneficial. They are also about giving time and skills.
“Several of the Chamber’s newer businesses are reaching out to schools in our community,” she continued. “They are demonstrating what it means to be good corporate citizens through our workforce development program and are helping to ensure we have a prepared workforce.”
According to Ms. Crye, most schools in the Bradley County and Cleveland City School Systems have one or more local business partners as part of the BEST program. Private schools that are Chamber members may also participate in the program.
“While we have many partnerships in place, we still have schools that need an active partner.”
For information about getting involved in the BEST partnership program, call Crye at 423-472-6587.