Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass Joint Venture gives $100,000 to Ignite Academy

Additional funding for Welding Technology and Robotics programs are in store for the Madison County Schools’ Ignite Academy following a $100,000 donation announced today from the Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass Joint Venture (BPBGJV).

 “We want to develop the future workforce that companies will need as this community continues to grow,” said BPBGJV Project Manager Joe Curcio. “This donation will help Madison County students acquire new and valuable skills as they pursue careers in construction and other industries.”

 “Since Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass became part of the Madison County community, they have been strong supporters of the district,” said Madison County Superintendent Dr. David Gilliam. “This donation is another example of the advocacy shown by Bechtel Parsons and will certainly help the district provide opportunities for workforce development in Madison County.”

 The donation will be used to purchase items for the Welding Technology and Robotics programs at the Ignite Academy North Campus in Richmond and the Ignite Academy South Campus in Berea.

 Jacob Sommers, a second-year student at Ignite Academy North, thanked Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass for the gift. Sommers said Ignite has helped him develop not only a work ethic but a desire to contribute to the community.

 "The materials and resources we’ve been able to have and the support we’ve been able to have as a school for these career and technical classes has impacted not just me but all of the people here, I believe,” Sommers said. “I’d just like to thank Bechtel Parsons for all that they do for us.”

 Since 2008, the Joint Venture has donated more than $200,000 to the school district to fund teacher grants for innovative classroom activities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and for student scholarships.

 BPBGJV is the systems contractor selected by the Department of Defense to design, build, systemize, test, operate, and close the facility which destroyed the chemical weapons stockpile at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond. Destruction of the stockpile of 523 tons of chemical weapons was safely completed on July 7, 2023. Since then, closure activities have begun at the site’s Main Plant.