Warren County leaders who have been instrumental in the growth and success of the Hinds Community College Vicksburg-Warren Campus will have their names associated with buildings and other key locations on the campus.

According to a press release from Hinds Community College, the new Academic and Career-Technical building will be named the George-Oakes Building in honor of Richard George, president of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, and Donald Oakes, a former Vicksburg Warren School District superintendent. George has been credited with leading efforts to provide funding for the new building scheduled to open in summer 2019, while Oakes is a former Hinds Alumnus of the Year and current HCC Board of Trustees member.

The two-story 40,000-square-foot facility will be the new signature building of the campus. It will house 10 classrooms, eight training labs, administrative offices, meeting space and a multipurpose room. The Vicksburg-Warren School District’s River City Early College program will be housed on the second floor.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors has committed property tax dollars to help pay for the $13 million project. The building is also being funded by federal and state New Market Tax Credits through the Hinds Community College Foundation.

Also in the new building, the training lab will be named the Bruce Training Lab in honor of William F. “Sonny” Bruce, who was a former superintendent of Vicksburg public schools. He was involved with the transition that combined the city and county school districts. The Multipurpose Room in the new building will be named the Peets Multipurpose Room in honor of Charles Peets, who has served on the Vicksburg-Warren Campus Advisory Board numerous times and is currently serving as chairman.

Others honored

A building currently known simply as the Annex Building will be named the Blackburn-May building in honor of J.E. Blackburn Sr., a former member of the Hinds Community College Board of Trustees, and David L. May, who served on the Hinds Community College Foundation board. Both men, who were community leaders and helped secure the land to start the campus, are now deceased.

A former church building now housing the nursing program will be named the Gage Nursing Center for Howell “Hal” Gage, a staunch supporter of education who has served several times on the Hinds Community College Foundation board and been instrumental in scholarship efforts, particularly for nursing programs.

Hinds Community College and the Vicksburg Warren School District have come together to name the former Warren County schools central office building, owned by Vicksburg Warren School District and leased to Hinds, the Pickett Building after Robert Pickett, the deceased former president of the Hinds Community College Board of Trustees and former superintendent for the school district.

The former auto mechanics building, now housing the criminal justice program, will be renamed the Hallberg Building after Walter B. Hallberg Jr., a former member of the Hinds Community College Foundation board and staunch supporter of the college.

The multipurpose auditorium in the Loviza Building will be named the Chaney Auditorium in honor of alumnus Mark Chaney, former chancery clerk and former state representative who has served in leading roles of the Alumni Association and the Warren County School Board.