Dreams do come true: TCAT breaks ground in Pikeville

What started out as a few men asking if there was a chance Bledsoe County would ever get a TCAT facility, has become a reality. On Tuesday, October 2, ground was broken for the construction of a 14,000 square foot Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) facility on US Highway 127 Bypass, across from Subway in Pikeville.

TCAT Upper Cumberland President Cliff Wightman told the large crowd attending the groundbreaking, Bledsoe County High School CTE Principal Steve Reel and Mayor Gregg Ridley were the ones who pushed for the dream to come to fruition.

Chancellor Flora Tidings said this project has been a long time coming. When she was chancellor at Chattanooga State, there was conversation about the need for a TCAT in Bledsoe County.

She said the mission statement for TBR (Tennessee Board of Regents) is very simple – Student Success and Workforce Development.

For more see the October 10 issue of The Bledsonian Banner.