Author: Wendy Irwin

New recycled plastic playground officially opened at Surfside Jetty Park

Posted on by Wendy Irwin

A new recycled plastic playground is now officially open, providing opportunities for fun and education to beachgoers at Surfside Jetty Park.

Fourteen local petrochemical companies, all members of the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council (BCPC), contributed more than $200,000 to provide an ADA-accessible playground made from recycled plastic. The nautically-themed toys encourage climbing, sliding and swinging while emphasizing the importance of recycling.

“This playground provides yet another great attraction to Brazoria County and helps remind beachgoers how critical it is to properly dispose of waste,” said BCPC Community Outreach Chair Trish Thompson. “Plastic is vital to keeping our world healthy and safe, and we all need to do our part to ensure that plastic waste is recycled and disposed of correctly.”

Signs at the park, and a recycling receptacle shaped like a shark, encourage visitors to place plastic bottles and other recyclable materials in the correct place, rather than letting it get into the environment.

“To have the recycled plastic theme here at the beach, there couldn’t be a more relevant message,” said Brazoria County Parks and Recreation Director Bryan Frazier. “As valuable as plastic is in our everyday lives, we need the message out there that it has to be disposed of appropriately. I can’t think of a more appropriate use of recycled plastic than for children to enjoy, have some physical activity while they are down here on the beach, and then to talk about how to appropriately dispose of plastic so that it stays where it needs to stay.”

Judge Matt Sebesta agreed, saying the playground demonstrates what can be achieved when government, industry and communities work together.

“This is a wonderful partnership when all of us can come together as a community and do something really nice like this for the folks who are visiting the beach,” he said. “It’s a wonderful contribution from industry and something we can all be proud of.”

The companies that donated are LyondellBasell, Freeport LNG, Dow, MEGlobal Americas Inc., Chevron Phillips Chemical, Olin, Port Freeport, DSM, BASF, Vopak, Shintech, K-Bin, INEOS and Phillips 66.

Career Signing Day Wins Major Award for Helping Students Find Careers in Industry

Posted on by Wendy Irwin

Career Signing Day Wins Major Award for Helping Students Find Careers in Industry

BCPC Signing Day Committee Accepts Award at CURT Conference

Greg Sizemore, Executive Vice President at CURT; Jim Ellis, President at CURT; and BCPC Career Signing Day Committee Members: Jessie Jennings, Executive Director at Brazosport ISD Education Foundation; Spencer Cole, Sr. Talent Acquisition Advisor at BASF, Wendy Irwin, Community Relations Liaison at Chevron Phillips Chemical; and Aaron Ennis, Brazosport ISD Resource Development Coordinator

The Brazoria County Petrochemical Council (BCPC) Career Signing Day was awarded the Workforce Development Award by the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT), an international recognition for extraordinary, exemplary, and innovative training and education programs that encourages individuals to pursue a career in the construction industry and/or enhance individuals construction skills. Additionally, BCPC Career Signing Day won the top award of $5,000 jointly sponsored by CURT, the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER), and Ironworker Management Progressive Actions Cooperative Trust (IMPACT).

Created four years ago, the BCPC Career Signing Day has “signed” over 80 high school students into craft careers. Modeled after athletic signing days, Career Signing Day is an occasion for graduating high school seniors to be placed in full-time roles for work and on-the-job training. It connects the career and technology curriculum at local high schools to life-sustaining careers in the industry.

“This award is a reflection of everyone’s hard work and dedication to growing our future workforce,” said Aaron Ennis, Chair of the BCPC Workforce Development Committee and Brazosport ISD Resource Development Coordinator. “None of this would be possible without the collaboration of the people at owner companies, construction companies, school districts, and community colleges.”

CURT is an association of leading corporations in the United States and Canada dedicated to promoting

cost-effective construction methods. CURT members recognize that training, education, and recruitment are essential to excellence in construction project delivery. As a result, CURT founded the Workforce Development Awards to recognize companies and organizations for extraordinary, exemplary, and innovative recruitment, training, and education programs, encouraging people to pursue construction careers.

The BCPC Career Signing Day application will be open for high school seniors in January 2023 and closes on March 3. Interviews will be on April 5 with May 1 being the 5th annual BCPC Career Signing Day.