Two Mississippians are being remembered with a Job Corps Center named in their honor.   

On October 19, at 10 a.m., at the Batesville Job Corps Center, the U.S. Department of Labor and MINACT, Inc. will host a ceremony to unveil the center’s new name, the “Finch-Henry Job Corps Center.”   

The center will bear the name of former Governor Charles “Cliff” Finch and former state Representative Aaron Henry.

Governor Finch and Dr. Henry were born within 50 miles of Batesville in Pope and Clarksdale respectively. These two men forged an alliance to bring the first Job Corps Center to Mississippi in 1977, and in 1979 Governor Finch broke ground for the Batesville Job Corps Center.   

Elected to office in 1976, Governor Finch considered himself a “friend of the working man” and was often captured in photos carrying a lunch bucket or working on a bulldozer.

The owner of 4th Street Pharmacy, Dr. Henry served as state president of the NAACP for 33 years. His advocacy through several organizations helped secure passage of the Office of Economic Opportunity Act.

This act authorized several programs including Job Corps, which continues to be the nation’s largest residential education and training program to prepare young adults for employment in career fields.  

Members of the Finch and Henry family will be on hand for the event.   

The Batesville Job Corps Center is operated by MINACT, Inc., which manages Job Corps Centers around the country.