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Charlie Kettle, vice chair of economic development of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County Board of Directors said the Huntsville/Madison County community has a great need for trained IT workers. “Living in a high technology community, we have a greater need for business and IT training than ever before, and today we are proud to celebrate with New Horizons and help the company grow its business,” Kettle said.

Ron Nall, group vice president, flew in from Anaheim, Calif. to attend the ribbon cutting and gave some background on the company as well as the manager of the facility, Lisa Thomason.

“Local businesses will really enjoy having Lisa here at this beautiful center. This facility has the latest high-tech equipment from Dell,” Nall said.

Thomason is no stranger to education. She spent 25 years with Sylvan Learning before coming to New Horizons four years ago. Thomason and her family, Pennye and Barry Elliot, purchased the New Horizons Huntsville territory this past August

“This is a family-owned and operated partnership. We are very happy to be here and we are here to stay and grow and to form partnerships in the community,” Thomason said.

The center currently employs 20 people and Thomason plans to increase her staff by the end of the year.

“We plan to double our workforce and eventually add more office space,” she said.