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The Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual membership breakfast on Wednesday.

The breakfast was held at Walters State Community College with guest speaker Walters State Community College President Dr. Tony Miksa.

The Breakfast began with recognition of the gold star members and then Chairman John McClellan gave a brief recap of past chamber activities that included 15 ribbon cuttings, three anniversary celebrations, four membership breakfasts, three concerts on the green and 56 new members.

Miksa then took the podium where he began with his trademark plug proudly proclaiming their accomplishment as the No. 1 community college in the state for the second year running.

Not only can Walters State Community College boast as being the number one community college in the state, but Miksa also shared that they have another award to add to their collection after receiving the top college/university police award during the Tennessee Highway Safety Officer’s 19th annual Law Enforcement Challenge. Winning this award means Walters State has been recognized as having the No. 1 police force in all colleges and universities in Tennessee.

“We won that award because of the types of activities that we do to ensure students are safe on campus and that we keep our campus safe,” Miksa shared.

Miksa also briefly touched on the school’s athletics programs and how their enrollment has seen a 5% increase since last year.

Miksa spoke on their work force training branch and discussed how they serve around 5,000 students offering leadership training and certifications in various fields.

Miksa also discussed new programs the school has added over the years including a digital graphic media program for those wishing to pursue a career in digital arts, advertising or graphic design. Walters State has also recently brought in individuals from Germany to help develop their new butchery program that will be offered through their Culinary Arts department. They have also added a Spanish certificate for employees or employers wishing to improve their communication strategies within the workforce.

Miksa then gave brief synopsis of their campus development and discussed improvements they have already completed and plan to complete in the future to update and improve their facilities for students.

With that, Miksa concluded his talk with one of his signature energetic crowd selfies displaying the No. 1 Community College trophy.