Mapping our Present, Preparing for our Future: Mark Masoner and True North Mapping and Solutions

In 2010, Mark Masoner was working as a paraprofessional at Homer Elementary when he saw a BrainPOP cartoon about George Washington surveying the west. The cartoon stuck in his brain and he thought, “I want to do something like that.” Masoner had taken several college courses before, but never finished his degree. He had one child, another on the way, and he was determined to finish his education. And the cartoon about George Washington gave him his direction. He went back to East Central University and two years later, when he was 27, he had his degree in Cartography and Geography with a focus in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

ADA JOBS FOUNDATION REACCREDITED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

What Happened?

At the International Economic Development Council Annual Conference Lunch Keynote on September 19^th, the Ada Jobs Foundation was recognized for obtaining reaccreditation through the Accredited Economic Development Organization Program. The Ada Jobs Foundation was initially accredited in 2016, reaccredited in 2020, and is now reaccredited for an additional three-year period.

Why it Matters:

There are only 75 accredited organizations in North America and it is an opportunity for the Ada Jobs Foundation to be evaluated and recognized by our peers as one of the highest performing organizations in our field. As part of this effort, we are required to submit documentation on our financials, strategy, marketing, community support, recent successful programs and projects, and discuss how we have addressed the recommendations from the previous review three years ago. In short, they committee evaluates whether we have the support, capacity, and ability to carry out our economic development mission at a high-performing level.

The Conduit Coders, comprised of 5^th and 6^th grade students from Pontotoc County, have completed their first “Sprint” with the Youth Coding League, a nation-wide competitive computer science program. With seven more sprints to go, the Conduit coders are currently standing at 13th in the nation out of 48 other fifth/sixth grade teams.

Also, in addition to their success as a team, two of the twelve coders received perfect scores: Eli Priddle and Sophia Baker. There were only 23 coders total in the nation who achieved this same success out of 582 coders nationwide.

The Ada Jobs Foundation is proud to sponsor this team, and we look forward to continued success in the weeks to come, as these young people learn more and become more confident and creative coders.

Ada Jobs Foundation

580-235-0070

www.growada.com

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