John Lease & Devin Holbrook

On April 30, 2019 Verso Corporation announced the closure of the Luke, MD paper manufacturing plant. It wasn’t long before John Lease and Devin Holbrook contacted the Western Maryland Consortium. John registered with the Garrett County office and Devin registered with the Allegany County Office. John’s and Devin’s goals were to use their previous experiences in production and to obtain new skills with industry recognized credentials. They received Consortium Displaced Worker funding and enrolled in the Manual and CNC Machinist Training Programs offered by Allegany College of Maryland. This series of Manual and CNC machine training combines classroom and hands-on operation of state-of–the-art milling equipment that prepares students to be able to test their competency to obtain NIMS (National Institute for Metalworking Skills) industry certifications. Devin and John earned numerous NIMS certifications as a result of this training. Soon their hard work and ambition paid off, and both John and Devin were able to secure employment with the National Jet Company Inc. located at LaVale MD. National Jet Company is an international leader in micro-hole drilling. Mr. Sam B. Griffith, Owner and President of the National Jet Company Inc. commented that the ex-Verso employees, who have been hired by his company, display a strong work ethic and possess specialized credentials that were obtained through the Manual and CNC Machinist Technology Programs.

National Jet Company Owner/President Sam B Griffith (CENTER) is pictured with new employees John Lease (LEFT) and Devin Holbrook (RIGHT), former employees of the Verso Corporation