Vice President Mike Pence and Advisor to the President and daughter of President Donald Trump Ivanka Trump will be visiting Operation New Hope in Springfield Friday and participating in a roundtable with the nonprofit’s clients.
Operation New Hope provides job skills training and support for people with a criminal history looking to get their lives back on track.
The Jacksonville nonprofit has a history of attracting the attention of presidential administrations.
In 2003, President George W. Bush selected Operation New Hope as the pilot site for the Ready4Work program, according to the nonprofit’s website. The Jacksonville agency was also highlighted by President Bill Clinton in his book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. President Barack Obama has also pointed to the work Operation New Hope is doing.
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Pence and Trump will also be touring Miller Electric, which is on the Southside in the Southpoint area.
Miller Electric was founded in 1928. It’s grown from a local electrical contractor to a national company with more than 2,000 employees. The company is a licenced electrical contractor in nearly 50 states.
Pence will be delivering remarks to Miller’s employees, where he will highlight how the private sector is expanding the nation’s workforce.
Pence and Trump will be flying into Naval Air Station Jacksonville aboard Air Force Two.
Traveling to the great state of Florida on Friday, joined by @IvankaTrump, to visit Operation New Hope who gives Americans a second chance at work after former incarceration & Miller Electric, a family owned company bringing workers off the sidelines and back into the workforce!
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) July 24, 2019
Check back with 89.9 FM and WJCT.org on Friday afternoon for coverage of Pence and Trump's visit to Jacksonville.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.