Reggie Carrick isn’t from Jackson, but he spent some time in the Hub City in college.
He was a student at Lambuth University when the school closed down and finished his secondary education at nearby Lane College.
“I spent a few years here, and I loved it,” said Carrick, who played basketball for the Eagles before the school folded.
Carrick got his certification to become a trainer for forklift drivers and is accredited to do it. He’s been doing training at his AllStar Training Academy in Memphis, and in 2023, he opened a place in Jackson.
He did that because he was told of the need for it by some of his students.
“I had a group of I think 11 students who drove down to Memphis every day to be trained by me,” Carrick said. “They were coming from Bells because they couldn’t get a job at Pictsweet.
“And I asked them why they were driving all the way to Memphis, and they said that there’s no training like this anywhere around Jackson. So I decided to open up a Jackson location.”
His training facility on Warehouse Courtyard near the intersection of North Parkway and F.E. Wright Drive is simple. He’s got a lobby, a conference room and an office separated from a small warehouse that surrounds the rooms.
It’s in the warehouse where the training happens. There are a couple of forklifts in the room with different handmade signs on the wall with inspirational sayings or commands of what to do with loads on the forklift.
“The best way to train is by actually doing it, right?” Carrick said. “So that’s what we’ve got set up here.”
Carrick said he has a heart for those who want to work but had a hard time finding work for different reasons – felons, recovering addicts, veterans and those simply wanting to improve their lives with better wages are all people he wants to help with his school.
“A lot of these people are working and clawing and scratching as hard as they can to get to where they want to be,” Carrick said. “All they need is a little bit of a hand to help them up.
“I’m here offering them a hand up. There’s a big need for forklift drivers in Jackson right now. That’s not including the jobs that are coming later. That’s also not including jobs outside Jackson in Brownsville or Lexington or Bolivar or wherever. We can help you get connected to that job that could potentially change your life.”
Anyone wanting to contact Carrick about his school can do so by calling his Memphis location at 901-690-5677. You can also contact him through the AllStar Training Academy page on Facebook.
Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news
