The anticipated opening of “the Forge” in Jefferson will come to fruition next week.

A celebration event is planned for Saturday, September 7th. The Forge is located at 204-206 East State Street, or west of the Sierra Community Theater. The building was purchased by Pillar Technology, a part of Accenture Industry X.0, in the spring of 2018 and began renovating the space into the Forge. The Forge will allow Accenture to collaborate with organizations, using advanced digital technologies, to transform businesses.

Part of the Forge will also include a training program that will provide opportunities for graduating high school students to take software development classes through the career academy with Iowa Central Community College and be offered a job with Pillar. The starting wages would range between $55,000-$60,000.  Linc Kroeger with Accenture says it’s been a three-year process for him to get the project to the final stages. He points out the benefits of having this cutting-edge industry located in rural Iowa.

“Being from rural Iowa myself, it’s just a great feeling for them to be able to stay here, stay with their families in the community, build the local economy. To me the excitement of this is when people start getting through their education and start getting their jobs. I’ve got to stay focused on that right now.” 

The festivities on September 7th kick-off with an open house at the Forge from 4-7pm. From 4-5pm, will be a parent and teacher informational session for 7th-12th graders of the educational opportunities at the movie theater. Then at 5pm will be a free community barbecue meal around the Greene County Courthouse, with the program to take place from 7-8:30pm on the northside of the courthouse. Several speakers will be involved including Governor Kim Reynolds and U.S. Congressman Ro Khana from California. The event is free and open to the public.