Download the October 2014 Newsletter
Working to provide tangible return on investments to the members of the Grand Junction Area Chamber took many forms during July, August and September with workforce development and networking taking center stage. Notable accomplishments included:
• Launching the “Hire Me First” program in a pilot project with students at Central High School in cooperation with School District 51 and the Mesa County Workforce Center. The program combines lecture, self discovery, job shadowing and workplace skill testing to certify to employers that this student is truly workplace ready and has completed a rigorous set of requirements to achieve the “Hire Me First” certification.
• Recruiting and selecting the students, securing sponsors, volunteers and beginning the second class of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy with sixteen area middle and high school students. Partners include Western Colorado Community College, School District 51, Mesa County Workforce Center and the Business Incubator Center.
• Developing and Hosting a Health Care Summit for 60
area employers to explore ways to assist them and their
employees access health care and health services, utilizing
the local resources of the health care community.
• Researching and ultimately supporting a ballot issue,
Amendment 68, related to development of a local horseracing/casino complex provided it also includes an events center and provides sufficient funding to mitigate community impacts. The economic impact includes up to 450 new jobs with average first year compensation in the $40,000 range.
• Commencing the seventeenth annual Mesa County Leadership Class with a retreat on the Grand Mesa. The program seeks to develop the leadership potential of business professionals and assist them in seeking and providing greater community involvement. There are 21 students in the current class.
• Increasing member benefit offerings by teaming with CMU to offer Workforce Development Scholarships and access to Chamber University, our online classroom at no cost for 90 days. By partnering with Global Classroom members have access to 1,000 classes.
• Hosting the Chamber’s 24th Annual Golf Tournament, a premier
networking venue for 200 business decision makers with assistance from main sponsors Shaw Construction and Arapahoe Park.