Issue 1 | January 16, 2019

(Photo credit: ABC's Shark Tank)

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Recent 'Shark Tank' winner the keynote speaker at next week's regional economic summit

A Shark Tank survivor will be the keynote speaker at next week’s I-69 Thumb Region’s Annual Summit. East Lansing entrepreneur Joe Johnson will share insights on what it takes to swim with the sharks of business world when the seventh-annual conference of economic development organizations representing Michigan’ Thumb region convenes on Jan. 24 at the Lapeer Country Club in Elba Township. The summit will also include of the finals of the Catapult Small Business Competition, where the county-level winners will make their closing presentations for a chance to win the top prize of $6,000. READ MORE

CEO Blog: New Detroit Regional Partnership is good news for Flint & Genesee

Attracting and retaining business in Flint and Genesee County is a core focus for the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce. We work with our partners, including the City of Flint and Genesee County, as well as regional, state and federal partners, to ensure that we meet the needs of companies currently operating here or considering opening a business in the area. Just last week, there was a news announcement about a regional economic development group called the Detroit Regional Partnership (DRP). The group – which consists of 15 executives from some of the largest companies in the region – is charged with marketing the 11-county region of Southeast Michigan, including Flint and Genesee County, and attracting out-of-state investment.  READ MORE

New business training offerings for 2019

Training days are here again at the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, where we believe that a well-trained and motivated workforce is vital to the growth of our community and the health of your businesses and organizations. With the addition of the Chamber’s new Business Training Manager Brianna Mosier, the program has been tweaked to incorporate greater flexibility in the offerings and encourage more input from the members regarding their wants and needs. READ MORE

Need summer workers? Don’t miss this opportunity

Last summer, the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan employed nearly 60 teen employees who helped serve 72,360 hot meals, sort 664,184 pounds of food and complete other important projects. The high school students were hired through the Summer Youth Initiative (SYI), which matches participating employers with graduates of TeenQuest, a pre-employment training program that teaches teens the skills needed to obtain and keep a job. These employers are eligible to receive wage subsidy funding – up to 100 percent for nonprofit organizations and 50 percent for for-profit – for the first 90 days of employment. READ MORE

INSPIRE Leadership Series, featuring ELGA C.U. CEO Karen Church

The INSPIRE Leadership Speaker Series resumes in Feb. 5, with ELGA Credit Union CEO Karen Church kicking off the 2019 schedule. Church was introduced to the credit union's philosophy of “People Helping People” as a co-op student at ELGA during her high school senior year. She returned to ELGA in 1978 to further develop her credit union career, becoming CEO in 1993. Over that time, ELGA has grown from a one-branch, $3-million credit union with five employees, to more than $374 million with eight branches and 150 employees. She is especially proud of her associates' commitment to serving others and they work to improve member’s financial well-being while building lifelong relationships.  REGISTER

SIGHTS & SOUNDS

Governor signs directive seeking to help certain businesses Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed an  executive directive  that's designed to help expand opportunities for certain small businesses and those businesses facing economic challenges. Tyler Rossmaessler is the director of Economic Development at the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce and sees this directive from the governor as a good thing. Watch video (Courtesy of NBC-25)

UPCOMING EVENTS Jan. 24 – After Hours Wine Down Feb. 7 – Managing Generational Shift Feb. 19 – Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) class

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Updates on people on the move & new members