Your Chamber at Work - December 3, 2018

FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO

I’d like to bring your attention to a very important discussion set for December 10. The Chamber’s next Public Policy Up Close Speaker Series address a significant issue, not just for our community but for the rest of the nation as well.

“Building an Inclusive Kansas City: A Framework & Lessons for Local Leaders” is the subject. We know that, despite tight labor markets and mounting workforce needs, too many of our residents are not enjoying the prosperity of their fellow citizens. So what are the economic barriers preventing them from taking part in local economic growth?

Speakers include Dianne Cleaver, CEO of the Urban Neighborhood Initiative (one of the Chamber’s Big 5), Nashville Chamber President Ralph Schulz, Indianapolis Chamber Chief Policy Officer Mark Fisher, and Brookings Fellow Joe Parilla. Mark your calendar for Monday, December 10, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the InterContinental Hotel. Click here to register.

On a related subject, the Chamber, UNI, and the Kauffman Foundation are working together to develop a prospectus for Opportunity Zones in Kansas City, Missouri. We want to show what value there is in doing inclusive development projects that are helpful to the neighborhood, rather than just an investment. Larry Jacobs of the Kauffman Foundation has a great blog on the subject, if you’d like to know more.

NOW HIRING

The KC Chamber has very recently implemented a jobs board on our website (www.kcchamber.com) and all Chamber members are invited to post their jobs and internships for free there. To do so, you will need a login for our Member Information Center. This is the same login that you would use to register for an event or view an invoice. (If you need a login, we can help! Email info@kcchamber.com for assistance.) When you are logged in, you’ll find Job Postings in the left navigation. There you can input the information, including point of contact, description, category and duration of posting. Once the posting has been approved, it will go live to our website and jobs board. We encourage you to take advantage of this new service! Thank you to Chamber member City Year for being an early adopter. You can view the jobs board from the front end of our website here.

SHARE YOUR GOOD NEWS

With some recent upgrades that we have made to our website, it is no longer necessary for Chamber members to post their own Member News. A simple email to info@kcchamber.com with Member News in the subject line will suffice. Please be sure to include a contact for more information, a headline, body copy, and an optional image if you like. The easiest way to share your news with us is by simply adding info@kcchamber.com to your media list so that we receive your releases whenever you distribute them. Member News is posted on www.kcchamber.com, shared on our @kcchamberMEMBER twitter handle, and also used in GROW KC magazine which comes out five times per year.

HIRING VETS

If you’ve ever thought about adding veterans to your workforce, the KC Chamber and Grantham University would like to help. We’ve been hosting a series of lunch and learn sessions in 2018 full of actionable advice on where and how to reach and recruit veterans. The last one of the year is Wednesday, December 5, in the KC Chamber Board Room at Union Station, next door to Pierpont’s, 30 W Pershing Road. The event will take place from 11 am to 1 pm and lunch is included at no charge. Please RSVP online so we have a head count for food. If you have any questions about this event, please reach out to Greg Valdovino, the KC Chamber’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion, (816) 374-5494 or email valdovino@kcchamber.com.

DEADLINE AHEAD: CENTURIONS

The time is right if you’re interested in joining the region’s premier leadership development program. The KC Chamber’s Centurions leadership program is recruiting for the Spring 2019 class, and applications are due on January 5. The application is available online now. The Centurions program includes monthly task force sessions on topics affecting our region, an annual benchmarking trip to another city to learn best practices, a robust immersion into community service, and the opportunity to put developing leadership skills into practice. All of this is in addition to growing one of the deepest personal and professional networks in Kansas City that you can possibly build. For more information about the program or the application process, please contact Lindsay Jarquio at (816) 374-5493 or email jarquio@kcchamber.com.