Submitted by Amee Albrecht
April 1-June 30, 2008
221 N. Main Street, Alturas, CA 96101
(530) 233-4161
www.aworkforce.org
On Wednesday, April 23, 2008 the Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc. (AFWD), Modoc Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium(NoRTEC),in conjunction with the Workforce Innovation and Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Grant, sponsored an entrepreneurial event entitled “Modoc Economic Development Rx: A prescription for Modoc County’s Future”. The event was designed to help business owners and entrepreneurs get information and resources to grow or start up their businesses and to enhance the economic development of Modoc County. It provided important information, resources, and local economic business strategies to over 60 people interested in the economic growth of Modoc County. The event was held at the Faith Baptist Church in Alturas CA.Jack Schultz author of “Boomtown USA The 7 1/2 keys to Big Success in Small Towns” was the keynote speaker. Jack is a premier authority in economic development and is recognized for his ongoing research and vast knowledge of rural America.
Jack took a tour of the county before the event, representatives from the community included-
- County Board of Supervisors -Mike Dunn & Dan Macsay
- US Forest Service- Laura Williams
- Modoc Economic Development Corp -Carol Sharp & Alan Cain
- Alturas Chamber President- Jim Cavasso
- City Council Member- John Dederick
- Modoc County Planning Department -Chester Robertson
- Surprise Valley Chamber- Jim Brown
- Hospital Coalition -Jerry Smith
- Alliance for Workforce Development -Amee Albrecht
Check Jacks blog for his insight from the tour http://boomtownusa.blogspot.com
This event also featured speakers from Invenergy LLC, Superior California Economic Development, and Sierra Nevada Conservancy District. Matt Giblin from Invenergy provided information about Wind Energy benefits and the economic advantages that it could provide. Bob Nash from Superior California Economic Development discussed the business financing process and financing availabilities. Sierra Nevada Conservancy District initiates, encourages, and supports efforts that improve the environmental, economic and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada Region, its communities and the citizens of California. Linda Hansen talked about available grant opportunities that Sierra Nevada Conservancy provides.The feedback from the event has been extremely positive.
Here are some of the comments:
- “This brings excitement to the economic future of Modoc County”
- “Very interesting…It makes you really think of the possibilities that are here”
- “I’ve been inspired”
For further information about the speakers:
www.boomtowninstitute.com
www.invenergyllc.com
www.sierranevada.ca.gov
www.scedd.org
AFWD Receptionist Attends Professional Development
and Appreciation Day
AFWD Frontline Staff was recently invited to attend a Special Day of Professional Development and Appreciation for Administrative Professionals. The event in Red Bluff CA was sponsored by the Job Training Center and presented by Brian Boyer, Business Consultant, Career Counselor, Trainer. I had the opportunity to attend the event and found it very interesting and motivating. The event focused on helping us discover our true personality type and how to work well as team members to accomplish any job even though we might all have very different personalities. It also helped us see the importance of providing the best Internal Customer Service. The Special Guest Speaker, Lori Raderschadt from Traits Plus, provided us with some very important tips on balancing our work and personal lifes.
Submitted by: Lina Isiordia.
This workshop was held on Tuesday May 13th, 2008 at the Modoc Employment Center from 10am-12pm. Indria Gillespie, Program Manager for the Sierra College Small Business Development Center and David Castaneda, Marketing & Outreach Specialist for the Small Business Administration partnered with AFWD giving a free workshop on Small Business Financing at which 5 were in attendance. The workshop covered the steps to take in order to get funded for new and existing small businesses. SBA provides a number of financial assistance programs for small businesses including 7(a), 504 and disaster assistance loans. They gave a review on eligibility requirements, SBA’s loan programs, surety bonds and the role of SBA, equity capital topics, special purpose loans, SBA partner topics and 7(a) lender programs. Though the SBA does not provide grants to start a business, they gave information on organizations and sites that can assist in locating special purpose grants. SBDC provides management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance in central and easily accessible branch locations. The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the educational community and federal, state and local governments and is an integral component of Entrepreneurial Development's network of training and counseling services.
Intro Federal Contracting Workshop
In a partnership with the Federal Technology Center, the Modoc Employment Center was the location of a seminar entitled "Intro to Federal Contracting" on May 22, 2008. One person attended the seminar, which was presented by FTC's Jayne Murnane.
This class covered:
• Where your company fits into the Federal government market
• The Federal government purchasing process
• How to research government contract opportunities
• Certification programs for small businesses
• Where to go for assistance
For more information, visit the FTC web site at www.TheFTC.org.
Sage Stage SHP Training
Alliance For Workforce Developments Director of Business Services Holly Schirmer presented a three-hour Sexual Harassment Prevention Training to 8 employees of Sage Stage/Modoc Transportation on June 7, 2008. Sage Stage approached AFWD and inquired about a Sexual Harassment Prevention training program for their drivers and supervisors in order for the drivers and supervisors to comply with the training requirements mandated by AB 1825, as well as, gain skills to perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Holly addressed such topics as what constitutes harassment under the law, recent court cases that impact businesses, and how to prevent, as well as respond to, workplace harassment.This was a fee for service workshop and we were also able to enroll 5 of the participates in training through our Talent Management Services. Each participant received a certificate upon completion of the training.
Broadband Meeting
Eleven people attended this meeting on June 11, 2008 from 10am-2pm at the Faith Baptist Church in Alturas. Dan Ripke from the Center for Economic Development at CSU and Gladys Palpallatoc from CETF met with local area citizens for a discussion on bringing broadband to Modoc County. Topics discussed included: what broadband is, a project overview, advantages to having broadband, and what the next steps are in the process. The partnerships involve co-sponsorship and co-convening of a series of “fact-finding conversations” among civic leaders, stakeholders and industry followed by co-funding of a project to gather and analyze data about broadband awareness and demand, assess and aggregate prospective demand for broadband, and identify a preferred scenario for broadband infrastructure. Attendees left with the excitement of the possibilities that broadband could bring to Modoc County.
Modoc Youth Apprenticeship Program with Granite Construction
Granite Construction Company had been spending a large amount of money on job fairs and other traditional recruiting methods that were not turning out as successful as they had hoped for. Having grown up in a small community himself the Granites Personnel Relations Manager Chris Ferguson knew the hard work that is instilled in youth from small towns. So he started looking into recruiting efforts with small town high schools. That is what brought his attention to Modoc High School.
In the summer of 2007, Chris Feruson had a meeting with Tom O’Malley (Principal) to plan a school visit. Granite visited the high school campus and students in all grade levels over a two-day period. Granite transported a modern equipment truck to Alturas for the students to explore. The students learned a lot about the construction company.
In the spring of 2008, Granite returned to Alturas to meet with juniors and seniors. The goal was to hire one or two students for the companies apprenticeship program. Granite was so impressed with Modoc seniors; they offered five students positions that would begin immediately upon graduation. That is when Modoc Employment Center stepped in. Out of the five students in need of assistance there were three students that were eligible for our services under the Youth WIA program. This was a huge step for these youth. They had to maintain their goal to graduate and also plan ahead for their new future with Granite Construction. With the help of Mary Martin, Chris Sullivan, & Tim Spetnagel in the Department of Rehabilitation and the staff at the Modoc High School they were able to achieve that goal. We were able to purchase tools that are required for their new positions, help with Union Initiation fees and transportation cost. We would like to congratulate and wish the best of luck to these students, Danilio Serrano, David (DJ) Bocanegra and Joshua Lowe. The starting wage for these three individual is $17.63 per hour
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Gerald Fisher relocated to Alturas from Susanville and was looking for employment during the winter months. He was applying to several different jobs. The Modoc Employment Center staff helped Gerald and his family to stay on track with supportive services help, job coaching, and continuous job searching. Gerald finally found the right job and is now the new Schwan’s Sales/Delivery Driver for the Alturas and Fort Bidwell area. When we asked Gerald how he liked his new position he replied, “He loves it and can’t thank the staff at the Modoc Employment Center enough”.
Mary Martin, Employment Specialist
submitted this Story.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
July 15 - Modoc Economic Vitality Group Meeting
July 24- FTC Getting Started with Gov't Contracting
August 19- Modoc Economic Vitality Group Meeting
Sept. 16- Modoc Economic Vitality Group Meeting