From L to R: Gary Warren, Senator Roger Bedford, Grady Batchelor

Mayors, Council Members, County Commissioners, Educators, and Economic Developers gathered in Guin, Alabama today to share with Senator Roger Bedford and Representative Mike Millican areas the group identified as key regional workforce development initiatives. 

Mayor Phil Seagraves of Guin welcomed the group to Guin and the Guin High School then turned the meeting over to David Logan of Alabama Power Company.  Mr. Logan shared with the group concerning the ongoing effort to identify key initiatives in workforce development and the importance of doing such for the area.  Logan then asked Grady Batchelor to share with the group the priorities for the region.

Grady Batchelor, Chairman of the Region 1 Workforce Development  Council, shared with the group the priorities for the region identified at an earlier meeting of regional Mayors, Council Members, County Commissioners, Educators, and Economic Developers which was held in Hamilton on February 16, 2009.  The priorities were as follows:

1.       There is an urgent need to address the dropout rates in our region.
 
 2.       We need to work together regionally toward a common purpose regarding workforce and economic development. Batchelor shared, “The economic developers and community colleges have already begun to work together on some priority workforce initiatives, recruiting, marketing and promotions.”  The economic developers have a joint website located at www.Interstate22Alliance.com. 

3.       We need to educate regional constituents, career counselors, educators, school administrators, and legislators on the importance and impact of career/technical education on workforce and economic development and the long term sustainability of our region.

- We need to identify career choices earlier (e.g., seventh and eighth grade)
- We need to retain career/technical education in our schools
- We need more career awareness
- We need more counselors
- We need counselors that understand the role of career  and technical education in our region

4.       We need funds for a grant writer to go after workforce and economic dollars.
 
5.       We need to hold an industry/education day.

Gary Warren, Member of the Alabama State Board of Education, shared the importance of dual enrollment to the area and the need to keep the program funded.  Warren also shared his concerns and the need to keep vocational and technical school programs funded.  Warren shared the funds to support the high academic achievers and special needs children will be made available, but maintaining vocational and technical programs will require effort and commitment to funding such programs. Warren shared not all children are going to college and we need to provide vocational and technical programs to train tomorrow’s workforce. 

Senator Roger Bedford shared how the funding cash flow works in the state and how the economy impacts the flow of funds.  Senator Bedford noted to change the funds available we either increase the funding sources or we must develop a better delivery process such as distance learning or other methods.

The Haleyville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Engaged Leaders for a Better Community program got underway on April 1, 2009 at the Alabama Power office in Haleyville, Alabama. The 2009 leadership class has 11 participants including Thomas Gilbert, Connie Handley, Deb Hill, Susan Hill, Leslie Hunter, Sue Southern, Frank Tidwell, Tany Tilberg, Craig Wakefield, Phillip Weaver, and Melinda Weaver.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Welcome, Program Overview, Individual and Team Development
Grady Batchelor & Nicole Cook

Leadership 2009 - Team Building

Leadership 2009 - Leadership As A Factor of Success

Related Links:
http://www.winstonadvantage.com/winston-county/leadership-development/leadership-2009

Schedule
All classes will be from 9 a.m. until 12 noon
At the Alabama Power Building in Haleyville unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Welcome, Program Overview, Individual and Team Development
Grady Batchelor & Nicole Cook

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Community Awareness & Assessment in Regards to Local Government
And Community Planning
Mayor Ken Sunseri
Nathan Willingham – North Alabama Council of Local Governments
Community Planning

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Healthcare Awareness
Northwest Mental Health – Charles Millwood
Lakeland Community Hospital – Brandy Barnett
Haleyville Health Care and Rehabilitation – Sandy Prescott
Winston County Health Department – Kay Batchelor

Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Education Awareness
Haleyville City Schools
Tour of New Middle School

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
*Extended Day
9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

County Government
Economic Development
I-22 Rural Action Commission
Junior Colleges Role in Workforce Development
*Travel will be involved and transportation will be provided

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Day Trip
Montgomery, AL
*Extended Day
Leave at 6 a.m.
Please eat or bring breakfast with you!
10:00 a.m. Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
10:45 a.m. Alabama Development Office
11:30 Lunch with Representative Mike Millican & Senator Roger Bedford
1:00 p.m. Alabama Department of Tourism
2:00 p.m. Department of Transportation
Return Home
*Transportation Provided

Wednesday, May 13, 2009
TBA

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
TBA

Friday, June 5, 2009
Chamber Luncheon @ Galley
To Honor Leadership Participants

REGISTRATION
Participants must be able to attend all nine sessions.
Register through haleyvillechamber.org by March 25, 2009
Due to economic times the registration fee of $100 is being waived.
Class is limited to the first 12 registered.
For more information contact
Nicole Wilson Cook at 486-3532
nwcook@centurytel.net
or
BeBe Cox at 486-4611

Download Flyer & Registration: Leadership

Second EDAA Community Leadership Training (CLT) Workshop Offered via Distance Learning in Seven Counties

The second Community Leadership Training (CLT) Workshop, offered by the Economic Development Association of Alabama, area economic developers, and Bevill State Community College, was recently conducted through the interactive television system on four Bevill State campuses, the Northwest-Shoals Community College campus at Phil Campbell, and at the Winston County Technology Center.  Seventy-four participants took advantage of the training across a seven-county region.The Economic Development Association of Alabama partnered with Bevill State Community College and economic developers earlier this year to bring training opportunities to community leaders in a five-county region by utilizing Bevill State’s distance learning facilities.  Participants from Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, and Walker counties received the EDAA’s CLT program that was delivered through BSCC’s interactive inter-campus television system.

By utilizing technology, Franklin and Winston county community leaders were allowed an opportunity to participate in the second training session. The CLT workshops offer community leaders the chance to learn about new and beneficial economic and community development practices that can help their rural communities become more competitive in today’s global economy. Mr. Grady Batchelor, Economic Developer for Winston County, served as the presenter for the workshop that included two CLT modules “The Economic Development Process” and “Working Together.”Karla Quesenberry, who served as the workshop facilitator from Bevill State, was pleased with the participation from elected officials, chambers, the education arena, and other community leaders from the seven-county area.  Quesenberry said, “More of this type of regionalism and pooling our assets for community and economic development needs to happen for rural communities to be competitive in today’s economic climate.”Mitch Mays, Economic Developer for Franklin County, stated. “Overall, I would say this was a great start to the training. Several of our new city council members and mayors found the CLT very enlightening.”  Mays indicated that they look forward to the other workshops, especially since economic development is a priority for their communities.

Additional workshops for presenting all ten of EDAA’s CLT modules are scheduled with the next date set for December 19. Anyone interested in attending a workshop should contact Quesenberry at Bevill State at 1-800-648-3271, ext. 5142.

CUTLINE:  Mr. Grady Batchelor, Economic Developer for Winston County, served as the presenter for the CLT workshop held across the seven-county region.

Grady Batchelor presenting Community Leadership Training at BSCC

Forty-five community leaders from Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, and Walker Counties gained economic development training through Bevill State Community College’s interactive inter-campus television system.  Connecting the Economic Development Association of Alabama’s revised training program to community leaders using BSCC’s distance learning capacity was sparked by Karla Quesenberry, one of the WAEM Initiative…>>more.

Available in PDF format: Community Leaders Receive Training Via BSCC Distance Learning