On Wednesday, April 19th, members of the Chamber and the community gathered for our inaugural Coffee and Conversations event. These morning networking events were created to provide a space and time in the morning for Chamber members to network and discuss issues important to our businesses and community.
For our first Coffee & Conversations event, the focus was on the topic Sustaining a Healthy Workforce. Our panel discussion featured Shawn Stover, Reentry Program Coordinator at Athens County OhioMeansJobs, Gary Gooseman, Mayor of Amesville and owner of ACRE (Amesville Community Resources for Entrepreneurs), and Jennifer L’Heureux, Career Coach at Nelsonville-York SD and Project RISE. Each of these speakers touched on the importance of infrastructure, varied opportunities, and connection. Jennifer shared about the opportunities that local students have to train and prepare to enter the workforce; Shawn discussed the importance of a holistic approach to supporting workers and made it clear that employees have to have their basic needs met in order to be successful; and Gary touched on the importance of community, connection, and the opportunity to come together with others to share ideas. (Scroll down for a recording of the full panel discussion).
Attendees lingered long after the discussion in order to ask more questions, discuss ideas, and further connect with one another, and the Chamber is eager to plan another C&C for July – stay tuned for more details.
Many thanks to our sponsors of this event!
Brenen’s Coffee Cafe contributed coffee for attendees, Fluff Bakery provided a delicious spread of breakfast treats, and a door prize, a book on leadership, was donated by Little Professor Book Center.
You can check out some highlights from the morning, or watch the full panel discussion (scroll down for video)
Coffee and Conversations: Sustaining a Healthy Workforce
Panel Discussion Recording