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Lynne Twist to conclude 2006 New Valley InForum.
Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money, will wrap up the 2006 New Valley InForum season on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. (at the Fresno Memorial Auditorium) with a discussion of how our relationship with money impacts our connection with core human values. As a global activist and fundraiser who has raised more than $150 million in individual contributions for charitable causes and trains other fundraiser to be more effective in their work, Lynne’s discussion will offer a practical guide to transforming the way we relate to money. Lynne Twist was named “Woman of Distinction” by the United Nations in 1994, recipient of the Katalysis Foundation’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” in 1996, and the “New Dimension Broadcaster Award: Casting Seeds in a Wide Arc” in 1998. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Lyles Center at www.lylescenter.com or 559.294.2045.
CIMT Career Expo to be held March 16.
The Careers in Manufacturing Technology internship program will be hosting its 3rd Annual Career Expo next Thursday, March 16. The Expo will include student workshops for local community college students, a supervisor training workshop, and a joint meeting between the Water Technology, Advanced Manufacturing and Food Processing clusters. Local manufacturing companies will also have exhibits present and students will have the opportunity to network with industry representatives and learn about the CIMT internship program. To participate, please contact the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State at 559.294.6021.
RJI Annual Report shows progress-to-date.
At its Annual Meeting on February 21, the Regional Jobs Initiative released its 2005 Annual Report. The report highlights the many activities that are contributing to the transformation of the Fresno Area, including a review of ten industry clusters, nine community task force, and complementary local and valley-wide initiatives. In addition, a breakdown of job creation by target industry cluster in Fresno and Madera Counties is provided. To view the presentation made at the annual meeting or to download the annual report, please visit the RJI Documents section at www.fresnorji.org/about.
The New Valley Times 2006 Community Report released.
Last Tuesday, February 28, 2006, Fresno Bee subscribers received on their doorstep The New Valley Times 2006 Community Report. This present-day indicator report of how Fresno measures up on a number of quality-of-life issues is the follow-up edition of the futuristic New Valley Times published in January 2004 showing how Fresno could look in the year 2015. This year’s edition reports on the economy, natural resources, innovation, education, culture and recreation, transportation, and housing. “Fresno is making progress but we still have some serious issues to address,” said New Valley Times Creative Director Suzanne Bertz-Rosa. “We don’t want Fresno to be just another city in California, but a top City in the country.” To view the current and past editions of The New Valley Times, please visit www.newvalleytimes.com.
Fresno State offers KAIZEN Management System workshop.
This month, the Division of Continuing and Global Education at Fresno State will be offering a workshop on the “KAIZEN Management System: Roadmap to Managing the Continuous Improvement Strategy.” The workshop will provide participants with an overview of how the KAIZEN Management System can improve their organization and returns on investment, how to assess their organization’s readiness to undertake and sustain a KAIZEN Management System, how to recognize and eliminate waste in processes, and how to improve the organization as a whole, not on an individual basis. The workshop will be held on Friday, March 24, 2006, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information or to register, please call 559.278.0333.
Municipal Restoration Zone proposal looks to strengthen Fresno's urban core.
Recently Fresno Mayor Alan Autry unveiled the Municipal Restoration Zone (MRZ) to attract businesses to the City’s urban core. The MRZ includes significant incentives, in addition to those already in place as part of the Federal Empowerment Zone and State Enterprise Zone programs. Businesses in the urban core looking to startup or expand will provide the area with valuable job creation in parts of the city where residents are vulnerable to financial strangulation. “The MRZ helps ensure that residents of our most challenged neighborhoods are not left behind and that seeds of prosperity are planted for future generations,” stated Mayor Autry. By assisting businesses interested in downtown, the Mayor hopes to stimulate the area’s economy.
WIB 2006 SUMMER-4-WORK Program now recruiting businesses.
The Fresno County Workforce Investment Board believes that exposing our youth to available careers and industries in our area will give them something to aim for and succeed in. This year the WIB has funding for 100 summer youth internships in Fresno County. This provides a great opportunity for you to shape the future of a summer intern who’s capable and anxious to explore your career field. The only way to build our future workforce is through the support and participation of local businesses.
Let’s work together to stop Fresno’s Brain Drain as reported by the Los Angeles Times in December, 2005. Provide a job-shadowing experience for 3-6 weeks this summer and give our youth a reason to stay in the Valley and contribute to its growth.
Call the Business Services Center at 559.230.4062 if you are interested in hosting an internship for the 2006 SUMMER-4-WORK PROGRAM. Together we can make a difference in Fresno County!
City of Fresno launches www.FresnoStartUp.com.
The City of Fresno’s Economic Development Department, in collaboration with the Economic Development Alliance, has recently launched www.FresnoStartUp.com, a web site that assists local entrepreneurs wanting to start a business. The web site is meant to simplify the new business start up process by providing visitors with multi-agency information and links to Alliance members and State and Federal agencies. The City has also developed brochures and a 14-page booklet in English and Spanish for those without online access. The brochures and booklet are available at the City’s Business Assistance Hot Spot on the third floor of City Hall, Room 3076.
CVBI offers workshops and courses of interest to industry clusters.
The Central Valley Business Incubator is offering a number of workshops and courses that may benefit your business. Examples include “Business Expansion,” “Determining Your Marketing Strategy,” and “Strategies for Developing an Effective Web-site,” among others. For more information, call CVBI at 559.292.9033 or visit www.cvbi.org.
Customer service improvements seen with launch of 621-CITY.
In February, the City of Fresno launched its One Call Center, 621-CITY, providing residents with one direct connection to City information or to report an issue. Trained customer service representatives will direct calls on a number of issues, such as reporting vandalism or graffiti, obtaining information on youth and community activities, or contacting councilmembers. For more information, please visit www.fresno.gov/callcenter or call 559.621.CITY.
Special: The Importance of Thinking, by Glenn Patch, CEO, Central Valley Business Incubator.
Glenn Patch, CEO of the Central Valley Business Incubator, recently wrote an article on The Importance of Thinking and how entrepreneurs tend to get so caught up in the day-to-day operation of their business that they fail to think about their business and what they have created; they need to step back and take a look at the larger picture. To read the article, please visit www.FresnoRJI.org/news.
FCASH Profile: Fresno Philharmonic.
The Fresno Philharmonic is entering its 52nd season as a cultural centerpiece in Fresno. As the largest professional orchestra between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with a $2 million annual budget, the Philharmonic provides high-quality orchestral music and music education programs to audiences and school children throughout the Central Valley. Theodore Kuchar is in his fourth season as Music Director. Under his leadership, the orchestra has continued to grow in quality, and audience attendance has increased. This season’s highlights include world-famous violinist Itzhak Perlman, Sarah Chang and Dickran Atamian, and an all-Gershwin program. Tickets are still available for upcoming performances of the popular Bach Brandenburg Concerto, the beloved Verdi Requiem in April and the world premiere of a work by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, featuring the traditional didjeridu. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 559.261.0600.
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