|
 |
Costco sr. vice president to talk with RJI cluster
businesses next week.
Next week, Tim Rose, senior vice president of Costco, will be visiting Fresno to speak to the Food Processing Cluster about trends in the consumer food market. “This is a great opportunity for food processors in our region to hear first-hand what big retailers like Costco are looking for in their vendors,” said Bill Smittcamp, president of Wawona Frozen Foods and chair of the food processing cluster.
Mr. Rose oversees all purchasing for Costco’s Merchandising-Foods and Sundries Division. The event will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, at University Piccadilly Inn. For more information, please contact Manjit Atwal at 559.294.6023 or manjitm@csufresno.edu.
PCV's first Valley CEO Forum huge success; next event is May 31.
Last month, 20 people including many RJI cluster companies attended Pacific Community Ventures’ first CEO Forum of 2007. The CEO Forum, “Is Your Strategy Understood? – Using Management Controls to Implement your Strategy,” was presented and facilitated by Doug Morgan of Morgan & Company, a local strategy implementation consulting firm.
The Forum began by addressing the concept of strategy and the importance of aligning a company’s unique position and culture with a market need, and then carrying out that alignment in a manner different from its competitors. The workshop then addressed key elements of strategy including customer base and internal capabilities. The workshop included sections on the various strategies for growth, developing functional-based strategies and how to measure that effectiveness of those strategies. The importance of keeping strategic plans as “working” documents was highlighted, as well as the key concept of tying employee compensation to company strategy. Participants spent time in break-out sessions to immediately apply workshop concepts to their own businesses.
The next Pacific Community Ventures’ event will be held on May 31 for entrepreneurs looking to fund expansion and growth. Sponsored by Bank of America, “Equity 101” will address the various aspects of venture capital and private equity funding. The forum is designed to be an educational opportunity to help entrepreneurs learn whether they want to seek equity financing and to prepare for the fund-raising process. For more information or to apply online, visit www.PCVworkshops.org.
$500,000 earmarked for Valley workforce training.
The Training Institute at Fresno City College was recently awarded $500,000 to develop customized worker training programs for Valley companies in the manufacturing, packaging and logistics industries. Training is for full-time employees and is tailored to the needs of the employer. Possible topics of instruction include technical and industrial skills; supervisory skills; literacy and basic skills; communication and team skills; computer applications; and customer service skills. Charles Francis, director of the Training Institute, strongly encourages employers to take advantage of this opportunity as “Employee training positively impacts performance, productivity, quality and the bottom line.” Funding is provided through the Employment Training Panel of the State of California and through the efforts of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley. For more information, contact Rob Weil at 559.256.0188 or robw@fccti.cc.ca.us.
TC3 to present papers in Barcelona, Spain.
Members of the Technopolis Clovis Core Committee (TC3) will travel to Barcelona where Santanu Banerjee, primary author of the paper entitled Creative Communities—Fueling the Culture of Innovation, will present his paper at the International Association of Science Parks (IASP) Conference, July 2-4, 2007. TC3 members Joe Bezerra and Mayor Bob Whalen also contributed to the paper. In addition to the paper being presented, the IASP has accepted three additional papers from TC3 for publication: 1) Creative Ecosystems in Science and Technology Parks and in Cities, primary authors Deborah Ikeda and Jan Waegele; 2) The Geography of Creativity: “Clovis in the Crucible”, primary author Jim Gledhill; and 3) Understanding, Fostering, and Managing “Creativity” primary authors Judith Preuss and Josh Brewer. TC3 members, assisted by project consultants Nancy Key and Raymond Hoche-Mong of Key Writing Concepts, contributed to the development of the papers.
“These papers being read and presented internationally are a big accomplishment for the group and the City,” said Mike Dozier, Community and Economic Development Director for the City of Clovis. “Having Clovis in the international spotlight will have great benefit in meeting the TC3 goal of creating the Innovative Technology Hub in Clovis.” TC3 is a group of volunteer citizens formed in July 2005 to advance the emergence of Clovis as an Innovative Technology Hub.
Lyles Center launches creation of Technology
Development Center
The Lyles Center at Fresno State has recently hired Mike Summers to help build a Technology Development Center. Working with faculty, staff, students and community inventors, the Technology Development Center will provide consultation on the steps necessary to move technology ideas to the commercial market. Fresno State represents an untapped source of intellectual knowledge that is applied to problems and can be of value in the general market. Helping to link ideas to markets will benefit the educational mission of the university as well as the regional economy. Mike has experience in the engineering of food manufacturing systems, the software and gaming industry, and has created, developed, and commercialized a number of technology projects on his own. As such, his expertise will be very valuable in helping evaluate “big ideas” and commercializing them. Individuals and businesses seeking expertise on the commercialization of technology should contact Mike at 559.294.2045 to schedule a consultation.
How can being in an incentive zone help your business?
The City of Fresno Economic Development Department is offering an opportunity to learn about the incentive zones available within the City of Fresno. Melodee Schwamb and Kelly Trevino, economic development analysts, will be on hand to discuss the benefits of the Federal Empowerment Zone, State Enterprise Zone and the City Municipal Restoration Zone. The free workshop will take place at the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, 2331 Fresno Street, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on June 6. Seating is limited, so RSVP right away. Please provide your name and contact information to Melodee Schwamb at Melodee.Schwamb@Fresno.gov or call 559.621.8366.
Invention to Venture workshop to be held next month.
The fourth Invention to Venture (I2V) workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, at the Lyles Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Fresno State. The workshop is an introduction to the process and practice of technology entrepreneurship. As with all I2V events, the goal is to engage a wide range of participants from the university community, including science and technology students and faculty as well as members of the surrounding business community. The cost to attend is $25 for students and $65 for all others. The event is sponsored by Fresno State and the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance. For more information, please visit www.invention2venture.org.
City of Fresno Planning Department recruiting grant writer.
The Administration Division of the Planning & Development Department for the City of Fresno, a partner of the RJI, is currently looking to hire a department grant writer. The position will require researching and identifying federal, state, local foundation and other funding sources; writing grant applications; grant acquisition; and performing tasks related to all aspects of grant administration. Qualifications include two years of full-time, paid experience in writing and administering grants, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration or a closely related field. For more information about this position or to apply, please visit www.fresno.gov.
Finding the Film and Entertainment Commission is just
one click away.
Sometimes it seems like someone should invent a “MapQuest” program for Web sites. The commission’s new easy-to-locate Web site jumped onto the World Wide Web on March 14 at www.fresnofilm.com. Ray Arthur notes that it will always be "under construction" with new things added weekly. The site will be easy to navigate and have great functionality. According to Arthur, a film commission’s clientele is always on a fast deadline and usually mobile. It is not unusual to have a location scout with two cell phones and a laptop in the middle of nowhere, talking a film commissioner through sending him location photos, via a wireless connection, in his car. No time for Flash, streaming video/audio or any other bells and whistles. Just the facts…and the photos!
For more information on the Fresno Film and Entertainment Commission, visit www.fresnofilm.com. or e-mail Ray Arthur, Film and Entertainment Commissioner, at ray.arthur@fresno.gov or call 559.621.8358.
Creative Fresno's annual meeting & board elections announced.
Creative Fresno will hold its annual meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, at Palomino¹s Restaurant in the Tower District. It will include a recap of the 2007 successes, preview of the Creative Economy Council recommendations report card, board elections and a good time. A prix fixe menu will be available.
What should you do? If you are not currently a member of Creative Fresno, join by submitting the application found at www.creativefresno.com. If you are already a member, please submit an updated application with your 2007 dues. In either case, write in your name or the name of another person you would like to nominate for the Creative Fresno Board. Board nominations are due April 14. RSVP to fun@creativefresno.com.
Cultural Arts Update.
The Fresno Coalition for Art, Science & History (FCASH) has received $25,200 from the Indian Gaming Committee to partially launch the Coalition’s Fresno County Public Awareness Campaign. The cornerstone of the campaign includes the first Fresno County Cultural Arts Economic Impact Study, a cultural arts information clearinghouse/centralized event calendar and annual conference for cultural arts leaders, community and business partners.
In March, the Coalition convened key cultural arts leaders for a meeting with City Councilmember Henry Perea, Jr. to provide recommendations for the development of his Cultural Arts Agenda for the coming year. This marks what is hoped to be the beginning of an important trend for political leaders.
The Coalition has more than 80 members and convenes general meetings open to the public from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Arte Americas. To subscribe to the Coalition’s monthly event e-newsletter, the FCASH Flash go to: www.fcash.org or contact Cynthia Cooper at 559.286.8282 or ccooper@fcash.org.
Cultural Arts Profile: Fresno Nonprofit Advancement Council.
The Fresno Area Nonprofit Advancement Council (FNAC) grew out of a merger between the Fresno Nonprofit Advancement Center and the Nonprofit Council. FNAC provides management support to organizations through information, education and representation of the non-profit sector. Their motto: “Strong Non-Profits, Strong Communities.” The office in the Cultural Arts District has resource information, internet stations, and access to the directory of foundations. FNAC is funded primarily by the Fresno Regional Foundation, other contributions and membership. For more information, contact Director Kate Henry at 559.264.1513 or kate@fresnononprofits.com. You can also visit FNAC’s Web site at www.fresnononprofits.com.
| |
|
