Our team had the pleasure of attending Grinnell High School's Reverse Career Fair this week. It was an opportunity for us and our business community to visit with the Career and Technical Education students and see what they've been learning in class and how these skills can help them in a future internship or career. There were over 30 different classes represented by 50+ students from all four grades.
From business to ag science, culinary to manufacturing, robotics to theater and more, each student we talked with shared their successes and challenges in what they've learned this school year. Our team was impressed by the student's communication skills and their passion for sharing what they learned, and we even learned a thing or two! Some key skills they've developed include; project management, problem solving, teamwork, communication, time management, public speaking and so much more. The CTE program plans to do this again next year and we strongly encourage anyone interested to attend.
Hats off to Amy Skouson, Ashley Wolfe, Jerry Hulsing, Sam Watts and the rest of the GHS faculty and staff for their hard work in preparing Grinnell students for the future. We appreciate your dedication and thank you for the opportunity to visit with students. And to all the students that participated, thank you for sharing your passion and experiences with us. We can't wait to see what you do next!
We strongly believe in regional collaboration and we also believe in tapping into resources outside of our own community, when possible. We were proud to host team members of the Iowa Economic Development Authority/Iowa Finance Authority in Grinnell yesterday. Joined by Director Debi Durham and Main Street Director, Michael Wagler for a morning visit, we spent a quick visit touring them through the community. We used the opportunity to not only thank them for the investments the State of Iowa has had in recent projects in Grinnell, but to also ask for continued support and assistance for future projects.
The department oversees an incredible number of programs and initiatives including economic development, housing, tourism, downtown resource center and several others. We were able to share some progress of their most recent financial commitments to Grinnell in action. A few of those included the completion of the second round downtown facade project, the Grinnell Historical Museum - which was recently awarded a $200,000 CAT grant, several housing projects including the now-completed Reserves at South Lake (nearest WalMart), a downtown building rehabilitation project for the School of Music, and concluded with a visit to the UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center's OB department who was recently awarded $600,000 through a CDBG program.
Our office and many of our partners are constantly looking into opportunities - whether grants or loans - that may help move projects and businesses forward in our community, and we feel fortunate to have partners at IEDA who are willing to engage and assist us along the way. We can't wait to have them visit again soon as we more projects come to fruition!
