7-16-10

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03e8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Directors"><B>Board of Directors</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meetings"><B>Meetings</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CEDS"><B>CEDS</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Scenario Planning"><B>Scenario Planning </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Task Team"><B>Task Team</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Regional, State Federal Links Docs"><B>Regional Plans </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Regional Links NW CT"><B>Links</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ByLaws"><B>By-Laws</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact"><B>Contact</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>CEDS Sponsors:</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Directors"><I><U>Platinum Sponsor</U></I></A></div> <div> <B>Borghesi Building & Engineering</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>Silver Sponsors</U></I></div> <div> <B>Bicron Electronics</B></div> <div> <B>CEDAS</B></div> <div> <I>(CT Econ. 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Assoc.)</I></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>Bronze Sponsors</U></I></div> <div> <B>Parker Productions</B></div> <div> <B>Winvian</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>Patron</U></I></div> <div> <B>Bill Baxter</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #999980;" BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Bangle" ><B>Northwest Connecticut Economic Development Corporation</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bangle" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    </B><B>|</B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bangle" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Bangle" ><B> </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Northwest Connecticut Economic Developme"><B>home</B></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12210">1-22-10</A>   |   <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3510">3-5-10</A>   |   <A HREF="id127.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5710">5-7-10</A>   |   <B>7-16-10</B>   |   <A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="91710">9-17-10</A>   |   <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="111710">11-17-10</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>7-16-10</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="727" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1352 WIDTH="719"><div> <B><U>Northwest Connecticut Economic Development Corporation</U></B></div> <div> <I>333 Kennedy Drive, Torrington, CT 06790</I></div> <div> <B><U>860.567.2204 - info@nwctedc.com - www.nwctedc.com</U></B></div> <div> <B>Minutes - Board of Directors</B></div> <div> <B>Friday, July 16, 2010</B></div> <div> <I>8:00 am - NW CT Chamber of Commerce</I></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Attendance:</U></B><B> </B>Frank Chiaramonte, Susie Clayton,<B> </B>David Dean, Lou Helt, John Maxwell, Michael McGuffie, Dr. Michael Menard, Ted Murphy, Dr. John Norman, Doug Parker, Rose Ponte, Patrick Power, JoAnn Ryan, Dwain Snow, Don Stein, Vance Taylor, Dr. Deb Wheeler, Larry Wagner, Larry Sweeney, Dean Birdsall, Jody Doyon, Dan Reitenbach, Michelle Cook, Bruno Bagnaschi, Mark Waterhouse </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>CEDS Update:</U></B></div> <div> CEDS planning grant application has been received by EDA office in CityplacePhiladelphia, a decision should be made within the next few weeks. <I>Regional Innovation Clusters (RIC) are a proven way to create jobs and grow the economy. They will do a lot more good if they serve a well-developed regional strategy that leverages core regional strengths. - EDA</I></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Workforce Development</U></B></div> <div> The focus for this meeting was workforce development. This was identified as a major issue during the regional scenario planning process <I>(March & April 2008)</I> and confirmed as a major concern at the Alcoa-Howmet meeting <I>(March 6, 2009)</I> with regional manufacturers. </div> <bR> <div> Dr. Michael Menard, Director of the UConn-Torrington campus, provided an overview of recent activities and future directions. He reported stable enrollment and a strong desire for the university to work closely with the NW CT regional communities. He is looking forward to working with education and business leaders more closely in a "Litchfield County Compact" to create an integrated approach to workforce development.</div> <bR> <div> Dr. John Norman, Director of Continuing Education at NW CT Community College, described several programs designed to support the local business community including courses in corporate training, lean manufacturing and supervisory leadership. A new nursing program has been created to meet the increasing needs of the region for medical care. NWCC works closely with many regional manufacturers to meet their needs for a highly trained workforce. NWCC is always looking for new ways to help serve the regional communities.</div> <bR> <div> <U>Featured speakers</U>: Dean Birdsall, Jody Doyon and Dan Reitenbach</div> <div> All three spent considerable time in the private sector and are now teaching at area high schools.  Dean was at Uniroyal for 10 years <I>(customer service, marketing, sales)</I> and now teaches science at Litchfield High School. Jody was a vice president at Fuel Cell Energy and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia as well as representing the company in Washington, DC as the head of government programs. He now teaches chemistry at Pomperaug High School. Dan has degrees in both chemistry and law most recently working for Chemtura as a patent attorney. He now teaches science classes at Torrington High School. </div> <bR> <div> They all share the same concern for keeping high performing graduates in the area. They clearly recognize the brain drain of former high performing students relocating to other parts of the country to find better employment opportunities. Motivation is another key issue identified by all three. More practical uses of science and technology would help to motivate students. There is also concern about the math skills necessary to be successful in the current science classes and in post high school science-technology careers. Dan discussed the challenges of working in an urban school system where language barriers inhibit student learning. Another concern was the ability of even higher performing students to write clearly stated and legible reports. A need for "technical writing" courses was identified. </div> <bR> <div> JoAnn Ryan discussed various initiatives and programs by the NW CT Regional Workforce Investment Board to address these issues. She described the "School to Career Pathways" program currently sponsored by the NW CT Chamber under the leadership of Lauren Smith. The NW CT Chamber also conducts multiple events including job fairs, Score and SBA workshops and works closely with other regional and state agencies to provide networking opportunities for continual improvement in the region's workforce.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>New Business</U></B></div> <div> Vance Taylor expressed concern about a recent press release by CNBC and reported in the Waterbury-Republican newspaper about Connecticut's ranking as the 35th best state in which to do business. Connecticut's ranking is unchanged from 2009. Connecticut's ranking has fallen from 2007 when it ranked 31st and 2008 when it ranked 34th. He is concerned that not enough is being done to address this issue.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Adjourn </U></B></div> <div> The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 am.</div> <bR> <div> Respectfully submitted,</div> <div> Doug Parker</div> <div> President/Executive Director</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nwctedc.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nwctedc.com">www.nwctedc.com</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:info@nwctedc.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@nwctedc.com">info@nwctedc.com</A> </div> <div> (860) 567-2204</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id100.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NWCTEDC Minutes"><B>Back to Minutes</B></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>