Franklin D. Roosevelt was quoted as saying, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
In this spirit the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee, the Koochiching Economic Development Authority and the local Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training will again present CEOs in the Classroom to eighth-graders in area schools.
The local CEOs program, initiated in 2011-2012 at Falls High School, Littlefork-Big Falls School and Indus school, brought remarkable feedback, according to Faye Whitbeck, president of the Falls Chamber.
This year, St. Thomas School and the Northome School are added to the program. She noted an impressive list of local business owners, officials, managers and entrepreneurs enlisted for the 2012-2013 presentations. It includes Carrie Coffield, Tony Palm, Larry Keep, Jerrod Shermoen, Mike Musich, Kris Lessard, David Hebig, Randy Pozniak, Nissa Fougner, Brian Jespersen, Jerry Jensen, Kimberly Perkins, Mike Ward and Darwin Joslyn.
These professionals will help students think about the world of work and how the decisions they make today will shape the quality of their future.
Features of the CEOs in the Classroom program include the illustration of the value of education to the student’s future; encouragement of some level of post-secondary education; an emphasis on the importance of learning soft skills; exposure to the true cost of living; and revelation of what it takes to realize a dream. Importantly, some of the myths and intimidation are removed from the planning process because the direction is offered from familiar faces in the community, Whitbeck said.
It is also an opportunity for employers and students to learn more about each other toward an evolution of the best work force environments. “How often is it that we really share our life story with young teens and give living testimony about what’s possible in their lives?” Whitbeck asks.
A Chamber, KEDA and NEMOJT compiled report on the first program contains valuable input from area students, CEOs, and school staff. It parallels the statewide reports of a growing deficit in guidance for career-planning as well as the decline of a work force with skills sets matched to the needs of Minnesota businesses. Minnesota is no exception as across the nation manufacturers and industries feel the effects of hindered production due to work force deficiencies.
Originally funded by the Northern Prosperity Networks, Minnesota Power and the Applied Learning Institute, the local endeavor received an additional grant from the Marshall Knudson Foundation to initiate CEOs in the Classroom in 2011. Partnership with the city of International Falls will help fund the second execution of the program.
“But it also took the impressive cooperation of local business folks, school personnel and the coordinating agencies to make this work successfully,” Whitbeck stated.
After a group-training session, local business leaders will make their presentations to eighth-graders while adding their personal experiences to a universal Power Point program which delivers a real-world look at a household budget and the job opportunities in the Northeast Minnesota region. The 30- to 40-minute program is interactive so CEOs share their “story,” while allowing students to ask questions.
Whitbeck said that she, Jenny Herman of the Small Business Development Center, and Sue Fraik and Carol Stegmeir of NEMOJT also encourage parents to talk with their eighth-graders about information presented in the CEOs program. “This can open a family conversation about planning young lives,” Whitbeck said.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce, 283-9400, for information about CEOs in the Classroom.
