Answering the question, “What exactly does the Chamber do?”

By Michelle Merritt, VP Member Relations & Communications 

As promised, we’re devoting a few blog posts during the upcoming weeks to answer the question, “What exactly does the Chamber do?” I’m breaking down the various areas of the Chamber to illustrate what each does & how they benefit YOU as the member. After all, you’re the reason we’re here.

Last week I defined what the Membership & Communications team does. Since we’re also highlighting the Industry to Educators Externship I think it’s fitting to share more information about Graduate Retention & how they benefit our members. Their mission statement reads, “The mission of the Graduate Retention Program is to attract and retain graduates of Northeast Indiana high schools and colleges to develop a highly qualified pool of talent that will attract new employers and retain existing, growing companies.”  Some would say this is a fancy way of saying we’re solving the “brain drain”. I think it’s more than that. 

The program, developed in 2004, decided to create internships in NE Indiana using a “feet-on-the-street” method of contacted employers. It’s been all about building relationships with this group from day one!  They’ve worked to develop collaboration between employers, economic development organizations, & chambers of commerce. In the last 6 years, our reps Tanya (tyoung@fwchamber.org) & Marlene (mlemon@fwchamber.org) , have worked tirelessly to partner with a variety of employers showing them how creating or increasing their intern program betters their bottom line. 

These experts have big goals that have an even bigger impact on our local economy such as high-skilled, high-wage jobs of $37,500-$40,000 per year. If you do the math, a person who earns $40,000 for 5 years brings $200,000 to the local economy. If 100 people gain those new positions over 5 years we bring $20,000,000 to the local economy. Now that’s a lot of zeros! 

Graduate Retention is reaching its goals in a variety of ways. They work one on one with employers as trusted resources to develop the best possible intern program for the employer’s needs. They coordinate the Live Learn & Intern events throughout the summer allowing interns working for the summer to get to know each other in fun/non-working environments. After all, who wouldn’t want to play in the bouncy area of Canlan Ice Arena or play sand volleyball at River City Complex? They work directly with educators and students at both the high school and college levels to create the collaborative relationship necessary to make internships a success. 

The really cool part is that they provide this expertise FREE OF CHARGE to employers & educators. It’s one of the many ways the Chamber serves the community, making it a great place to live & work. Their hard work is paying off. In the past 6 years, Graduate Retention is responsible for almost 2000 internships. They work with over 600 employers & over 4000 students. With numbers like that, they’re well on their way to achieving their goals.

So if you’ve ever thought about adding an intern program, improving the one you have, or just want some ideas on how this could improve your bottom line, contact Tanya or Marlene. They’ll walk you through all of your questions & help you brainstorm on other ideas.