Highland County commissioners Terry Britton, David Daniels and Brad Roades met with Highland County ACCESS Director Tim Dettwiller and Highland County Economic Development Director Julie Bolender, who shared the latest data on the ACCESS program and announced an upcoming industry summit, during their Wednesday, Oct. 11 meeting.
As announced by Bolender and Dettwiller, Highland County will host its inaugural Manufacturers Summit on Nov. 2 from 10 a.m.-noon at Southern State Community College’s Central Campus in Hillsboro.
“This is our first of what I hope are very regular manufacturing summits — a roundtable of sorts, but but with a whole lot more,” Bolender said.
The free summit is open to all manufacturing leaders in the county, with representatives from the Highland County Economic Development Department, Highland County ACCESS (Alignment of Community Connections for Employer and Student Success), Highland County Chamber of Commerce, BESTOhio and Southern State Community College also present.
Bolender said, “Highland County welcomes BESTOhio to the table as we discuss their Ohio Manufacturers’ Association-endorsed sector partnerships, the new Manufacturers Internship Stipend Program and how the ACCESS and SSCC workforce initiatives can support your business and aid in its growth.”
According to its website (https://ssuinnovation.com/bestohio), “The BESTOhio (Business & Education Success Team) of south central Ohio is a new voice for our region’s manufacturers. This industry-led sector partnership is building a better workforce through the common ground synergy of industry, education, economic development, human services organizations and community-based organization leadership. BESTOhio is endorsed by The Ohio Manufacturers’ Association and covers Scioto, Ross, Pike, Adams, Jackson and Highland counties.”
The summit will also serve as a “great opportunity to network with other likeminded manufacturing leaders,” Bolender’s presentation said.
“We’re going to talk about removing hurdles to employment,” Bolender told commissioners. “We’re going to talk about paid student internships