Thursday, November 18, 2010

Help Gwinnett Become a Certified Work Ready Community

Earn Your Work Ready Certificate on Nov. 18 and 19 at the Gwinnett Chamber

What will you get in return? Employees and job seekers strengthen their resume. Employers boost their bottom line. Gwinnett becomes known as the best workforce in Georgia.

As part of Georgia's Work Ready initiative, if 800 private sector employees or job seekers pass a simple assessment by Dec. 31, Gwinnett will become known as a Certified Work Ready Community, a designation showing we have the talented workforce that business demands and the means to drive economic growth and prosperity. Do your part to assure Gwinnett's quality of life by attracting high paying jobs for our workforce by obtaining a Work Ready Certificate and allowing your employees to do the same.

For your convenience, a Workforce Bus will be at the Gwinnett Chamber Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19 with computer stations available for you and your employees to take the Work Ready Assessments. Each assessment takes 45 minutes to complete and can be taken individually or at the same time. There is no charge to take the assessments and all results are confidential, known only by the assessment-taker. Stations will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

In addition, the assessments are available at Gwinnett Technical College anytime. To schedule an assessment to obtain your Work Ready Certification, please go to www.gwinnetttech.edu; click on Quick Links, which is about two-thirds down the page on the right; scroll down to the last option and click on Work Ready Registration; complete the information on that page and select the day that you would like to take the test and click on submit.

For more information, visit www.gaworkready.org. For more information on Gwinnett's effort to become a Certified Work Ready Community, contact Gail Macrenaris at 770-232-8803 or gail@gwinnettchamber.org.

Become Georgia Work Ready...and Open the Door to New Opportunities!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

GOVERNOR-ELECT NATHAN DEAL TO ADDRESS FIRST-EVER GWINNETT CHAMBER GEORGIA LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON

Governor-elect Deal to Give State's Outlook at December 15 Meeting

Duluth, GA- The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce will host Governor-elect Nathan Deal at its first-ever Georgia Leadership Luncheon Presented by Rocket IT on December 15 at 11:30 a.m. at the Gwinnett Center. Attendees will have the chance to hear the Governor-elect's vision and plan for the state of Georgia in 2011 and get an update on the state's efforts in education and workforce development, infrastructure, and small business growth and economic development. The Governor-elect will also begin laying out his plans to improve the overall quality of life for Georgia citizens.

"Gwinnett County continues to lead metro Atlanta and Georgia in the areas of infrastructure development, quality of life and economic development, through our strong partnership with the State. I look forward to Governor-elect Deal's outlook as he leads Georgia to a strong recovery in 2011," said Jim Maran, president and CEO, Gwinnett Chamber.

Born in Millen, Georgia, Governor-elect Nathan Deal obtained his B.A. from Mercer University and his J.D. from the Mercer School of Law in 1966. After serving two years in the United States Army, Deal settled into private practice, later serving as the assistant district attorney and a juvenile court judge. In 1981, Deal was elected to the Georgia State Senate, where he served for 12 years before being elected as a Democrat to the United States Congress. Deal changed his party affiliation in 1995 and served until his resignation in March 2010. Deal was elected Governor of the state of Georgia on November 2, 2010.

"As we slowly emerge from a devastating recession, the state of Georgia and Gwinnett County are in a transitional time that, for the first time in a while, looks more promising and hopeful," said Maran. "We look forward to working with Governor-elect Deal as we continue to carry out our public policy goals to improve upon the business climate and quality of life by growing job opportunities for the citizens of Gwinnett and the state of Georgia."

Additional sponsors for the Georgia Leadership Luncheon include Media Sponsor Gwinnett Daily Post and Gold Sponsor Merrill Lynch- David Cross. Platinum, gold, silver, and supporting sponsorships are still available. The event is open to the public and the cost to attend is $55 for Chamber members and $65 for non-members. Tables of 10 are available for $500. Advanced registration is required online by visiting the calendar of events page at www.gwinnettchamber.org. For more details, contact Abby Wilkerson, program manager, Gwinnett Chamber, at 770-232-2266 or abby@gwinnettchamber.org.

Monday, November 1, 2010

GWINNETT CHAMBER AND GWINNETT COUNTY GOVERNMENT CARRY OUT ENGAGE GWINNETT RECOMMENDATION BY HOLDING FIRST TECHNOLOGY TASK FORCE MEETING

Excellence Through Innovation Task Force Explores Technology Advancements and Efficiencies to Take Gwinnett County Government to the Next Level

(Duluth, GA., Oct. 28, 2010) – One of the many findings released from Engage Gwinnett's 42-member citizens committee on the future of Gwinnett County in April 2010 was that technological improvement represents the best approach for allowing more to be done with less staff throughout Gwinnett County. As a direct result of this recommendation, the Gwinnett Chamber - in partnership with Gwinnett County - is pleased to announce that the Excellence Through Innovation Task Force held their first official meeting on October 21.

Excellence Through Innovation Task Force Co-Chair and President of Atlanta Education Fund Bill McCargo said that the mission of the Task Force is to identify and recommend approaches that will create additional governmental efficiencies. "This initiative is about taking our county government to the next level and achieving a standard of excellence that we know is within our reach."

In the coming months the Task Force, led by Co-Chairs Bill McCargo and Canvas Systems Founder Sean Murphy, will explore the many recommendations made by the Engage Gwinnett volunteer committee to increase effectiveness, efficiency and innovation through technological improvements. The public-private partnership also includes Task Force members Rick Allen, Gwinnett Medical Center; Sylvia Black, Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department; Phil Boudewyns, Gwinnett County Courts; Scott Futrell, Gwinnett County Public Schools; Michael Gerster, WIKA; Marian Lucia, retired from Freddy Mac, John Matelski, Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners; Doug Meyer, Sage Software; Jann Moore, Gwinnett Chamber; Cindy Price, AT&T; Richard Steele, Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner's Office; Greg Talsky, Cisco; and Phil Ventimiglia, NCR. The Engage Gwinnett public involvement initiative is a partnership between Gwinnett County government and the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. The volunteer committee was formed in the fall of 2009 to study desired public services, revenues, and spending levels for the next five years.

"Through findings uncovered during the intense study conducted by the Engage Gwinnett volunteers, the Excellence Through Innovation Task Force has the opportunity to facilitate in the integration of new technologies that will not only help to make Gwinnett County more efficient, but also help to better serve its customers which are the citizens of Gwinnett County," said Murphy. "It is exciting to see the Engage Gwinnett recommendations come to life. Through the volunteer's specific recommendations to continue with technological improvements, Gwinnett County citizens can expect to see a more efficient government that is a model of excellence and innovation in the use of technology."

Gwinnett County Chief Information Officer and Director of Information Technology Services John Matelski, who will help guide the Task Force through the inner workings of the county's government, said that the Task Force will offer the opportunity to reflect on what they are doing well as a government. "The Task Force will help to identify what we should build on for the future and what we can do better in our technology and business operations."

More information about Engage Gwinnett can be found at www.engagegwinnett.com.