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Visioning…Marketing…Working
It is Greater Mankato Growth, Inc.’s role to improve Greater Mankato’s position as a regional center, both in Minnesota and the upper Midwest.
For five years, Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. has led the charge through its Total Resource Campaign on a variety of initiatives designed to take advantage of economic opportunities. In an effort to prioritize limited resources, Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. has identified initiatives that provide a maximum return on investment, while marketing the community and recognizing the opportunities for success.
In previous years, Total Resource Campaign investments have funded a variety of projects from community marketing to affordable housing. While some projects have progressed, others need additional resources.
This year, Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. will continue its workforce development program which provides our future workforce with dynamic career experiences, while offering established workers professional development opportunities. Workforce Development will be expanded to include a plan for business and workforce attraction. An emphasis on marketing Greater Mankato with a consistent local and regional message will be established. Finally, Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. will support Envision 2020, a community visioning and strategic planning initiative, through its implementation phase.
This year the Total Resource Campaign will focus on these three initiatives:
Initiative 1: Visioning: Envision 2020 Implementation
The Envision 2020 planning process has come to fruition and the final report was drafted in September 2006. The time comes now for implementation. From now until the year 2020, there will be much to do to fully implement the Envision 2020 plan. Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. has been designated as the home for the next two years to coordinate the ongoing implementation activities.
- Continue to work with participants from the public, private and non-profit sectors to prioritize the goals and strategies of the plan.
- Oversee the ongoing implementation of the action plans.
- Recruit implementers of strategic plan when needed.
- Address unforeseen barriers that arise during implementation by developing strategies with reconvened stakeholders.
- Provide ongoing support to the implementers and monitor the achievement of the benchmarks in order to deliver reports to the community.
- Continue to develop a plan for riverfront and attraction development.
Initiative 2: Community Marketing
Since 2002, marketing and promoting Greater Mankato through a consistent brand image has been a top priority for Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. By utilizing the elements developed in the Greater Mankato branding campaign, the organization has successfully positioned Greater Mankato as “A little Twin Cities. A lot Minnesota.” Going forward, we must continue to build upon the strengths of the region by evaluating marketing trends and ensuring that we are innovatively positioning Greater Mankato for economic opportunities.
- Develop and implement a plan using the brand for business and workforce attraction.
- Enhance and expand greatermankato.com to be a one-stop shop for the region.
- Develop multi-media campaign to reinforce branding and positive messages about Greater Mankato through local and regional advertising.
- Restore exterior of Tourism and Visitors Center (train caboose in front of depot) to become a powerful vision reinforcement of branding.
- Develop cooperative partnerships with community stakeholders to promote the brand at major events and in key visible locations.
Initiative 3: Workforce Development
Finding, training and retaining a quality workforce is an ongoing challenge for all communities. In response to projections of an upcoming workforce shortage throughout the nation, Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. has identified specific strategies to retain the youth in our community as tomorrow’s workforce. In addition, we will be identifying additional strategies to reach potential workers from outside our community.
- Grant $30,000 to fund a Career and Technical Education Coordinator at Mankato Area Public Schools, which will:
- Coordinate 8th grade Career Exploration Business Tours
- Host Career Fairs at East and West High Schools
- Form Curriculum advisory committees in the areas of Business Education, Family & Consumer Sciences, Technical Education and Manufacturing/Construction/Engineering
- Plan Career Exploration Days for 10-12th graders in the areas of Healthcare, Business/Technology, Service Occupations and Manufacturing/Architecture/Construction/Engineering
- Host a Career Festival for regional 10th graders.
- $5,000 for the Career Expo and other Workforce Development projects for area educators.
- $10,000 for workforce attraction efforts (students at local colleges, out-of-town prospective employees, etc.)
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