- Engage Leaders: GSDC’s 10th Annual Meeting – Message from Brian Myres and Patti Gartland
- Grow Business:
- Becker Industrial Park Receives Xcel Energy Certified Site Designation
- gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud – Mentors Needed!
- Expand Talent: Employer Tools for a Diverse and Inclusive Work Environment
- Shape Tomorrow: Around Cloud Tutors
- Insights and Inspirations: Community Leaders Committed to Creating Place Equity
Engage Leaders: GSDC’s 10th Annual Meeting – Message from Patti Gartland and Brian Myres
Thank you! Gracias! Danke! Merci! Mahadsanid! ありがとう
Late on the afternoon of Thursday, April 8th, 147 of our favorite people gathered in an all-too-familiar-now Zoom arena for the GSDC’s annual meeting. It truly was a grand gathering that was packed full of introductions, insights, highlights and recognitions. For those that were able to join us – we’re grateful. For those that were not able to attend, worry not – we’ve got you covered! We recorded the one hour event which you can watch HERE.
And we also relish the opportunity to share a few reflections from the gathering:
- We welcomed and heard introductions from 7 new investor members which brings our investor member family to 146.
- Corporate Investors:
- Star Tribune
- Commercial Realty Solutions (CRS)
- Corporate Investors:
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- Advocate Investors:
- Global Impex USA
- Granite City Real Estate
- Higher Works Collaborative
- Lee & Vicki Morgan
- Vye
- St. Cloud Area YMCA
- Advocate Investors:
- We watched our GSDC’s 2020 highlights video and previewed our 2020 annual report
- We were inspired by the keynote, “Weathering the Pandemic Challenges at MSP” provided by Brian Ryks, MSP Metropolitan Airports Commission
- And we celebrated with our GSDC award recipients!
- Community Catalyst Award – Boys & Girls Club of Central MN
- Leadership Award – Dr. Ken Holmen
- Community Pillar Award – George Torrey
As we gathered, we also know that we were sharing this time slot with the SCSU Huskies who were competing in the Frozen Four tournament. And, as SCSU alum, we took great pride in wearing our Husky Hockey Frozen Four commemorative tee shirts at the meeting. Bravo Huskies!
Save the Date! GSDC’s next all investor and partner gathering is intended as an in-person, outdoor celebration event to commemorate our 10 year anniversary.
Thursday, August 26, 4 – 6 pm, River’s Edge Convention Center parking lot across from the GSDC office on the corner of 5th Avenue and St. Germain Street.
We’re encouraged by the rapid rise in vaccinations, the return of warmer weather, and the opportunity that that brings to safely gather in outdoor settings. The light at the end of the tunnel grows bigger and brighter by the day.
#stcloudshines
Grow Business
Becker Industrial Park Receives Xcel Energy Certified Site Designation
The City of Becker and Sherburne County is home to one of Xcel Energy’s Certified Industrial Sites. To qualify as an Xcel Energy Certified site, the property must be zoned for commercial industrial use, be at least 40 acres, served by Xcel Energy, provide good transportation access, and have no environmental or wetland concerns. The City of Becker, Sherburne County and Xcel Energy are great partners with a proven track record towards positive economic development and this site is another example of the development opportunities that exist in our region. To view a flyover and additional information about this exciting industrial site, click HERE. To learn more about the Xcel Energy Certified Site program click HERE.
gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud – Mentors Needed!
gBETA accelerates the growth of early-stage companies through its network-driven program. gBETA supports five teams per cohort and requires no fees and no equity. Since launching in 2015, gBETA program alumni have raised $180M+ in capital and created 1,900+ jobs across the US and Canada. gBETA Greater MN – St. Cloud works to use resources and connections to build up the St. Cloud start-up ecosystem. A key portion of the programming is when the start-ups are matched with community leaders to learn from their expertise during our mentor swarms. The gBETA program is open to and looking for more mentors. Are you or someone you know interested in serving as a mentor? If so, contact Joe Sullivan, Director of gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud, at joe.sullivan@gener8tor.com.
Expand Talent
Employer Tools for a Diverse and Inclusive Work Environment
Are you looking to increase diversity and strengthen inclusiveness in recruiting, hiring, onboarding and retention? Look no further. There are some great tools available to help your organization navigate this process.
Diversity and Inclusion Employer Action Guide: https://www.greaterstcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DI-Employer-Action-Guide-FINAL.pdf
Employer’s Guide to Developing a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Workplace: https://www.careerforcemn.com/employers-0
Topics you will find include:
- Creating an Equity Statement
- Recruitment tools to prevent unconscious bias in screening, interviewing, and hiring candidates
- Onboarding best practices to establish two-way communication to fulfill the needs of new hires and employers to ensure new hires feel welcomed into an inclusive workplace.
- Retention tools to ensure high quality and diverse staff opportunity for growth into positions of leadership within your organization.
- Tools to manage an inclusive workplace
- Assessment tools to identify your efforts in the process and provide you a step-by-step guide to success
Shape Tomorrow
Around Cloud Tutors
Around Cloud Tutors, a free, virtual community tutoring platform continues to be an impactful resource in our greater St. Cloud community. Could you or someone you know benefit from setting up their student with a weekly reading, math, or science session? Do you know a high school student who is studying for the ACT or beginning to think about their next steps after high school? Around Cloud Tutors is the place for all!
We continue to encourage all to share this resource with their friends, family, co-workers, and employees. We are grateful for all the ways it has been shared so far and continue to appreciate the community support. Please go to our website, aroundcloudtutors.org, to sign-up for a session, or email aroundcloudtutors@gmail.com with any questions.
Insights and Inspirations
Community Leaders Committed to Creating Place Equity
Numerous community leaders engaged in multiple conversations over the last two weeks about the shooting and death of Daunte Wright. Various members of the GSDC board and GSDC President, Patti Gartland, were part of those conversations. Pastor James Alberts, CEO and Founder of Higher Works Collaborative, hosted a Zoom meeting that resulted in a consensus amongst those attending to craft and support the issuance of a public statement. This statement expresses our region’s reaction, the continued commitment to substantive change, recognition of positive steps that have been taken in our region, our awareness of the severity of the problem, and our individual and collective commitment to continue that hard work ahead.
Contact Our Staff Team
Patti Gartland, President
pgartland@greaterstcloud.com | 320-260-2442
Leslie Dingmann, Business Development Director
ldingmann@greaterstcloud.com | 320-493-9003
Larry Hosch, Business Development Director
lhosch@greaterstcloud.com | 320-761-4570
Gail Cruikshank, Talent Director
gcruikshank@greaterstcloud.com | 320-260-6775
Amelia Barkley, Communications & Program Specialist
abarkley@greaterstcloud.com | 320-292-9296