SRQ DAILY Jul 19, 2014
"Are they so tone deaf as to not realize what they"
When was the last time you heard that an education program graduated 100 percent of its students, and every one had a job waiting?
That’s exactly what happened last month, as 16 adult students completed the inaugural Precision Machining Program at Sarasota County Technical Institute. When they received their certificates, each machinist had a job lined up already or multiple offers to consider. That’s what’s possible through the mixture of vision, drive, and cooperation that fuels the CareerEdge Funders Collaborative.
SCTI’s machining program was launched last year as a direct result of a 2012 CareerEdge job analysis of manufacturing in the Sarasota-Manatee region. It showed that, despite the region’s high unemployment, local manufacturers couldn’t find the skilled workers they needed to grow—what’s often referred to around the nation as the “skill gap.” SCTI director Todd Bowden suspected it, and now he and the Sarasota County school district had the data to prove it.
Area manufacturers jumped on board to help create the curriculum that would teach the skills they needed. Other partners, from the public, private, and independent sectors, quickly coalesced to help build and fund the program.
At last month’s graduation, Bowden praised CareerEdge executive director Mireya Eavey as the driving force behind this successful new machining program, along with manufacturing business owner Jennifer Behrens Schmidt and County Commissioner Christine Robinson. (The county invested over $300,000 in equipment for the program.) The trio exemplifies how CareerEdge successfully leverages community assets and creates partnerships to get real results for employers in our region.
Eavey addressed the graduates too, telling them, “This is a dream come true, and I want to thank all of you for taking a leap of faith by enrolling in this program.” Indeed, going full-time into the brand-new, 11-month educational program was a risk for these jobseekers. But it was a calculated one—calculated precisely, in fact, by Eavey and the many partners involved. Area manufacturers agreed from the outset to host job shadowing and internships for the students. Eavey also worked closely with course instructor Ed Doherty on job placements.
The payoff: 16 marketable professionals who were in high demand before they even finished the course. The next class kicks off in August, with 12 of 18 slots already filled. Manufacturers who want access to these soon-to-be-skilled machinists should contact CareerEdge now.
On a larger scale, CareerEdge’s strategy—finding gaps in our region’s workforce and partnering with employers to provide the right training so underemployed workers can fill positions that unlock new revenue—is also working in the healthcare sector. Next up: information technology and computer science.
CareerEdge itself was a risk when it was created several years back by Gulf Coast Community Foundation and a group of co-investors, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which contributed $1 million in start-up funds. This bold new approach to workforce development turned the entrenched model on its head. But the (independently evaluated) numbers bear out its success: In three years of operation, CareerEdge has helped 2,100 individuals get training, 65% of them earning raises; created 450 new jobs in the region; and added $5.6 million in wages to the local economy. As we like to say at Gulf Coast, right risks, right rewards.
To learn more about CareerEdge, go to CareerEdgeFunders.org.
Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, which is one of the founding investors in the CareerEdge Funders Collaborative. 
“Sarasotans have made their wishes in this governance debate crystal clear. We believe this is yet another confirmation of the intelligence and good judgment of Sarasota's voters.”
When Eileen Normile made that statement to the press I had to wonder, had Citizens Voice, the group working to defeat the petition to allow a vote on the revised City Charter, always been so tone deaf, or was it a recent affliction? Was the low dismissive note intentional in the suggestion that those 2,000 voters—who by signing petitions that would have allowed us all to actually vote—had not shown intelligence and good judgment in doing so?
Did they not glance at the list of petitioners from every district, every precinct? Not recognize the names of their neighbors, perhaps their friends, all of them investing their lives, their families and their future here? Are their voices not worthy to be heard in the "debate"?
And what of this theoretical crystal clarity? There are around 36,000 registered voters in the City of Sarasota. Is the Citizens Voice really so full of themselves as to believe they can lay claim to the 34,000 voters who didn’t sign the petition? And, had It’s Time secured the requisite 10 percent of signatures, would “crystal clarity” have then been ours to flaunt? Of course not—that’s not how democracy works.
Do you suppose the tone deaf know they are tone deaf? Or do they just bleat on, off key until members of the audience finally speak up. And does the Citizens Voice ever wake in the middle of the night all sweaty and squirmy with sudden self-awareness and doubt? Do they lie there feeling small and alone replaying in their minds what they’ve said, wishing they’d taken a moment to consider how their tone might have soured the community of voices they pretend to represent?
From my perspective only two things have become clear via this recent adventure in democracy. To insure the robust voice of November voters is heard we only need to knock on more doors, and the Citizens Voice will do whatever is takes to mute any voice but theirs.
SRQ Daily offers a forum for all to speak their minds. I respect that and avoid using my column to back talk what others write—until now.
Frank Brenner wants us to shun Michael Barfield because when Michael was 19 years old he committed a felony. Mr. Brenner made his career defending felons—one a man who shot and maimed four teenagers on a New York subway. I’ve been witness for years in this City to violations—innocent or not—of our Sunshine Law, and Michael Barfield has earned his redemption by defending that Law, and with it our rights to open government. I don’t always agree with Michael, but I respect him, and I know this: the Sunshine Law deserves as zealous a defense as those four teenagers.
If I were drowning and Michael swam out to save me, I’d let him, and if Frank Brenner is so pious he would swim the other way, well then so be it.
SRQ Daily Columnist Diana Hamilton, after living 35 years in Sarasota, labels herself a pragmatic optimist with radical humorist tendencies and a new found resistance to ice cream
It is with relief and gratitude to many that The Citizens Voice Committee completes its work in opposition to the proposed new charter for the City of Sarasota. Less than 60 percent of signatures needed to put the initiative on the ballot were collected over a six-month period. It is important to note that this was the first time in Sarasota's recent history that petition gatherers had 180 days to complete their task. Until 2012, they were allowed only 90 days. And yet they failed. This was, we believe, yet another confirmation of the intelligence and good judgment of Sarasota's voters.
It was The Seventh Time, Sarasota. In 1996, 2002 and 2009 voters defeated a variety of such initiatives—in 2002 by 70 percent to 30 percent. The City Commission voted not to put a similar measure on the ballot in 2012. The Charter Review Committee of 2006 and the 2010-11 Committee that performed the decennial review of the charter also recommended against a change from Commission-City Manager form of government.
It was important to us that the Steering Committee of The Citizens Voice be diverse and comprehensive, that it include new voices (Chair and Treasurer as well as other committee members were new to this governance debate) and that all three districts of the city be fully represented. We are proud to have our members include the majority of past mayors/commissioners of this city, a former city manager and several former members of the 2010-11 Charter Review Committee. We were truly non-partisan, as is our city government—Republicans, Democrats and Independents, neighborhood and business representatives, working together in common cause.
This recent initiative to change the city government was the most radical yet. The proposed charter would have created a mayor with enormous power who could not be recalled. Voters would be allowed to choose only one district commissioner rather than the current three (a majority of the commission). And the March city election would be moved to August with its notoriously low turnout and politically partisan primaries. We are grateful to those citizens and current and former elected officials from Pensacola who shared their candid assessments and strong disappointment with a similar charter recently adopted in that city.
We strongly disagree with the argument that this proposal deserved to be on the ballot regardless of its content. The content of the proposal matters. We are pleased that a great deal of time and money has been saved by ending this effort at the petition-gathering stage. (For the 2009 election, The Citizen's Voice spent $10,000 in opposition to similar amendments. Proponents spent over $100,000. Then, also, the intelligence and good judgment of Sarasota voters resulted in a 65 percent to 35 percent voter defeat of the measure.)
The cost of these repeated attempts is not just monetary, however. They have a significantly destabilizing effect on the city, its citizens, staff and elected officials. For this reason, South Carolina, for instance, has a law which prohibits the introduction of initiatives to change the form of a municipal government more frequently than once every four years.
Throughout, citizens observed that this is a great city and it became so under the City Manager-Commission form of government. We celebrate this city, its vibrancy and, especially, the voices of its citizens. May they always be heard.
Eileen Normile, The Citizens Voice chairwoman
For those of you who believe the robot call is for your good, I need to
ask, if you receive a call from your local government telling you not to
listen to the petitioners, when do the brain cells kick in the doubt mode
and you realize there must be a reason they do not want you informed. So,
in my opinion, get informed, it is in your best interest!
Meredith Booker, Sarasota
Check out SNN July 21-27 to view the interviews with Lisl Liang, CEO, President SRQ | The Magazine and the 5 winners of the 2014 SRQ Women In Business Competition: Kelly Gilliland, Horizon Mortgage Corporation, Teri Hansen, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Cynthia Holliday, Children’s World and Children’s World Uniform Supply,
Angela Massaro-Fain, Grapevine Communications, and Joy Randels, New Market Partners.
Join the fun! Selby Gardens will open select Wednesday evenings beginning July 23 from 6-9pm. Bring a blanket & picnic or purchase picnic fare onsite. Music provided throughout the Garden along with amazing sunsets over Sarasota Bay. Regular admission is $10 for members, $12 for non-members, and free for kids 11 & under. For groups of 10 or more, tickets are $10 per person. Visit the link below for details and a schedule.
Take a free tour by appointment with Healthy Eating Specialist Kathryn to learn her inside tips on staying healthy without spending beaucoup bucks! Along with your tour join Whole Foods in diverse healthy eating classes, which include how to cook the “Mighty Bowl,” plant-strong vegetarian menu ideas for the whole family, and tasty summer treats to beat the heat. This month also includes a Kids Club Sushi class, cheeses for summer get-togethers, and seafood cooking tips and recipes. For family fun activities join Whole Foods for a free ice cream social on July 19 and a community beach cleanup on July 22. Reserve your cooking class spots by calling 941-316-4700 and visiting the website below for detailed information.
Congratulations to Bijou Cafe on earning a score of 26 out of 30 in all three categories of the Zagat rating: food, decor, and service. The Zagat Summary Review noted Bijou as, "a great choice for pre-theater as well as special occasions--this Sarasota spot imbues traditional Continental cuisine with modern style and the results are to die for." Chef and restaurateur J.P. Knaggs commented, "We hold the Zagat Survey in highest regard because its integrity cannot be compromised by purchasing advertising. The ratings of real customers who have not been influenced in any way is the ultimate in honesty. With thousands of people sharing their opinions through featured surveys, Zagat uses the results to create ratings and reviews which are publisehd online and in Zagat guides."
In addition to the generous corporate contribution made earlier in 2014, PGT Industries’ 1,600 team members pooled together a sizeable collection of children’s clothing to donate to Child Protection Center (CPC). CPC maintains a closet with clothing items ranging in sizes available for infants to teenagers. Clients and their family members are provided diapers, socks, shoes, pants, shirts, and dresses as needed; however, the distribution of clothing is not limited to CPC clients. Anyone in the community can come to the Child Advocacy Center located at 720 Orange Avenue in downtown Sarasota to receive free clothing for their children. “We cannot say enough about how contributions like those made by PGT and their staff change the lives of innocent children in our area,” said Doug Staley, Executive Director of CPC. “The appreciation can be seen in the eyes of the children we are helping.”
Did you know that SRQ Airport offers valet parking? Managed by Republic Parking System. SRQ offers a no-wait terminal curbside valet parking service located near the terminal front drive center canopy, where passengers can leave their car before a flight and retrieve it at the same location upon returning. The valet service collects flight information from customers when they arrive and take the extra step of having the vehicle waiting for them upon their return, rather than retrieving the vehicle after the customer asks for it. This service is accomplished through the use of a Flight Information Display near the booth and a toll free phone number. Vehicles are taken to a nearby airport parking lot that is secure, fenced and lighted.
Attorney Marisa Powers, in the litigation services group at Blalock Walters, P.A., will serve a three-year term on The Florida Bar Twelfth Circuit Grievance Committee. The grievance committee, which is made up of volunteer members, reviews complaints with much the same purpose as a grand jury. The committee decides, after a case is submitted to them by Bar counsel, whether there is probable cause to believe a lawyer violated the professional conduct rules imposed by the Supreme Court of Florida and whether discipline against the lawyer appears to be warranted. Each of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits has a least one such committee. “Marisa has a broad range of legal and practical experience and will be a significant asset to the grievance committee,” said Principal Charles Johnson, practice group leader of Blalock Walters Business Litigation Services. Marisa Powers’ law practice involves the litigation of business disputes; probate, estate and trust disputes; employment litigation; and construction law related controversies.
SRQ DAILY is a daily e-newsletter produced by SRQ MEDIA. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. The views expressed by individuals are their own, and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. SRQ DAILY includes content excerpted from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Robinson Valverde at 941-365-7702 x703 or via email |
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