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Regional Workforce Study Completed
Fort Leonard Wood, MO – February 15, 2006 ---- The monthly meeting of Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood Region (MFLWR) was held at the St. Robert Municipal Center, St. Robert. Bob Kreuter, chairman of the MFLWR, welcomed all to the meeting and thanked St. Robert for their hospitality.
Greg Maxwell, from the office of the Garrison Commander of Fort Leonard Wood, provided the FLW Update. He said that the very mild winter weather has helped to ensure that all construction projects on post are on schedule.
The new post exchange will be completed in July and open in August or September. The Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear (CBRN) Responder Training Facility is under construction. It is scheduled to be completed in April 07.
There has been a setback in the completion of the instrument landing system. A modification of the system is now needed which will require another FAA certification flight when completed. Greg did not have a new schedule. Once completed, the regional airport at Fort Leonard Wood will become the only all-weather airport between Springfield and St. Louis.
Chris Heard reported on the progress of the regional workforce study. He stated that the Regional Workforce Study reports are now been reviewed by the counties. The principal investigator for the study, Ed Martin, will brief the results for Phelps County on February 15 at the Havener Center on the University of Missouri Rolla campus. He will brief the results for Laclede County to the board of the America’s Heartland Economic Partnership on March 7. The Waynesville/St. Robert Chamber will sponsor the briefing of Pulaski County results on March 8. It was agreed that a summary of the reports would be briefed to the MFLWR board at the next board meeting on March 14. The reports reflect that the region is very competitive with respect to its workforce quality and availability.
Luge Hardman provided the Airport Committee report. She stated that the Joint Airport Board, which includes St. Robert and Waynesville, has approved the initial phase of the airport upgrade which will include the construction of T-hangers for eight aircraft. Missouri Department of Transportation funding with local match has been allocated for this project. The next phase, which will include additional hangers and a new general aviation support facility will be funded by the FAA Military Airport Program. FAA approval of the JAB submission is pending.
Ron Selfors reported that the finance committee is sending out an initial 23 letters requesting contributions to MFLWR from organizations that have not previously contributed. More letters will follow as the association begins to build its war chest for an aggressive marketing campaign.
Chris Heard reported on the progress by the Jeff City Presentations Committee. The committee met last week to begin development and implementation of a program to make regional presentations to state leaders in Jefferson City. Elizabeth Bax leads the committee. The first visit will be on March 8 when the region will have a display as part of the Phelps County Day at the Capitol. In the spring the committee is planning a region update briefing in Jeff City to the Department of Economic Development leadership and staff. They are also proposing a Day in the Fort Leonard Wood Region for key state decision makers in the legislative and executive branches. The invited guests will start with breakfast at one end of the regional corridor, have lunch in Pulaski County and wind up at the other end of the corridor for dinner and a final social event. During the visit the guests will get a first hand feel for the opportunities and challenges that the region faces and the region’s great potential to become a major economic engine for Missouri.
Chris Heard also reported on the initial meeting of the Metrics Committee. The committee is charged with establishing metrics by which to evaluate the future success of the association in marketing the region. They agreed that the intent is to build upon the recent successes in restructuring the association, the development of the website and the results of the target industry study and the regional workforce study. They will focus on specific measurement factors at the next meetings in Phelps and Laclede Counties.
Chris Heard announced that the next meeting of the Marketing Committee will be on Feb 22. Ron Selfors reported that the region’s website (www.MidAmericaLocations.org) has been operational since Jan 30. Site traffic reports indicate that most of the major search engines have already visited the site. Gerald Dowdy, St. John’s Clinic, Rolla, stated that he is collecting information about regional health care for inclusion on the website. The information will allow us to update both at the regional level and at the county/city level. This month Ron intends to add St. James, Fort Leonard Wood, Crocker, Dixon and Richland to the site. All of the regional data will also be updated. Finally, he will work to identify those other websites on which we will want hot links to our site and initiate requests.
Mark Newell provided an update on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the announced move of its mapping center function from Rolla to Denver. He said that the Inspector General report was recently released. Although it identified issues with the decision that was made, its findings were not strong enough to cause a reversal. The impact will be the loss of jobs for 160 people in Rolla by Sep 06. This includes a wide range of talents and experience from entry level to senior management, technicians and administrative workers to computer engineers and scientists. Efforts are underway to place those individuals who are not retiring. Fort Leonard Wood is working to recruit some. A job fair will be held at USGS on Apr 5. Mark is a point of contact for job leads (573-308-3850).
Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood Region is a not-for-profit association which promotes economic and community development in the Fort Leonard Wood Region. The region extends along the I-44 Technology Corridor from Lebanon to Rolla/St. James. It includes the three counties of Laclede, Pulaski and Phelps. Its membership includes cities, counties, school districts, utility companies, businesses and other associations. Fort Leonard Wood, University of Missouri Rolla, United States Geological Survey, the regional planning councils and the Missouri Department of Economic Development also participate.
Fort Leonard Wood Region meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of the month, and the public is always invited. The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 14, 1:30PM in Lebanon. Call 573-329-8505 or visit the news section of the website (www.MidAmericaLocations.org) to confirm time and place.
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