Greetings from Return to Roots!

In this issue:

• Greetings from Return to Roots!
• Career Pathways Economic Development Summit
• Governor Bob McDonnell’s Legislative Initiatives Move Forward
• Send Us Your Success Stories
• Return to Roots Sponsorship Opportunities
• Entrepreneur Express
• "JobQuest" wins two national awards

Greetings from Return to Roots!

The Return to Roots program is now in its fourth year and oh, what a four years it has been! Since our launch on September, 18, 2006 by Governor Tim Kaine, the Return to Roots website has had 76,562 visitors and over 355,000 page views! These visitors to the website, just like you, are also looking at an average of 5.97 pages during their visit to the site. Also, we have 644 employers looking for you and looking for those visiting the site to come home and live, work and play in the region they love.

For an employer, that is 76,562 potential employees. For the region, that is not only 76,562 people looking at the website to come work in Virginia’s Great Southwest, that is the families that will follow those individuals to the region; that is tax and entertainment dollars not to mention living expenses coming to the region and being spent here in Abingdon, Lebanon, Marion, Wytheville, Hillsville, Pulaski, Blacksburg and beyond.

Those 355,788 page views represent all the information people have been seeking about Southwest Virginia. They're learning what the median income is in Wise County, how much rainfall Grayson receives, what to do in a weekend in the City of Bristol, where to get their car serviced in the City of Galax or Floyd County and where in Scott County they should live and send their children to school.

Our mission has always been to encourage people to join the Southwest Virginia community through the processes of promoting communities, advertising careers, and establishing businesses. We're asking you to come home; give the website a chance and if you have any questions or concerns ever with the site, to please let us know.

Visit www.RTRSWVA.org and see how we're working to support your community!

We thank you for your support and promise to continue to promote the region as best as we possibly can.

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Career Pathways Economic Development Summit
March 17-18, 2010

Even in today’s economy with double digit unemployment, businesses and industries throughout Southwest Virginia are struggling to find qualified workers with the 21st century skill sets needed to remain competitive. The high-school-to-college pipeline has become weak with too many students exiting before they have gone far enough to gain the skills necessary to meet the needs of employers.

Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for a Competitive Workforce issued a report highlighting career pathways as “an education model that creates relevant, challenging learning environments and, if widely implemented has the potential to significantly increase American employers’ access to high-quality, home-grown employees. “

The Career Pathways Economic Development Summit will explore career pathways and business-education partnerships that will pave a much clearer pathway from the classroom to the workplace. Key decision-makers from regional business-industry, public schools, Southwest Virginia Community College, higher education, government, Economic Development, Chambers of Commerce, and elected officials are urged to participate in this collaborative intervention to assure the preparation of today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs in Southwest Virginia.

Read More...

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Governor Bob McDonnell’s Legislative Initiatives Move Forward

80% of Proposals Successful at Session Mid-Point

“Jobs And Opportunity Agenda” Gaining Broad Bipartisan Backing; “The Opportunity to Learn” Education Agenda Comes Before General Assembly Next Week

RICHMOND- Governor Bob McDonnell’s legislative initiatives have met with broad bipartisan support in the first half of the 2010 General Assembly Session. The Governor’s agenda consists of 79 measures. At the end of the Crossover week, 58 of the 72 bills upon which action had been taken continued to move forward. The six bills that comprise McDonnell’s “The Opportunity to Learn” education package will come before the General Assembly for the first time in the week ahead.  The highlight of McDonnell’s legislative package, his “Jobs and Opportunity Agenda”, has enjoyed remarkable success, with 30 of the 34 measures passing as of Friday.

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Send Us Your Success Stories!

We are continuously looking for success stories to feature on our website. We would love to hear from you if you have interviewed or hired anyone from the Return to Roots  program since registering with us.If you have a success story, please email Carl Mitchell, , cmitchell@vebinc.org.

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Return to Roots Sponsorship Opportunities

Return to Roots will begin implementing a sponsorship program that provides regional employers the opportunity to sponsor either the Return to Roots website or newsletter.  We will provide a variety of options and opportunities to display your graphics and information on our webpage, all of which will enable employers to further expand their outreach to job seekers all across the country.

Our sponsorship program is designed to further develop the exposure of employers in the Southwest region of Virginia by allowing employers to display their company to Return to Roots users in a variety of different ways, from homepage banners to feature articles in the job seekers' newsletter.

Information on sponsoring a logo, ad or feature article in the upcoming newsletter can be found below. 

Click here to see a visual depiction of each service

Sponsor your company or organization here, in the image space above. Refer to the table above for more information!

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A series of entrepreneurial business and management workshops are being held across Virginia to assist new business startups and existing small businesses!
These workshops are designed to provide information on available business resources and deliver practical, hands-on training covering key elements of business practice. Workshop segments will include information on how to start and operate a business, growing an existing business, marketing strategies, financing and available resources.

Upcoming Events

Radford Chamber Small Business Fundamentals - Session 5 = Marketing Your Business
March 02, 2010 - 05:30 PM to 07:00 PM
The Side Door, 200 Third Avenue, Radford, VA 24141 enter at the red door off of Grove Avenue and then upstairs to the meeting room

New River Valley Entrepreneur Express Workshop
March 11, 2010 - 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM
New River Valley Mall New River Community College Auditorum, Room 123, 400 New River Road, Christiansburg, VA 24073

Smyth County Entrepreneur Express
March 18, 2010 - 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Smyth Career and Technology Center, Exit 39, Seven Mile Ford, Virginia

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"JobQuest" wins two national awards

JobQuest," has also won two prestigious outreach awards from the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA). The awards, which were presented Jan. 14 during NETA's annual conference in Henderson, Nev., recognize "JobQuest" for community impact and effectively coordinating community resources. "These awards would not have been possible without the enthusiastic participation of many community partners," said James Baum, Blue Ridge PBS President and CEO. "This is truly a statement about what can be accomplished through a collective commitment to public service." "The bond we all shared was the desire to help the community in some way as the unemployment rates soared in our region," said Molly Bell, marketing manager for The Roanoke Times. "'JobQuest' evolved into an impressive and creative production, with interactive, multimedia resources for job seekers in a large and often under-served portion of Virginia." Each "JobQuest" episode features 60 job listings from across the region, along with expert insights to shorten the job hunt. After a year of broadcasts and expanding online job hunting resources, "JobQuest" can measure its success in many ways, including some individual success stories.

Celia Carter from Christiansburg, Va. is a certified pharmacy technician, who was unable to find work in her chosen profession. Last year Carter applied for a Virginia Tech job she saw during a "JobQuest" broadcast and, the next day accepted an offer to work for the university's dining services. Before applying, Carter said she called "JobQuest" and talked with a human resources specialist to get more information about the position. Another "JobQuest" beneficiary is Rebecca Alexander from Roanoke, Va., who participated in the program's free resume review service. After working with a consultant from Virginia Economic Bridge, a "JobQuest" partner, she sent out five of her improved resumes. The very next day she was invited to interview with a potential employer.

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