Harnessing the power of regional private-sector leadership is what differentiates REACH in its pursuit of good-paying job creation, and that leadership kicked into high gear this week with the first official meeting of the REACH Council.
The REACH Council, which is composed of businesses, individuals and organizations who have invested in the REACH mission, will meet regularly to recommend action to the REACH board to drive the tactical implementation of the REACH 2030 plan.
Those lending their expertise and ideas represent the spectrum of industry in the region: technology, manufacturing, banking, development, transportation, healthcare and beyond. (See the full list of investors — 35 and growing — and learn more about the benefits of joining the REACH Council or Founders Circle.)
For Promega Bioscience’s Kris Yetter, REACH and the REACH Council represent a long-missing critical mass of businesses coming together to make a difference across the region. “We need a bigger voice.”
The Council got to work compiling recommendations for region-wide economic development and job growth efforts and brainstorming how the region can best retain and grow existing business as well as market itself for business and talent attraction.
“I think we have great growth ahead, a great future ahead, working all together,” said Marian Regional Medical Center’s Sue Andersen, noting that working in healthcare has hammered home the importance of thinking regionally.
This collaborative approach, Pacific Western Bank’s Mike Sell said, has the power to “bring up the average for everybody, and that will pay dividends.”
“We’re seeing the power of AND rather than the weakness of OR,” Glenn Burdette’s Dan O’Hare said, “and regionalism is the power of AND.”
