Talent Summit focuses on U.P. businesses

More than 150 people from a variety of businesses and communities in the Upper Peninsula met Friday in Menominee for The Upper Great Lakes Talent Summit.

The summit was put together for the region’s businesses to be able to collaborate and share ideas.

The focus was on how businesses in the state of Michigan can bounce back from the economic woes and the lack of jobs that have plagued that state for the past several years.

“Ultimately, Michigan Works is one of the main players in it, as many, and the common goal is to put people in jobs and realize their high level of potential,” Regional Director of SBTDC Joel Schultz said.  “It’s an effort to do that, to educate, to create opportunities…and the goal every day is to place people into jobs that optimizes their talents.”

The keynote speaker for the event was renowned speaker Eric Thomas of Detroit.

His passion for delivering high–energy encouragement is not difficult to spot, and he truly believes that Upper Michigan can help get the rest of the state back on track in the near future.

“What I see here is community,” Thomas said.  “When you have community, there’s power in the community.  There’s innovation, there’s opportunities in the community, and I talked about that:  the power of one.  And not one individual, but working together as one.”

“It was a great experience, I know it (Upper Michigan) is a great place, and I’m hoping I contributed to the history here, and as we move forward I’m hoping that the U.P. is responsible for bringing the splendor back to the entire state of Michigan.”

The attendees also met with local legislators to discuss the talent, education, and employment issues that the region.