1st Annual Board RetreatWe started the month reflecting on our board retreat, which took place at the end of June at Storm Stadium for our newly elected Board of Directors. The retreat was filled with great dialogue about what we want moving forward as an organization to serve our members and the region best. These conversations led to synergy and helped us define our objectives for the upcoming months and years as an organization. Project Polaris Site VisitThis month we also hosted a site visit for “Project Polaris", which is an international manufacturing company interested in bringing their first U.S location to the region . This site visit came from a connection Connie made earlier this year at SelectUSA. The site visit went very well and we received a lot of positive feedback. We'd like to thank our many partners who helped make it a success. Connie will be providing a full update at the board meeting. We are excited about more site visits with foreign companies considering locating in the region in the upcoming months. Workforce RecruitmentWe are thrilled to share that we have relaunched our workforce recruitment Google AD campaign. We previously launched the campaign for two weeks. The data from the campaign and feedback from the community have been so positive we will be sharing more about the ad results at our next board meeting presentation. August Board MeetingThe next board meeting will be on August 3rd. We will be two guest speakers from the University of California, Riverside, Rodolfo Torres, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, and Rosibel Ochoa, Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Partnerships. We are honored to welcome them both to our meeting this month. If you are interested in attending our August board meeting as a guest, please click here. TechSouthwestOur next TechSouthwest meeting will take place on September 5th at the Temecula Valley Entrepreneur Exchange Building at 3:30. If you want to join the group, sign up here. One of our focuses of the group moving forward will be the industry-centered idea exchanges that we host throughout the year in partnership with the City of Menifee. If you are interested in identifying the needs of local businesses and growing tech in our region, then TechSouthwest is where you need to be! If you have any questions regarding TechSouthwest, please get in touch with leahs@edcswca.com Contact UsConnie Stopher, CEcD
Email: cstopher@edcswca.com Office: 951-694-9800 Cell: 951-557-8040
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New Member & Board of DirectorsTo kick off our June Newsletter, we would like to introduce our new member, the Lake Elsinore Unified School District! This month we also like to introduce our new board of directors. We want to thank these individuals for stepping up beyond their membership and committing to the EDC. Platinum/City/County 1. Brad Neet, Southwest Healthcare-Term ending June 2026 2. Shaun Bowen, Brookfield Properties-Term ending June 2025 3. Armando Villa, City of Menifee-Term ending June 2024 4. Joseph Troya, Consolidated Contracting-Term ending June 2026 5. Aaron Adams, City of Temecula-Term ending June 2025 6. Jason Simpson, City of Lake Elsinore-Term ending June 2024 7. Rob Moran, Riverside County-Term ending June 2026 8. Dan York, City of Wildomar-Term ending June 2025 Gold Members 1. Matt Hyatt, Millipore Sigma-Term ending June 2026 2. Ann Shaw, Abbott Vascular-Term ending June 2025 3. Heather Holmes, Pechanga Development Corp-Term ending June 2024 4. Jonathan Jean-Marie, Loma Lina University Medical Center-Term ending June 2026 Silver Members 1. Don Hitzeman, Reid & Hellyer-Term ending June 2025 2. Adam Eventov, SoCal Gas-Term ending June 2026 3. Roxanne Roundtree, Eastern Municipal Water District-Term ending June 2025 Bronze Members 1. Kari McFall, Hamel Companies/McFall Strategies -Term ending June 2024 2. Diane Strand, JDS Video and Media Productions- Term ending June 2026 3. Morris Myers, MSJC-Term ending June 2025 Non-Profit/In-Kind: 1. Kim Cousins, Lake Elsinore Chamber of Commerce-Term ending June 2024 2. Michael Cano, Menifee VFW Post 1956-Term ending June 2025 SponsorshipsWe would also like to thank JDS Studio and Brookfield Properties for being Ruby-level sponsors and the Law Offices of Rosenstein and Associates for their Topaz-level sponsorships. Introducing Our New SecretaryThis month we would like to thank Terri Delhamer for her years of service to our organization as secretary. We want to introduce our new secretary, Kari McFall, from McFall Strategies and Hamel Contracting. Economic ForecastWe attended the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Forecast at South Coast Winery this month. Our Executive Director, Connie Stopher, CEcD, was a panelist and shared all about the exciting things we have been up to at the EDC recently, including our work on recruiting our commuter workforce to local jobs. Board RetreatWe hosted our Board Retreat for our new board of directors this week at the Lake Elsinore Storm Stadium. Our board of directors dove into the bylaws and outlined clear objectives for our organization moving forward. Thank you to the Storm for hosting us! The Mayor's Advanced Manufacturing Idea ExchangeWe are wrapping up the month from the City of Menifee. Today we partnered with the City of Menifee for the Mayor’s Advanced Manufacturing Idea Exchange on June 29th. We want to thank our expert panelists: Arun Sinha from Opto 22, John Slyne from MilliporeSigma, Peter Jackson from Chase Bank, and Paul Kirwan from the SBDC. Thank you to our event sponsors, Southwest Healthcare, Brookfield Properties, The Law Offices of Rosenstein and Associates, and JDS Studio. Next Board MeetingReminder there will be no board meeting for July, our next meeting will be August 3rd, and we will have a presentation from Vice Chancellor Rodolfo Torres and Associate Vice Chancellor Rosibel Ochoa from UCR. If you are interested in attending our next meeting as a guest, register here! Despite not having a board meeting in July, that doesn’t mean we’re not still busy. We have a site visit from Project Stars in July, a project we met at SelectUSA. We are excited to share all about that and more in August. Thank you to our platinum investors Brookfield Properties, Southwest Healthcare, and Consolidated Contracting! Contact Us
Connie Stopher, CEcD Email: cstopher@edcswca.com Office: 951-694-9800 Cell: 951-557-8040 New MemberIt’s been a busy month at the EDC. We have so many exciting updates to share with everyone. First, we would like to introduce our new member, the Temecula Valley Unified School District, to the EDC. We started the month with our board meeting at MSJC’s Temecula Campus, where we listened to a presentation from Tim Dignan of the Temecula Valley Unified School District. We look forward to all the great things we can achieve for the students in our region. Consolidated ContractingWe also want to thank our current member Consolidated Contracting for upgrading their membership to become Platinum Investors of the EDC. By becoming Platinum Investors, it allows the EDC to attend more conferences to attract exciting business opportunities, and it allows us to host many beneficial events in our region. Southwest HealthcareNext, we would like to recognize Southwest Healthcare for becoming a Sapphire-level sponsor of the EDC. We can't say thank you enough for your commitment, generosity, and support to our organization and region. SelectUSAAt the beginning of the month, our Executive Director, Connie Stopher CEcD, spent a week in Washington, D.C., for SelectUSA. Each year, this conference is held for developers to meet with international companies who want to enter the U.S. market. The trip was very successful. Within one week of the trip, we already had a site visit from one of the companies, and they were very impressed by our region. Other companies are also interested in visiting, so we are excited to host them in the upcoming months. NAIOP Bus TourThis month we also hosted NAIOP Bus Tour. The sold-out bus tour took industrial brokers on a site visit to each city in our region to tour available spaces. We have heard great feedback and are looking forward to partnering again with NAIOP in the future. ICSCWe are wrapping up the month in Las Vegas for ICSC. We hosted an event at Top Golf Las Vegas that allowed each city to invite its own guests to learn more about the region. The event was at full capacity, and we want to thank our City partners for attending and making it a great event! June Board MeetinggOur next board meeting is June 1st. We will be having a presentation discussing the Highway 79 project. Just a reminder, if you would like to bring a guest to the meeting, please have them sign up here so we can have a name tag ready for them when they arrive. Link: https://www.edcswca.com/be-a-guest.html June EventsWe have a lot going on in June as well. We will have our board of directors elections at our June Board Meeting. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Connie. At the end of June, we will have our board retreat and our Major’s Manufacturing Idea Exchange event with the City of Menifee. Contact Us!Connie Stopher, CEcD
Email: cstopher@edcswca.com Office: 951-694-9800 Cell: 951-557-8040 New Member AnnouncementHappy April from the EDC. We are so excited to introduce our newest member, Rancho Water, to our organization. We kept the momentum going after our Mayor’s Tech Idea Exchange last month and started April with a great discussion at our monthly TechSouthwest meeting about how we can be a tool for growing tech in the region. If you are interested in being a part of the catalyst for tech in Southwest Riverside County, join us for our next meeting on June 6th at 3:30 by signing up here: https://www.edcswca.com/techsouthwest.html. Riverside County's Innovation MonthThe month of April was Innovation Month for Riverside County. We attended our local and regional Quick Pitch Events. May Board MeetingThis is a reminder to all members that our next board meeting will be on May 11th at MSJC’s Temecula Campus. Please look out for our email about parking passes. Tim Dignan from the Temecula Valley School District will be our guest speaker. We look forward to seeing you all there! If you would like to bring a guest, please have them sign up here in advance: https://www.edcswca.com/be-a-guest.html Engineering Design and Development Panel PresentationThroughout the month, our Executive Director, Connie Stopher CEcD, got to be a panelist for the 2023 Engineering Design and Development Panel Presentation at Vista Murrieta High School. Connie shared her thoughts after a second year as a panelist, “The caliber of work that the students are producing is outstanding. This type of program helps students launch their careers in STEM fields, and we are lucky to have this in our region. Thank you to the teachers, Mrs. Blaske and Mr. Larkins, for their dedication to this program!” The winning design team will be awarded $1,000. If there are employers who would like to either contribute to this award or serve as a panelist next year, please reach out directly to Mrs. Blaske: gblaske@murrieta.k12.ca.us SelectUSAWe are wrapping the month up from Washington, DC, for SelectUSA. We are again participating as a member of the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO BIZ) Delegation. SelectUSA is a U.S. government program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce that focuses on facilitating job-creating business investment in the United States and raising awareness of the critical role that economic development plays in the U.S. economy. At the 2022 SelectUSA conference, we met our latest business recruitment, Deploi. We are excited to get back and share the results of this year’s conference. 2023/2024 Invoices & Board of Directors NominationsWe would like to thank each of our members for your ongoing support. It is because of our members that we are able to serve the region. Our 2023/2024 Invoices will go out in late May and Early June. There will be opportunities for annual sponsorships that you can choose from in addition to your membership so that you can prepare your budget accordingly. These enhanced sponsorship opportunities provide benefits year-round rather than at a singular event. Please let Connie know if you have any questions about sponsoring an event. We are calling for nominations for our Board of Directors Election, which will take place at our June Board Meeting. Connie will be announcing the open positions at the May Board Meeting. If you are interested in running for a position or would like to nominate someone, email Connie at cstopher@edcswca.com. Contact Us
Connie Stopher, CEcD Email:cstopher@edcswca.com Office: 951-694-9800 Cell: 951-557-8040 Subscribe to our Newsletter Below! Mayor's Tech Idea ExchangeThis month we partnered with the City of Menifee to host the Mayor’s Tech Idea Exchange at the City of Menifee City Hall. The event consisted of great conversations, moderated by EDC Executive Director, Connie Stopher, about how we can advance tech in the region. We thank our panelists: Lori Raymond of Tourmaline Enterprises, David Pearson of UCR, and Albert Fernandez, an aspiring entrepreneur. We would also like to thank our panelists from the City of Menifee: Major Bill Zimmerman, Councilwoman Lesa Sobek, and City Manager Armando G. Villa. Last, but certainly not least, we would like to highlight Brookfield Properties for sponsoring our event. The event was an excellent launchpad for continuing to grow tech in our region. For those interested in tech in our region, please join us on April 4th for our monthly Tech Southwest meeting. To sign up, please click here: https://www.edcswca.com/techsouthwest.html. International Trade and Foreign Direct InvestmentOur Executive Director, Connie Stopher, had the honor of attending and speaking at the China (Inner Mongolia)-US (California) Import and Export Commodities (Online) Purchasing Fair. This was a huge opportunity to represent the region; over 650 representatives worldwide were in attendance. As a result, Connie and the EDC were featured in two Chinese news publications. Those articles are available here and here. You should see a pop-up offering to translate the article. State Water Inspection TourWe attended the Water Inspection Tour in Northern California last week. We want to thank EMWD, Metropolitan Water District, and LA Water District for organizing this event and allowing us to participate in the tour. Economic Development in the RegionThis past week while Connie was attending the Site Selectors Guild Annulal Conference, our marketing specialist Leah represented the EDC at the Kaiser Permanente Bean Signing and the KTM Grand Opening. This is such an exciting time for economic development in our region. Thank you, Kaiser Permanente, for having us a part of your beam signing for the Wildomar Kaiser Permanent Expansion. We look forward to seeing the project come to fruition in the coming year. We also want to thank KTM for having us at their grand opening celebration for their new North American Headquarters located in French Valley. This $53 million campus is the largest investment in Pierre Mobility's history, and we are so lucky to have it located right here in our region. Congratulations to both Kaiser Permanente and KTM on their great success, and thank you for choosing to locate your business in our region. Site Selectors GuildWe are wrapping up the month at Site Selectors Guild in San Antonio, Texas. Connie is part of a team of Californian economic developers at the conference. Site Selectors Guild aims to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and help Guild members, economic developers, and investment promotion professionals with their business recruitment efforts. Connie is looking forward to reporting on what she's learned and industry trends. April Board MeetingJoin us next Thursday for our April Board meeting. Members, if you would like to bring a guest, please have them sign up here: https://www.edcswca.com/be-a-guest.html Innovation MonthApril is Innovation month for Riverside County’s Office of Economic Development. This is an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to showcase their work. Innovation month is the largest collaboration of incubators and maker spaces. They will host the Southwest Riverside County Regional Fast Pitch on April 12th. To sign up and learn more about Innovation Month, click here: https://www.rivcoinnovation.org/innovation-month |