Gov. Sanders outlines workforce strategy

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Gov. Sarah Sanders outlined Thursday (Feb. 15) a broad strategy for revamping Arkansas’ workforce development efforts.

“Arkansas’ economy is booming, but if we don’t get workers off the sidelines and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow, we won’t reap the full rewards of that growth,” said Gov. Sanders. “I tasked Mike Rogers and the Workforce Cabinet with making Arkansas a national leader in workforce development. This workforce strategy will guide us toward that goal and help put every Arkansan on the path to a good-paying, valuable career.”

Rogers was named to the new role of Chief Workforce Officer early in Sanders’ administration. She tasked him to lead a workforce cabinet to develop this report.

Gov. Sanders outlines workforce strategy

GORP kicks off 5th outdoor recreation incubator

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

The Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) has launched its spring startup incubator with eight Northwest Arkansas startups, including those that rent outdoor gear and make quivers, according to a Jan. 24 news release.

GORP is a business incubation program led by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (OEI) at the University of Arkansas. GORP is focused on helping outdoor recreation startups and is based at the Collaborative in Bentonville. GORP is supported by a $4.1 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

Semiannually, GORP has offered 12-week business incubators for early-stage outdoor recreation startups. The incubator offers workshop training, team mentoring and product and service development to help them scale. GORP provides up to $15,000 in non-dilutive seed money per startup. It’s money that doesn’t require the owner to give up equity in the company.

GORP kicks off 5th outdoor recreation incubator

Maurer Named the New President of the Southwest Arkansas Development Alliance

Tiffany Maurer, Director of Economic Development for Sevier County, was recently named the new president of the Southwest Arkansas Development Alliance (SADA).

The Southwest Arkansas Development Alliance (SADA) is a regional economic development and workforce development initiative comprising eight counties in Southwest Arkansas (Columbia, Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada, and Sevier Counties). The alliance partners the regions’ economic developers with our education cooperatives’ Career/Technical Education Coordinators to provide pathways from education to workforce through initiatives like Explore Success and the ACT Work Ready Community initiative.

The Explore Success event is an annual youth manufacturing conference that engages area 8th graders with guest speakers from local industries and provides information about local career opportunities as students start choosing which courses and degree plans to pursue.

Maurer served as Vice President of SADA for the past two years and was appointed as President in 2023, replacing Steve Harris, Director of Economic Development for Hempstead County. “It’s an honor to be the new SADA president and I hope to do Southwest Arkansas proud with the work we do to improve our region’s industry and workforce future. The partnerships SADA has created with our area education

cooperatives and colleges has allowed us to take a proactive approach to workforce development and I hope to help continue that work in my new role,” said Maurer.

The new Vice President of SADA is Ellie Baker, Director of Economic Development for Magnolia and the Secretary is Vickie Williamson, Director of Economic Development for Little River County. The treasurer is Mary Godwin, Director of Economic Development for Prescott/Nevada County.

For more information, contact Tiffany Maurer at 870-584-1184 or tmaurer@cccua.edu.