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ESCANABA — It is always inspiring to me when I see groups of individuals that share a vision and successfully plan to make something special happen for our community.

Mark Perna is a renowned speaker, delivering over 80 keynotes across North America on an annual basis. He is also a bestselling author and CEO of his wildly successful consulting firm. One of his specialties is helping communities connect education, business and economic pipelines. Cindy Gallagher of Bay College actually attended one of Mr. Perna’s keynote addresses in Marquette and immediately thought we have to come up with a plan to get him to speak in our area. Cindy pulled together a small group of individuals to figure out our plan.

Partners from Michigan WORKS! and Bay College utilized grant funds to provide the financial aspects. Partners from the Intermediate School Districts (ISDs), Economic Development Alliances (EDAs) and Chambers of Commerce from both Delta & Dickinson Counties helped market the event to a wide array of individuals. The plan was flawless and called for Mr. Perna to hold two sessions at the Bay College Iron Mountain Campus on April 27 and three sessions at the Bay Escanaba Campus on April 28.

The audience varied during the sessions, targeting the following groups: ISD career and technical education (CTE) students; business, industry and education leaders; high school students; and CTE awards students and parents. In total, Mr. Perna had a chance to share his message with over 900 individuals! I know they all left motivated, informed and reflecting on their own future possibilities to make a difference in our area.

I attended the morning session in Escanaba. Mr. Perna’s insights regarding the under-30 workforce and students were very informative and he looking at different and unique ways to unleash the potential of younger groups. His thoughts on creating a personal competitive advantage for this group made so much sense — utilizing robust academics, strong technical competencies and valuable professional skills to equip them with need tools to maximize their success and personal effectiveness. His comments made me reflect on how I try to connect with individuals in both my personal and professional life, as well as with my own daughter, Paige, who turned 23 today! The seminar caused me to view things in a different light. It reinforced things that I was doing well and made me think how I could be more effective in my communication with everyone I deal with.

I am sure Mr. Perna’s message touched many individuals in some unique way, changing their perspective on the future. Thank you to everyone that helped support this great opportunity for so many groups to get to hear Mr. Perna’s message. I think the message will help us keep more of our young adults in the area, make sure they understand how valued and important they are to our local economy, civic planning and our future!