While summer is often a slower time for many businesses with people taking vacations and kids out of school, that is not the case at the CEP. If anything, this year the already crazy speed has gotten even faster. This month I would like to update you on a few recent awards, recognitions, and goals.
US News & World Reports Best Places List
The venerable US News & World Reports Annual “Best Places to Live” list was just released, and the Ocala Metro again placed very well. The list ranks the 150 largest metros in the nation on a series of data points and then provides ranking in several categories. For 2022, the Ocala Metro ranked:
- #4 Safest Metro
- #6 Fastest Growing Metro
- #6 Best Place to Retire
- #16 Best Small Metro
- #58 Overall
These great rankings reinforce what so many of us already know – the Ocala Metro is an exceptional place to live, work, and play.
National Association of Workforce Boards Award
CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion and the CEP have been recognized by the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) for significant partnership to advance the region’s workforce and economic development.
The 2021 Laurie Moran Partnership Award, given jointly to a workforce development board and chamber of commerce, will be presented next month at NAWB’s annual Forum in Washington, D.C. It is one of NAWB’s three most prestigious awards, along with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Trailblazer and W.O. Lawton awards.
The CEP has collaborated with CareerSource CLM on numerous initiatives to establish a talented and trained workforce, including its annual involvement with the Marion County Youth Career Expos.
School Business Partners
The CEP is partnering with our public schools and we need your help! Six of our local public schools are without a school business partner. This represents hundreds of teachers and thousands of students who don’t have a meaningful relationship with a local business that cares about them. The CEP wants to change that, so we’re reaching out to our CEP partners to answer this call and make a difference!
The School-Business Partner program is an initiative of the Public Education Foundation for Marion County. All of the funds stay with the schools and create fantastic partnerships between businesses, employee, and students. By the time school starts in August, we want every school to have at least one business partner. If you would like to learn more, please reach out to Dean at the CEP – 629.8051.
