Press Release
Norfolk Area Recruiters, only a few months old itself, already is preparing to hire its first full-time director.
The new group aims to convince young people who have moved away from their hometowns to return to this region to live and work. The focus is on former Norfolk, Battle Creek, Pierce, Stanton and Madison residents.
A big boost came from the Norfolk City Council's Finance Committee earlier this week when it tentatively approved $25,000 to hire the director.
Interviews are under way, and someone could be on board in three weeks, said Jay Knobbe, a Norfolk insurance agent and the recruiters' president.
"We felt it is important to have a full-time director because we're getting a lot of businesses that want more information," he said. "We need to have someone who is accountable and can give numbers back to the city."
Will the recruiters duplicate efforts by the Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce and Elkhorn Valley Economic Development Council, which also work with recruitment and economic development?
Not at all, Knobbe said.
"We're working with them on a weekly basis to make sure we don't duplicate," he said. "At the same time, we all have our niches -- ours is based on bringing people back to the area; their missions are a little more broader, looking at new businesses."
The recruiters, who number about 36 volunteers, are a small but important piece of the economic development pie, he said.
The group is putting final touches on a fundraising strategy and is about a week away from launching it. The firstyear budget target is $100,000.
Several businesses in Norfolk have offered donated office space, and selection of a site is possible by next week.
The new director's duties, as outlined in the budget plan to the city, will include personally contacting via phone or e-mail all employers in a 50-mile radius four times annually. Free job postings already are available via the recruiters' Web site at www.norfolkarea.org.
The director also will speak to graduating seniors at all area high schools, Northeast Community College and Wayne State College. The new director also will follow up with prospects, several of whom have sent r‚sum‚s even though the project hasn't formally been launched yet.
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
