BENTON HARBOR, Mich.
Population growth or loss can have huge impacts on local communities and understanding all the factors involved will be the topic of a special presentation on Thursday, December 5th at Lake Michigan College. Michigan State Demographer Eric Guthrie, PhD will speak on “Population Trends: What’s at Stake for Southwest Michigan.”
The free seminar is hosted by Kinexus Group, Lake Michigan College, and Cornerstone Alliance. “Over the last several years we have been discussing the impact of population, aging of the workforce, and educational attainment,” said Kinexus Group President and CEO Todd Gustafson. “This is an opportunity to look at the all of the relevant data and dig deeper into what it means and its impact on our future,” Gustafson added.
“Growing our population is tremendously important for economic development. For business it means customers and workers; and for schools it means more students and revenue,” stated Cornerstone Alliance President and CEO Rob Cleveland. “This was a great opportunity to work with our partners in higher education and workforce development to continue the conversation on this topic,” he said.
“Dr. Guthrie is one of the experts in his field, and this will be an important meeting for community leaders, businesspeople, educators, and anyone interested in the future of Southwest Michigan,” said Lake Michigan College President Trevor Kubatzke. “This presentation will include information for Berrien, Van Buren, and Cass counties,” he added.
Guthrie became the state demographer in 2014. He is Michigan’s liaison with U.S. Census Bureau for most programs including population estimates, projection, data dissemination, and is an advisor to state leaders on issues related to population.
The December 5th meeting begins at 7:30 a.m. and breakfast will be served. Interested parties are asked to RVSP by November 25 to Lake Michigan College by email at info@lakemichigancollege.edu or by phone at (269) 927-8600. Seating is limited to the first 200 people.
Any questions please contact Mary Morphey, Manager of Corporate Communications at 269.927.1064, x1143, or morpheym@kinexus.org.
About Kinexus Group:
Kinexus Group is an organization that invests its time and resources into inspiring positive economic change one individual, one business, and one community at a time. For more information, visit www.Kinexus.org, follow us on Twitter @KinexusGroup or “like” us on Facebook @KinexusGroup.
About Cornerstone Alliance:
Cornerstone Alliance, Berrien County’s lead economic development agency and anchored in downtown Benton Harbor, is a non-profit, investor-governed economic development organization primarily focused on increasing employment opportunities, private sector capital investments and the local tax base in Michigan’s Great Southwest; with specialized business services offered in economically distressed areas.
About Lake Michigan College:
Lake Michigan College is a two-year accredited non-profit community college in Southwest Michigan empowering people and communities to thrive through education, innovation, and experiences.