Gordon Food Service to host second Local First INsight Session of the year

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Local First continues its monthly INsight Series in July. The series focuses on educating business owners and employees on implementing smart and sustainable business practices in the workplace. Each event highlights specific challenges that business owners face as well as the strategies they’ve used to overcome them. This month’s session is titled Creating an Inclusive Workplace.

“This last year, Local First has been taking steps to build practices that are inclusive to the community we serve,” says Elissa Hillary, Executive Director of Local First. “We are looking forward to sharing the lessons we’ve learned as well as the lessons of two of our members.”

The second INsight session will take place on Wednesday, July 20 at Gordon Food Service and discuss how businesses can develop strategies that make their workplaces, hiring practices, and policies more inclusive. Josephine from Jojo’s House of Beauty will start the event and focus on how inclusion played a specific role in her business plan. Following her remarks, representatives from Gordon Food Service will lead a workshop detailing how they crafted, refined, and implemented their own approaches.

“No matter the size the organization, everyone can expect to walk away with tangible strategies for their own workplace,” says Hillary.

Where:

            Gordon Food Service

1300 Gezon Parkway SW

Wyoming, MI 49509

Schedule for the Day:

            3:00-3:30pm – Networking and refreshments

3:30-3:45pm – Opening Remarks

3:45-4:30pm – Workshop

4:30-5:00pm – Q&A session

What makes this series unique?

Topics will be presented through honest interviews with featured guests and explored through an open table discussion. Guests for future sessions include representatives from Spectrum Health, JoJo’s House of Beauty, Avalon Bakery, Better Life Bags, Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc., and The Rapid.

Schedule of Upcoming Programs:

Creating an Inclusive Workplace

July 20 from 3:00 to 5:00pm at Gordon Food Service

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in a Rented Space

August 9 from 11:30am from 1:00pm at the new Local First office

Creating a Culturally Competent Neighborhood Business

September 21 from 3:00 to 5:00pm at LINC Community Revitalization

Providing Alternative Mobility Options in the Workplace

October 4 from 3:00 to 4:40pm at The Rapid

This is the third year of the INsight programming. Tickets for each event are $10 for Local First members and $15 for prospective Local First members. More information on this and upcoming events can be found atlocalfirst.com/events.

photocredits: 2015 INsight. Photo courtesy of Tiberius Images