The Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce held the first of six new professional development sessions.
That session featured a roundtable discussion with Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman.
More than a dozen professionals from various business sectors asked questions about city projects and received updates.
Tricia Bechman, president of the Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce, said she was pleased with the turnout and discussion.
“I think it went as exactly as I hoped,” she said.
Bechman said the chamber has been planning to offer a program like this for some time.
“We’re always looking to provide opportunities to educate our members in terms of professional development,” she said following the session. “We wanted to do the series to offer a variety of things.”
The organization will host five more sessions this year, including another roundtable, two workshops and two seminars. They are aimed toward chamber members but are open to the public.
The next roundtable will be from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 11 at the chamber office at 105 S. Chestnut St. The Schneck Medical Center executive team will discuss what participants need to know about local health care.
“These roundtables are great because you get to have that one-on-one conversation that you might not always get to see for an extended period of time,” she said.
Bechman said the Aug. 9 workshops will be about social media and how to write an effective press release. The workshops both from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. that day will show participants a particular skill that can be utilized in the workplace and be beneficial to businesses.
“Those are ideal for mid-level employees and smaller organizations,” she said.
Bechman said the chamber wants to focus on skills that would appeal to many businesses.
She said the seminars will discuss issues in-depth that may come up in the workplace. Those sessions are scheduled a little longer to allow a close examination of the issues.
Both seminars are from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. with the first covering conflict resolution on Sept. 13. The second seminar — and the last of the series on Dec. 13 — will involve discussion about unconscious bias in the workplace
Luedeman said he thought the roundtable went well and everyone was very attentive. He was busy taking notes as participants shared thoughts, concerns and opinions on matters to follow up with later.
Participants asked Luedeman about parking downtown, electric car charging stations, sidewalks, employment concerns, opioids and more.
“That’s the job. You have to be on top of a lot of things as mayor to respond to a broad range of topics,” he said, adding he meets with all of the city’s departments each week. “There were things that I wrote down that we can do pretty quickly.”
Other items will take some time and work from other agencies, including maintaining Sixth Street, which is a state road.
“Back in the stimulus days in 2008, they paved up to Emerson school, and the only reason they stopped there was because the sidewalk stops there,” he said. “Anywhere there’s a sidewalk, you have to put a curb ramp in.”
Putting in the ramps would be more than $250,000, he said.
“The state hasn’t touched that road and that’s why, long story short,” he said.
Luedeman said the state has told him they will do maintenance on it but has yet to be scheduled.
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Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce’s professional development sessions:
Roundtables:
Local health care: What you need to know
Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 11
$10, includes box lunch
Workshops:
Both are 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
The ins and outs of social media: What platform is best for your business?
Aug. 9. Cost is $20
Working with the media: How to write an effective press release
Nov. 8. Cost is $20.
Seminars:
Both are from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Leadership 101 and Conflict Resolution
Sept. 13. Cost is $40.
Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
Dec. 13. Cost is $40.
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