Destination Medical Center joined more than three-dozen local and regional businesses and government agencies last Tuesday for a public symposium connecting small businesses, including women, veteran and minority-owned enterprises, with hiring contractors in the region and state.

Targeting business and workforce diversity can be found in the DMC Development Plan and has backing from the DMC Corporation Board of Directors, the City of Rochester and the DMC Economic Development Agency.

“This conference is an important first step in better diversifying the southeast Minnesota economy and in furthering the Chamber’s Supplier Diversity Initiative,” said Rob Miller, president of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce.

Miller also announced the addition of round tables for minority and veteran business owners to the already established women’s round table.

More than 350 people attended the event, entitled Supplier Diversity Conference: Gaining a Competitive Advantage, to hear speakers such as keynote Hormel Foods CEO Jeff Ettinger, Mayo Clinic Diversity and Inclusion Director Sharonne Hayes, M.D., and voices from several minority and diversity advocacy groups.

The Destination Medical Center Corporation Board of Directors holds its regularly scheduled July meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 30.

The meeting agenda and board packet will be posted here, on the DMC Corporation website in advance of the meeting, as they become available.

How to Attend

• In person: Mayo Civic Center
  30 Civic Center Drive SE
  Rochester, MN 55904
• Online: Live stream, Twitter, and the DMC Blog
• When: 9:30 a.m. – noon on Thursday, July 30

Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc., and the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce this week launched a new website devoted to sharing information about the Journey to Growth (J2G) initiative.

J2G is a 5-year economic development plan created to complement DMC and unite the economic future of eight counties in southeastern Minnesota, including Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona, around the forecasted growth of Rochester and Mayo Clinic.

“The region shares a vested interest in the success of DMC but also has a common aim to diversity and strengthen other sectors,” says Heather Holmes, RAEDI's vice president for marketing. “DMC covers the footprint of downtown Rochester, while J2G focuses on the eight-county area. The entire economy needs to grow along with DMC's expansion.”

A thriving regional economy and vibrant J2G are key ingredients to successful growth in Rochester and Minnesota. Rochester businesses within the DMC district will be better able to attract and retain top workforce talent when the entire region has attractive economic and infrastructural options.

J2G is a Nonprofit organization supported almost entirely by volunteers. More than 140 people donate their spare time to support this initiative through committee and advocacy work.

You can read the complete plan as a pdf on the RAEDI website. For a visual overview and quick facts, click through a 15-slide presentation from J2G.

Take a few minutes to check out the new website!

• Mayo Clinic among Top Hospitals in U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll — Mayo Clinic News Network
• U.S. News & World Report Releases 2015–16 Best Hospitals — U.S. News & World Report
• 350 Attend Chamber's Conference on Diversity in Contracting — Rochester Post-Bulletin
• Journey 2 Growth Keeps Expanding — KIMT
• Rochester Home Sales Kick into Fast Lane — Star Tribune
• Extra Mayo — Architect's Newspaper
• Celebrate Diversity in Greater Minnesota — LaCrosse Tribune