Arizona Business & Education Coalition

What a great day at Papago Golf Club supporting ABEC's mission of growing Arizona's future. Giant appreciation to our title sponsor, orcutt I winslow, and to lead sponsors Concord General Contracting, Inc., adm Group, CHASSE Building Team, Sunland Asphalt & Construction, LLC, Shade N Net, SPS+ Architects, Core Construction Inc., Skyline Builders & Restoration, Inc., and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., and all those who showed up to network and have some fun while supporting Arizona's students. Special shout out to our Golf Tournament Committee: Lisa Folsom, Professional Business Developer (Sunland Asphalt), Jen Rehse (Concord), Angela Lechter (1GPA) and Taylor Perkins (Chasse), JJ Orlando (Shade N Net) and ABEC staffer Karen Kehlenbach.

We're celebrating! Supporting career exploration is one of THE most impactful actions business and education leaders can take together. We've seen the results on student success through our ACED program for middle school students (www.azced.org) and are excited to be taking it to the next level in the year ahead. Stay tuned! #GrowingAZsFuture

Shout out to Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce for today's special event focused on the critically important topic of “Prosperity Through Education.” Our own president and CEO Tracey Benson was invited to set the stage for the day’s conversation, which also featured presentations from economist Jim Rounds of Rounds Consulting Group and Michael LaVallee of Stifel Public Finance.

We love to see our members bringing business & education together to help students find their path and passion! And that’s just what School Connect will be doing on Oct. 23 from 3-6 p.m. at the STEM-focused Classroom to Career event they are hosting with Grand Canyon University. Check it out!

Talk about being in amazing company! We’re darn proud to be among the Arizona organizations serving students and supporting Arizona GEAR UP's mission of providing college-readiness services and resources to students living in lower-income and underserved communities. With the support of Gear Up grants, the ABEC Career Exploration & Development program?– ACED (www.azced.org) – engages more than 9,000 students per semester, primarily in middle school, in career exploration activities that help put them on pathways to success. Check out Gear Up’s 2024 Partner Update to learn more about the great work being done statewide by Gear Up, ABEC and so many others. https://lnkd.in/g6vigJ-a #GrowingAZsFuture

What happens when a diverse group of Arizona leaders from business, education and community get together with some strategic discussion prompts? Powerful conversations about where our energy, influence and impact as a Coalition is needed to grow Arizona future! Appreciation to all those who invested their time to be "at the table" last Friday for our Member Plus-One event.

It is with great sadness that we share with you that Dick Foreman passed away earlier this week. Dick, who retired as ABEC's president and CEO in Fall 2023, was the face of the Coalition for nearly a decade. He is remembered as "a gracious and honorable man with a heart for education," "an excellent gentleman" and "a true advocate for our community, children, schools and businesses." He will be missed.

Proud to share the success of the third annual Career Exploration Camp hosted by the Arizona Business & Education Coalition and STEDY - Southwest Technical Education District of Yuma for 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students from throughout Yuma County earlier this month. The more than 150 middle-schoolers who attended this free, four-day camp were able to explore through hands-on activities careers in digital animation, sports medicine, engineering, computer software development, law and public safety, medical assisting, agriculture/nutritional sciences and robotics. Thanks to the Elevate Southwest, the Center for the Future of Arizona and the University of Arizona for their support and to business partners Avenir Financial, Arizona Public Service - APS and ALLO Fiber for helping to open the door to possibilities for students! (Read more in this Yuma Daily Sun article: https://lnkd.in/gC48em7Y)

This is great news for business and education in Arizona. A strong economy means strong opportunities for our students to thrive and contribute.

We love Lauren’s story about her Western Maricopa Education Center experience! What if… career connected learning started with our youngest students and we could answer their very important questions? What can people who are good at math do? What do architects need to know? I’m great at “Destiny.” What could I do?