Iowa-based RoleCall will bring its inaugural “Talent Attraction Summit” to Downtown Flint from June 11-14
IOWA CITY, Iowa (June 8, 2023) — The City of Flint and Genesee County will host an inaugural national talent attraction and economic development conference this weekend, June 11-14, Iowa-based RoleCall announced this week.
The “Talent Attraction Summit” — organized in partnership with the Iowa City, Iowa-based talent attraction and community and economic development agency and Flint’s community organization committed to developing business, talent and place, the Flint & Genesee Group — will converge in and around downtown Flint across four days.
“We are so excited to be hosting the inaugural Talent Attraction Summit in Flint,” said RoleCall Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Winona Dimeo-Ediger.
“When we were first dreaming of bringing together leaders and visionaries from around the country to talk about the future of talent attraction, we knew Flint would be the perfect place to convene, connect, and learn,” Dimeo-Ediger added.
After an initial application process, dozens of economic development, civic and community advocacy leaders from 16 states were selected to convene in Flint for an out-of-the-box approach to in-person business gatherings, comprising breakout sessions at the Hilton Garden Inn Flint Downtown and the Durant-Dort Factory One, a guided mural tour of Downtown Flint, a networking lunch at the Flint Farmers’ Market, a Drinks of Essence Bartending School class, dinner at the Flint Institute of Arts and more.
“This is a place that’s not only doing innovative work in the talent space, it’s a place that deserves a new narrative, and we want to help write its next chapter,” said RoleCall Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Tim Carty.
“Our goal is for every attendee to experience Flint’s energy, resurgence and commitment to collaboration firsthand, and bring the lessons they learn here back to their communities,” Carty added.
Amid ongoing U.S. workplace and population migration trends, municipal and state governments, economic development organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, and chambers of commerce throughout the Midwest and the U.S. have hired RoleCall to implement tailored, targeted talent attraction and placemaking initiatives.
More than $119 million in investment has occurred within the City of Flint since 2020, including projects from Allegiant Airlines, Genesee Health Systems and Hirotec. That’s in addition to Ashley Capital’s planned redevelopment of the former Buick City site, which is expected to generate a total capital investment of $300 million.
“RoleCall could have hosted their inaugural Talent Attraction Summit anywhere,” said Brianna Mosier, Director of Organizational Development at the Flint & Genesee Group.
“To host it in Flint & Genesee shows that they believe in this city and region as a place to attract talent,” added Mosier. “Just as we’re doing with our newly-launched ‘Make Your Move in Flint & Genesee’ talent attraction initiative, the summit is a great opportunity to showcase the area in a way that might be surprising to people who aren’t from here or just don’t realize how special it is.”
Summit sponsors include national and community economic development consulting firm Fourth Economy, geographic information system developer GIS WebTech and digital advertising and media planning firm Odney.
“Throughout the country, many communities are searching for ideas regarding how to improve talent attraction efforts and results,” said Rich Overmoyer, founder and president and CEO of Fourth Economy.
“The old model of advertising your community as a live, work, play location has not proven successful and it’s time to broaden the recruitment action,” added Overmoyer.
Prioritizing connection over content, the summit is expected to generate tens of thousands of dollars in economic activity to the regional Flint economy.
“Demographic shifts are having profound impacts on the workforce in all areas of the country, and economic developers who stay in front of the issue are going to have an advantage,” said Ronald Bertasi, CEO of GIS WebTech.
“We believe RoleCall’s cutting-edge work can combine with our technology to provide a compelling solution,” Bertasi added.
Carty, the former ICR Iowa director of Talent Attraction and Dimeo-Ediger, the former Livability.com editor in chief founded the company in 2020. To date, RoleCall projects have bolstered regional tourism revenue and elevated quality of life projects in more than a half dozen states.
“Talent attraction is an issue that every state is facing,” said Gwen Butler, vice president of Odney.
“I’m excited to be a part of an engaged group of leaders that are solely focused on providing solutions across communities,” stated Odney. “The differentiator with RoleCall is a hands-on approach focusing on building relationships and connections through local communities and industries.”
ABOUT ROLECALL
RoleCall is a revolutionary new approach to talent attraction. Through trackable, measurable, and personal programs, cities, chambers of commerce and economic development organizations across the United States rely on the company’s tailored roadmap for attracting talent, informed by rigorous on-the-ground reporting and research. Learn more at rolecall.pro.
