Reflections from the Michigan Works! Annual Conference

Another October is in the books, which means another Michigan Works! Annual Conference too has passed. I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on this year’s conference, hosted at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, MI October 12-14.

For the past five years, EDSI has been a silver sponsor of the conference. Each year, we look forward to connecting with workforce development professionals and partners from Michigan and the surrounding region to listen, learn and brainstorm unique solutions together. Specifically, we appreciated the engaging conversations we shared surrounding the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) signed into law earlier this year. I know our team is looking forward to partnering with workforce development agencies around the country as they implement the new WIOA legislation in the coming calendar year.

Personally, I’ve had the pleasure of representing EDSI at the conference for the past four years, and I walk away from the conference each year feeling inspired and smiling from all the fun we have! I find inspiration throughout the conference, and I was particularly motivated by the keynote presentations this year. One of these presentations was delivered by a spoken word duo known as Kinetic Affect- http://www.100poemsforhope.com/about/. Check out a short clip I recorded here!

Of course, we always manage to have some fun at the conference as well. And although we didn’t have the courage to get up and "rock out” on the karaoke stage during the opening session, we did have fun with the photo booth! Evidence is provided below:

Thank you to the Michigan Works! Association for hosting another exceptional and inspiring conference this year. We look forward to continued partnership with Michigan Works! and workforce development agencies all over the country in the year to come.

Sincerely, Casey