Ohio Logistics CEO Chuck Bills discusses his company’s positive culture, commitment to the community, services, and operations with teachers during Raise the Bar’s Summer Educator Experience on Transportation and Logistics.
Welcome to Part I of a 2-Part Series!
Part I explores Raise the Bar Hancock County’s Summer Educator Experience and how it is a crucial partner to economic development, cultivating a fresh look at what employment straight out of high school, college, and well into the future, can look like.
By Sarah Mayle
Believe it or not, no matter what you would like to do, there are careers in Hancock County that align with your skills, talents and dreams. You just may not know what they are yet.
It’s a message that Tricia Valasek, executive director of Raise the Bar Hancock County® (RTB) is working to make known as she builds career awareness through the Summer Educator Experience. During the experience, K-12 teachers embark on a multi-day, in-person tour, with a focus on area industry and the goal of reimagining what a career can be. RTB is an invaluable partner to Findlay Hancock County Economic Development (FHCED), as its work ensures a strong talent pipeline.
In June, the Summer Educator Experience focused on Transportation and Logistics, and teachers learned not only what it takes to distribute products, but met the people working in ever-evolving jobs at a variety of levels to make it happen. The theme of August’s session featured Computers and Technology. Many teachers discovered there are companies and careers in Hancock County they had no idea existed.
“Teachers are … usually within the walls of a school building every day, so they never have that chance to understand other jobs. They know their jobs and they do them well, but they are also preparing those they teach for their futures,” Valasek said.
“It is fulfilling to get teachers excited to teach in a new way and see them recognize there is no limitation to someone’s future – that (students) can be right here in Findlay or Northwest Ohio and be very successful and have good jobs. They don’t have to go somewhere out of state or to a huge metro to have major potential.”
Building Awareness
To learn about planning related to the transportation industry, the teachers engaged with FHCED, Regional Growth Partnership, OhioMeansJobs, Ohio Logistics, City of Findlay and Hancock County Engineering, and the Ohio Department of Transportation. They discovered how products are moved via pipeline, rail, air, waterway, and road through visits with University of Findlay’s All Hazards Training Center, Toledo Port Authority, the City of Findlay Airport, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, and Amazon Distribution. Finally, to take in the way transportation modalities are maintained and repaired, they learned about Millstream Career Center, Garner Trucking and the Reineke Dealership.
A teacher tries on a hazmat suit during a tour with the University of Findlay’s All Hazard Training facility as part of RTB’s Summer Educator Experience.
Teachers learn how the Findlay Airport functions behind the scenes during RTB’s Summer Educator Experience.
In reflections written after taking the course, teachers were asked to outline their impressions of facilities visited and how they saw the jobs they were exposed to fitting into educational categories such as math, the arts, technology, science and engineering.
Phrases such as, “I didn’t know,” or “It was really interesting to find out,” resounded, coupled with an excitement over details the teachers planned to share with their students. It was the teachers’ turn to take notes, and they were up to the task, relaying details ranging from salary, education requirements of all levels, skills needed, which companies had apprenticeship or internship programs, benefits, to the ones that exuded amazing vibes. With new connections, the teachers were already conjuring field trips, lesson plans, or who they wanted to invite to speak to their classes.
“Before getting into their use of data organization, laser scanners, warehousing specifications, the company’s emphasis on its people and community were so impressive,” one educator wrote. “Everyone has a role. Everyone is valued. From the top down, a great work environment. Many jobs, entailing many paths of training and education. The emphasis on working smarter so that your clients are better served by using your operation rather than keeping logistics in house was genius. Students would benefit from a field trip to one of their facilities to see soft skills at work, communication at work, real world problem solving, stock rotation, international and domestic business interactions, the use of rail, trucks and aviation to move materials and products.”
A Critical Partner to Findlay Hancock County Economic Development
As a presenter for the June Summer Educator Experience, Dan Sheaffer, executive director of FHCED, was happy to remove the veil of mystery surrounding economic development’s work for the community. He sees RTB as a crucial partner in workforce development.
Dan Sheaffer, president/CEO of The Alliance and executive director of Findlay Hancock County Economic Development, discusses FHCED’s collaborative approach through the Findlay Formula and outlines his office’s role during RTB’s Summer Educator Experience.
“We appreciated the opportunity to share more about the way our office collaborates through the Findlay FormulaTM and operates under the core categories of expansion and retention, community planning, small business, workforce, and downtown,” Sheaffer said. “As important as it is to expose students to career opportunities, it is equally important to expose their parents and teachers to all that is out there to choose from.”
With offices in the same building, RTB is uniquely positioned to work closely with FHCED. There may be organizations throughout the state doing similar work, but RTB’s programming, unlike others that focus only on manufacturing, encompasses all careers.
RTB collaborates with 11 school districts, the University of Findlay and Owens Community College, as well as local manufacturers, health care, businesses, policy makers, and social service providers to open lines of communication and work together.
“In general, economic development has to think beyond just serving the businesses, but how they build their network as well,” Valasek said. “Having partners like RTB only adds value to the work of economic development. It’s having more partners at the table, helping to keep companies here and helping them expand. There is so much that we do together.”
Moving Toward the Future
Students, Valasek said, have more of an open mind about their futures. It’s their teachers, parents and grandparents – those who influence the students’ choices most – who don’t.
“When it comes down to that final decision of what (students are) going to do with their lives, their parents say, ‘You should definitely still go to college,’” Valasek said. “Why can’t another option be, ‘I’m going to go to work and college?’ Or, ‘I’m going to work a couple years and then go to college?’ Or get more training, or whatever is needed? The kids are changing. It’s the parents and grandparents that we need to work on.”
As part of the Summer Educator Experience, the educators create lesson plans using state education standards to pass their new knowledge to students and their teaching colleagues. The teachers are encouraged to present what they have learned during professional development days, so hundreds of additional educators are ultimately reached – a powerful way to spread the news far beyond the attendee.
This is the third year for the Summer Educator Experience, and it’s working. There is more than one way to find a job where you can be successful, and teachers see it.
“(What) stuck out most to me was that no matter what educational track or classes you take, they are never not valuable,” one educator wrote after participating in a panel for discussion with technical school representatives. “Attending a career technical school is part of education and even if you decide to go to college, that will be very valuable. Preparing for careers or college is antiquated language. It would be better served saying preparing for careers.”
RTB’s mission is “Connecting stakeholders to advance workforce excellence.” This mission aims to reach RTB’s vision of “Evolving the paradigms of workplace opportunity to build a community where employment and career advancement are accessible and attainable.” The Summer Educator Experience is just one of many initiatives designed to achieve that goal. To learn more visit RTB’s website.
