Nordonia Hills Chamber teams up to offer free business training at Kent State’s Twinsburg campus

by Kathleen Steele Gaivin

The Nordonia Hills Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Twinsburg Chamber of Commerce and Kent State University’s Twinsburg Academic Center to offer a free Business Leadership Training (BLT) program.

“The partnership began in January 2020 with only the Twinsburg Chamber of Commerce, and then in January 2021, we invited the Nordonia Hills Chamber of Commerce to join our partnership,” said Amy Murfello, Marketing and Community Engagement Manager at Kent State University’s Geauga and Twinsburg Academic Center.

The BLT program is a guest speaker series that also provides a networking opportunity for attendants. BLT programs are free and open to the public, not only chamber members. Preregistration is required.

Murfello said she meets regularly with the chambers’ executive directors to discuss what topics may be of interest to their chamber members and build the program based on those ideas. The chambers market the program to their members via email and through their respective websites.

BLT was offered in-person until January 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the U.S. and all programs were offered virtually using Zoom. For the time being, the university will continue to offer the bi-monthly training via Zoom until the administrators receive further guidance.

“Our campus is looking forward to when we can host in-person events back on campus, as the BLT program offered 30 minutes of networking before the presentations took place, which can be a very valuable piece to the communities we serve,” Murfello said.

She said they would typically have 20 to 30 attendees participate in the BLT programs.

BLT offerings for 2021 so far have been “Building Inclusion: Understanding LGBTQ+ Barriers in the Workplace,” “Leading Your Remote Workforce During the Pandemic,” and “Communications Essentials for Leaders.”

The next presentation is scheduled for Thursday, July 22, from noon–1 p.m. Andrew Carlton will present “Selling for Connectedness – The New Sales Reality for High Performance.” Carlton will cover the mindset shifts and power skills you’ll need to transform from old sales thinking to the new realities of selling in order to achieve high performance and consistent increases in sales and company profits.

“This leadership development program is designed for anyone at any point in their career,” said Amy Murfello. “This is a perfect program for those looking to gain information on topics that experienced or emerging leaders face.”

For more information, call Murfello at 440-834-3702 or email amurfell@kent.edu. ∞