•  Business owners, residents, community leaders invited to share ideas on creating jobs

•  Schedules for Valley meetings announced


Getting practical ideas for creating news jobs is the point of a jobs roundtable scheduled for Fresno and Madera next Monday.

“This forum will provide an opportunity for residents, business owners and community leaders across the state to share ideas on creating jobs and improving economic opportunities,” says Glenda Humiston, state director of USDA Rural Development, one of the sponsors of the event.

“Government can help lay the groundwork for economic growth, but the best ideas for continued growth and job creation often come from local and community leaders,” she says.

The roundtables will include business owners, residents, state and local officials, union members, non-profit organizations, community leaders, economists and other interested parties. Participants will discuss steps that can to be taken to grow the economy and put Americans back to work. The primary focus will be on ideas to accelerate job growth in rural America.

Some of the topics to be discussed are:

• Exploring ways to rejuvenate and promote local businesses;

• Creating jobs by rebuilding America’s infrastructure;

• Creating new opportunities from existing ones, such as with value-added agricultural products;

• Supporting job growth among small businesses; and

• Preparing workers for 21st century jobs.

In addition to the USDA, other organizations participating are the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley; Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative; California State University, Fresno Office of Community and Economic Development, and the Fresno Business Council.


The Fresno meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 25, starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Fresno Council of Government Conference Room, 2035 Tulare St. #201, in Fresno.