2017 Greater San Marcos Economic Outlook

Forbes recently hailed the Austin-San Antonio region as "America's Next Great Metropolis" with San Marcos at the heart of the momentum. With recent major announcements like Best Buy's first and only Texas e-commerce sales operation center and Coast Flight's new training facility at the San Marcos Regional Airport, along with Amazon's monumental first holiday season, our boom is just getting started. With the ever-changing landscape of the economy and the constant evolution of jobs, what should we expect to see coming up from employers and how are we in the corridor working to train our talent to fill those jobs of the future? At the 2017 Greater San Marcos Economic Outlook, you'll hear from Ady Advantage senior vice president Shabaka Gibson about what he is seeing in terms of workforce development trends and what best practices we can look at to prepare tomorrow's workforce today. Mr. Gibson, a former US Army military intelligence officer whose experience includes nearly a decade with ExxonMobil, is passionate about building vibrant economies and strong communities. In addition to Mr. Gibson, the program will feature a panel of workforce development leaders from the Austin-San Antonio Corridor. The panel will look at what local efforts are being made today to prepare the corridor's talent pool for the jobs of tomorrow. Panelists include: -Mr. Aaron Demerson, Director, Employer Initiatives, Texas Workforce Commission (Moderator) -Dr. Daniel Brown, Dean of University College, Texas State University -Dr. Charles Cook, Chief Academic Officer, Austin Community College -Mr. Chester Jenke, Manager, Central Texas Technology Center -Mr. Lonnie Hall, Director, Gary Job Corps -Commissioner Ruth Hughs, Texas Workforce Commission Caldwell County Judge Ken Schawe, Commissioner Ed Theriot, Commissioner Hoppy Haden, and Commissioner Joe Roland will be among the area's elected officials and leaders attending the event. San Marcos Mayor John Thomaides, Wells Fargo Vice President of Business Banking David Case, and GSMP President Adriana Cruz will provide opening remarks.