GO TOPEKA

Takes Part In National Workforce Forum

Welcome Reception Held For New Community Leaders

A welcome reception, part of the GTP’s Executive Immersion Services program, was held in May to welcome new leaders to our community. This is an initiative led by The Partnership that’s designed to introduce leadership who are new to the area or have been recently promoted in the community. The Partnership's goal is to facilitate new connections that will increase professional engagement and further develop peer relationships among local leaders. The following new leaders were introduced at the May event:

• David Campbell, CEO, Evergy

• Matt Charvet, President, KBS Construction

• Ernestor De La Rosa, Chief DEI Officer, City of Topeka

Trina

Goss, director of business and talent initiatives, attended the National Association of Workforce Boards annual forum in Washington D.C. in March. Here, Trina is pictured with Gina Coffman, executive director of Heartland Works, and Hugh Carter, VP of external affairs for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. Hugh and Trina serve on the Heartland Works Board of Directors, which is one of five workforce boards in Kansas overseeing programs and centers throughout the state. The conference was very informative about the federal and state programs available to support workforce development, and how to cultivate effective leadership on a local workforce board.

• Rory Kent, Jr., Executive Director, Topeka Performing Arts Center

• Jeff Kuzbell, CFO, FHLB Topeka

• Stacie Mason, CFO, Stormont-Vail Health

• Freddy Mawyin, CFO, City of Topeka

On March 1, the mayor of New York City made national headlines when he negatively mentioned Topeka, Kansas, during a public prayer. Within days of the derogatory remark, Visit Topeka launched NYC2Topeka.com in partnership with Kansas Tourism. This campaign gave New York residents a chance to see Topeka for themselves, offering a sweepstakes package for a free trip to the area. Here are a few numbers behind the contest:

• We had 2,024 entries from New York residents representing all five boroughs.

• The contest website had more than 4,700 visits during the promotional period, which ran March 3 through March 31.

• Our social media ads promoting the contest garnered nearly 312,000 impressions.

• Visit Topeka’s organic social content in response to Mayor Adams’ remarks reached 41,200 people.

We have drawn a winner and are working with them to fully accept the prize and begin the work of customizing an itinerary for their visit.