Knowlton R. Atterbeary, President & CEO, and Don Scott, Senior Vice President for Workforce Operations, recently attended the 10th Annual National Workforce Association (NWA) Legislative Leadership Conference, of which KRA was a major sponsor. Mr. Atterbeary stated, “This year’s theme, Working With Congress We Can Make a Difference, was a timely one as, right now, it is imperative that Congress focus on skills training and job creation to reduce our staggering unemployment rate, and to boost economic recovery. Mr. Scott added, “For example, in October, right after Obama’s American Jobs Act was blocked, Senator Blumenthal held a press conference at our Hartford KRA One-Stop Center to announce his Pathways Back to Work Act…a national work-based training initiative that is both job- and community-centered. That is what we all need, and that is what we intend to tell the Congressional leaders who are here at the conference.”
This year’s meeting focused on the 2012 political landscape, America’s economic recovery, winning strategies with appropriations, working with Congress to get America back to work; the connection between workforce development and post-secondary education, and a national call-to-action. Mr. Atterbeary concluded, “KRA is an active NWA organization member and sponsor, and every year we send key staff to the general conferences, as well as these targeted legislative meetings. Education and networking are prime motivators for attending, and to hear Morales and Bradley* lay out the goals for the next year. Each meeting has its own individual focus, so we attend to learn, to gather information, and to strategize to improve the effectiveness of our expanding operation.”
*John Morales, President, NWA Board of Directors, and David Bradley, CEO.