February MEAL (Meet Eat and Learn) with George Erickcek

This is a MEAL you won't want to miss! 

We are pleased to announce that George Erickceck, Senior Regional Analyst with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, will be joining us for a breakfast on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.  A big 'thank you' to Vredevoogd-Brummel Insurance for making this possible!

We will have the opportunity to hear an economic forecast for 2013 from Erickcek.  In addition, the Chamber will be supporting learning opportunities for local high school students, as the AP Econ classes at Hudsonville High and Jenison High have been invited to join us for this outstanding presentation. 

About George Erickcek:
While maintaining a strong research focus on west Michigan, Erickcek has expanded his research agenda to regional economic issues across the state and the nation. Recently, he led a research effort to develop a project evaluation model for the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Currently, he is leading another research team in evaluating EDA regional development districts and their comprehensive planning documents. He has coauthored papers on a variety of national regional issues, including the impact of education and medical institutions on their regions and the challenges facing auto-dependent communities. With Randall Eberts and Jack Kleinhenz, he prepared a highly-regarded Economic Dashboard for the greater Cleveland region. Finally he has prepared fiscal impact statements for proposed college scholarship programs in Davenport, Iowa; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Toledo, Ohio.

Closer to home, Erickcek has conducted numerous economic impact studies in west Michigan and prepares annual employment forecasts for each of the region’s six metropolitan areas. Recently, he led a research team in the preparation of an occupational forecast for the greater Grand Rapids region. Currently, he is working on a study that will attempt to estimate the importance of industrial design in economic development.

Since 1992, he has directed the production of Business Outlook for West Michigan and in 2001 he become a co-editor of Economic Development Quarterly, a national journal that explores economic development issues.

He received an MA in economics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981 and a BS from the University of Oregon in 1977. Prior to joining the Institute in 1987, he was the economic analyst for the West Michigan Regional Planning Commission, (Grand Rapids, Michigan),

Thank you to this MEAL's sponsor:

Also, a big 'thank you' to Hudsonville High School for their support of the event and for providing breakfast!