2010
January 2010 – Gov. Crist’s Florida Back to Work initiative is introduced to Polk County employers. The program is targeted toward adults who are 200% or more below the poverty line and pays 95% of the wages for the employer.
January 2010 – Polk Works Young Leaders graduated the first class in their Introductory Culinary and Hospitality Program.
January 28, 2010 – Polk Works hosts its second annual State of the Workforce Summit at the Lakeland Center with over 200 in attendance. It featured 12 diverse breakout sessions and Alex Chatfield from EA Sports as the keynote speaker.
February 2010 – Polk Works Young Leaders and PSC partner to bring child care classes to the Winter Haven One-Stop Center. Classes provide the opportunity for students to earn 40 hours of child care training and obtain a Child Care Certification.
February 23, 2010 – Polk Works partners with USF Polytechnic for the 8th Annual USF Polytechnic Career and Networking Fair.
March 2010- Polk Works Workforce 2020 hosts its first Virtual Job Fair. 20 employers and over 250 job seekers attended the week long event.
March 2010 – Polk Works introduces a new financial education program entitled “Lowering Barriers to Self-Sufficiency for the Disabled”. This program was funded through a $10,610 grant from the George W. Jenkins Fund within the Impact Lakeland Initiative of the Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland.
April 2010- Polk Works partners with PGTV to offer a live interactive webinar discussing “The Top Strategies to Get Hired”.
May 2010 – Polk Works in conjunction with AWI and Microsoft launch the Elevate America program which offers free Microsoft training and certification vouchers.
June 4, 2010 – Polk Works hosts its third Corporate Institute to train all of its staff and reward them for their hard work and dedication over the course of the year.
June 2010- Polk Works graduated its members of Leadership Institute Class II. Graduates include Traci Aguis, June Baptiste, Nilda Blanco, Mollie Brown-Ferrier, Candace Burns, Mike Carew, Lynda Crist, Alexis Echeverria, Traci Hall, Mercedes Rubiano, and Arlalia Wesley. Leadership Institute Class III members were announced including: Geary Cottrell, Tara Frazer, Ann Marie Haywood, Michelle Leach, Kimberly Lewis, Darlene Moton, Amanda Ray, Eshia Smith, Kathy Suttles, Billie Tuck, Nikkia Wright-Grant, and Pamela Young.
June 22, 2010- Polk Works Young Leaders holds its graduation ceremony at Polk State College’s Winter Haven Campus honoring approximately 100 students.
July 2010 – Mike Wilkerson is appointed as the Board’s Chair.
August 2010 – Polk Works receives $280,000 grant from AWI for the Youth Aging out of Foster Care Project. Only three workforce boards in the state of Florida were selected to receive this grant.
August 19, 2010- The Polk Works Annual Meeting reached a near capacity crowd of 500 attendees at the First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland. Awards were presented to Best Places to Work winners and select board members.
- Best Places to Work- ACT Environmental; Clark Environmental; Cross, Fernandez & Riley; DSM Technology Consultants; BCI Engineer; Clark & Daughtery; Bunch & Associates; Florida’s Natural Growers; The Estates at Carpenter; Coca-Cola; Ferguson Enterprises; Mosaic; Southern Wine & Spirits
- Employer of Distinction- Lanier Upshaw
- Hammer Award- Edith Tiencken, Staff Builders Inc.
- Larry Miller Award- Rebecca Rodgers, Keiser University
- Workforce Champion Award- Lisa Weems, Help Fort Meade
September 2010- The Elevate America program concludes. Polk Works issued more than 1,000 vouchers over the course of the program.
September 23, 2010- Polk Works partners with Metromont to hold a recruitment fair at the Ft. Meade Adult Transition Center.
September 30, 2010 – Polk Works closes the Florida Back to Work Program for employers after successfully placing 168 individuals in positions throughout Polk County.
September 2010 – Polk Works assists Results Technologies to recruit 200 employees for their new Winter Haven location.
October 1, 2010 – Polk Works holds its 6th Annual ACES Golf Tournament for Workforce Development and Literacy raising over $85,000. Keiser University was the title sponsor for this event.
October 28, 2010 – Polk Works partners with Polk State College- Winter Haven to hold a Veteran and Community Employment Fair. Over 700 job seekers and 60 employers participated in this event.
November 2010- Polk Works hosts its second Virtual Job Fair featuring 14 different employers. Over 250 users were able to register and conduct job searches during this seven day event.
December 10, 2010- Polk Works holds a mid-year Corporate Institute where staff engaged in an initiative called Rapid Process Improvement (RPI).