1Berkshire Hosts First Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 Advisory Summit

BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MA – 1Berkshire – Dalton, MA – November 22, 2019 – On Friday November 22nd, 1Berkshire hosted its first Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 Advisory Committee Summit at Berkshire Money Management in Dalton. These summits, which are an ongoing component of the implementation of the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, offer an opportunity for the appointed Advisory Committee to come together and do a deep dive into the ongoing, new, and yet-to-occur actions aligned with the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 regional economic imperatives.

At the summit on November 22nd, Advisory members were provided a high level overview of the activity and Blueprint-aligned efforts that 1Berkshire is engaged in and aware of over the first nine months following the Blueprint’s launch in February 2019. This overview shared dozens of actions and activities, including everything from over $1 million dollars in Blueprint-aligned grant applications, to programs like the launch of EforAll Berkshire County, to new training and educational offerings and exciting new benchmarks for efforts like the 1Berkshire jobs thing.

Interspersed over the course of the half-day summit were two spotlight showcases of major economic ecosystem contributors, presented by Jeffrey Thomas (Executive Director of LEVER, Inc.) and Tim Burke (Managing Director of Mill Town Capital). Both entities showcased the variety of high-impact actions for which they have become known, as well as new and exciting endeavors that will continue to contribute to our economic and entrepreneurial landscape in the region.

The remainder of the summit was committed to tapping into the advisory members’ intimate knowledge and critical awareness of both actions that are happening, and the particular trends, themes and opportunities that have yet to gain the needed attention and traction through the Blueprint 2.0 implementation process. Committee members identified numerous efforts already underway, such as the expansion of the Greenagers and Roots Rising programs in the Food and Agriculture cluster, the Employment Resource Networking through Berkshire Bridges, and the Complete Count Committee work through Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, amongst numerous other efforts. These independent actions are being aligned with the goals of the Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 intentionally, embracing the call to regional ownership of the Blueprint’s core objectives. Further trends and demands needing additional focus included issues such as workforce housing and existing vacant building stock, energy use and cost concerns, support for 50+ year old employee training and retraining, and improved efforts to retain, recruit, and re-recruit individuals into the Berkshire workforce.

Collectively, the spectrum of existing actions and opportunities, and challenges in need of additional focus, will all contribute to an update addendum that 1Berkshire will provide in the new year. This update will highlight what is happening, additional opportunities for involvement , and emergent veins of important action. Benjamin Lamb, Director of Economic Development at 1Berkshire, noted, “The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 is a living, breathing effort that will continue to grow, pivot, and transform in line with emerging needs and opportunities as they arise.” He continued, “While we can’t all focus on every piece at every moment, as a region, we can collectively chip away at all of this in our respective spheres of influence and engagement.” By having a roadmap of actions, the numerous individuals and agencies invested in the Berkshires are helping to raise the tide and bringing fruitful activity to a regional vision of growth and prosperity.

The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 remains a concise and targeted guide to collective ownership of our regional success. Everyone has a role to play in its implementation, and our invested Blueprint Advisory Committee will continue to help implement actions, as well as track and aggregate progress and emerging needs here in the Berkshires.

About 1Berkshire
1Berkshire is a county-wide organization focused on economic development and promotion of the region as a preferred place to visit, to live, and to grow a business. It provides programs that connect businesses with each other and with potential customers, as well as works to develop future leaders and support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit 1Berkshire.com.