Business Education Summit set this week

The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation's 14th annual Business Education Summit 2009 takes place this week to help address some important questions for employers: Where will I get my future employees? What are the schools doing to prepare the workers? How can my business get involved?

The focus of this year's event is "Building the Pipeline" within public schools so that all students graduate equipped with the knowledge and skills they will need for further education or direct entry into the labor force.

The summit will be held 7:30-11 a.m. Wednesday at Trident Technical College's Main Campus in North Charleston.

The cost is $85 or $50 for educators.

The keynote speaker is Rick Delano, co-developer of Ford Motor Co.'s Next Generation Learning Communities. Other scheduled speakers include Lucy Beckham, principal of Wando High School and 2010 National High School Principal of the Year; Kris Busch, director of BAE Systems; Shanda Johnson, K-12 outreach coordinator at the Space and Naval Warehouse Systems Center Atlantic; Carl Mittelstadt, innovation leader at BP America's Cooper River plant; and David Ramey, director of marketing and communications at LS3P Associates Ltd.

To register or for more information, go to www.charlestonchamber.net or call 805-3058.