State Commerce director visits Ellensburg and CWU campus

Washington State Department of Commerce Director Mike Fong made a stop in Ellensburg last Wednesday, touring the downtown area and the CWU campus.

Fong explained in a recent blog post that he enjoyed a walking tour of the city’s downtown core with Ellensburg City Manager Heidi Behrends Cerniwey and CWU Vice President of University Relations Andrew Morse. He highlighted what he learned about Ellensburg’s vision to bridge its small community with big cultural ideas across the state, including the newly established Arts Commission.

“It’s a great over-the-mountains connection,” Fong noted in the blog. “The creative economy is so impactful to both Washington’s rural and urban areas, and this space is such a cool way to support small businesses and the local arts community.”

His next stop was the CWU campus, where he learned how the university is working to engage with the local community to meet local economic needs. Fong was especially interested in Central’s efforts to work alongside statewide partners to build a more flexible, responsive economy through our new Business and Community Services (BCS) organization.

“They want to understand where there are gaps in workforce development, and how they can fill them,” he said. “They see themselves as having the potential to be a convener for the regional economic sector, and we are uniquely positioned to support convenings with them, subject matter experts, and other resources.”

Fong also toured the Wildcat Pantry and capital facilities, such as the North Academic Complex site and the CWU Aviation complex at Bowers Field.

Capping off the day, Fong sat down with 88.1 The ‘Burg for an interview with student broadcaster Ryan Gildersleeve. Check out the full radio interview online.