More Maximizing the Impact
Local nonprofit directors dedicate their lives to the common good. Barbie Banks, Citizen Jane Film Festival This October 26 to 29, some 6,500 people will gather at Stephens College and the North Village Arts District to view 70 short and 15 narrative films made by women. The event will mark the 10th anniversary of the […]
2017’s Top of the Town
If you’re reading CBT, then we probably share a similar belief: Good businesses are the backbone of a good community. The third annual Top of the Town awards recognize those businesses and businesspeople who make Columbia go. Thanks to our partner, Columbia Regional Airport, for supporting these awards each year. You made your voices heard. […]
The Gatekeepers: Executive Assistants
Travel agent. Project manager. Organizational hub. Problem solver. Executive assistants can play any role the job calls for. Meet three professionals who are the key to getting things done. Heather Cole City Manager’s Office, City of Columbia Education: Columbia College Strongest skill: “Skill, I’d say organization. Strength, I’d say empathy.” Little-known fact: “I have […]
Solar Flair: COMO Prepares for the Eclipse
Monday, August 21 will be much like any other Monday in Columbia — until 1:12 p.m. At 1:12 p.m., for about two minutes and 30 seconds, the city will witness a celestial event some call “once in a lifetime”: a total solar eclipse. The moon will pass between the sun and Earth and block the […]
Getting Off the Ground: How Revenue Guarantees Saved COU
In early June, Amy Schneider, director of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, was at the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles for the annual conference of the Missouri Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. She got to chatting with one of the guest speakers, who asked where she was from. “Columbia, I told him,” she […]
Get the Deal Done: Recruiting Businesses to Columbia
The Aurora Organic Dairy site, off Waco Road, is pretty barren for the time being. Eventually, the Colorado-based dairy company will be opening a $90 million milk and butter processing plant there. If all goes according to plan, 150 people will go there every day and work for a “living wage,” or lower middle-class income, […]
20 Under 20: Graduates with Potential
For a complete list of our 2017 20 Under 20, and to read a Q&A with each winner, click here. Each year, CBT recognizes a group of 20 students under 20, game changers in the classroom and in their community. These high school seniors in Columbia were nominated by teachers, mentors, and friends for their […]
Small & Strong: Small Business of the Year
This year’s class of finalists for the Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year had heart, innovation, and a spirit for collaboration that lifts up the entire business community — and we were honored to be one of them! 2017 Small Business of the Year The Business Times Company: Creating in the Digital […]
‘New Collar’: Closing the Gap in the Skilled Workforce
By 2020, two-thirds of U.S. jobs will not require four-year degrees, according to a Georgetown University study. The demand for “middle skill” workers — those with associate degrees or training certificates — will continue to grow rapidly, especially in well-paying fields like health sciences, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. But the deficit in the availability […]
Jill Orr: It’s a Bouncing Baby . . . Book!
“The Good Byline” arrives after an arduous labor. I am now officially the parent of two teenage children and one published novel. It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite, so don’t ask. I love them all . . . in different ways. (I don’t want to name names, but I will say […]
Women Who Ride: Mary Brown
Local bikers experience what the rest of us only fantasize about. Mary Brown is a self-proclaimed tomboy, risk-taker, and daddy’s girl, and she grew up around machines. If it had wheels, she drove it or admired it — everything from motorcycles to four-wheelers to muscle cars. She tagged along with her older brother, Jim, when […]
Digital Device Dependency
Understanding the dangers of our internet world. The internet offers an infinite landscape of ever-changing information, stimulating the brain’s reward system much like sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, gambling, or any other trigger in the seemingly endless array of addictions. Many Americans must use the internet constantly for their jobs, and even children now own smart […]