The remote locations of Metropolitan's five pumping plants along the Colorado River can present a challenge when staff needs products or services from qualified vendors and contractors. One way to deal with this is by building good relationships with local business communities.
In 2002, Metropolitan’s Board approved a Business Outreach program and that same year Met joined the Lake Havasu Chamber of Commerce and the Parker Arizona Regional Chamber of Commerce. In those early years, many businesses in those desert communities didn’t know much about Met, their neighbors just across the Colorado River. But that began to change after a series of workshops and community outreach events.
Many staff working at our desert facilities live and raise families in those communities and it makes good business sense to support the local economy. Staff started to establish good partnerships with local business owners and could rely on them in an emergency, or to get routine parts and supplies.
Last month, Metropolitan renewed some of those business relationships by hosting a “Connect to MET” business workshop in Lake Havasu to introduce new staff to the local business community. Desert staff members, including
Kevin Casey
,
Jeanne Zegers
,
Jackie Madsen
and
Veronica Villarreal
and several staff from HQ, helped make sure the event ran smoothly
.
Lake Havasu Mayor Mark Nexen and other local officials attended the event and talked about the value of doing business with local government agencies. Many agencies have challenges getting qualified contractors and vendors so the event was a great way to promote small business growth and support a sustainable local economy.
