Medina County Economic Development Corporation hosts first immigration summit

WESTFIELD TWP. — Participants in Medina County's first immigration summit heard data, policy and stories from experts and immigrants regarding immigration. The Medina County Economic Development Corporation hosted the event at the Blair Conference Center on Friday. MCEDC Executive Director Bethany Dentler said the organization wanted to have a summit after attending a similar event in Akron. "We were inspired to bring that immigration conversation back to the Medina County business community," she said. The goals of the summit were to: Give insight into the immigration process in the United States. Provide different perspectives on immigration policy. Start conversations at the local level about immigration policies which help Medina County businesses attract employees. There was a panel which featured immigrants from Aruba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, England, Guatemala and Northern Ireland. Each panelist spoke about their unique experience coming to the United States, which ranged from having a visa to being a refugee. Kerrie Bellar is originally from the United Kingdom, and she is the founder of local event management company Bellar Events. She said there is a misconception that immigrants want to take things away from the people born in the United States. "When I set my business out, I want to employ local people," she said. "I want to bring into Medina County economic opportunities for people. … It was important that as an immigrant coming in, I showed you guys, I'm not taking from you, I'm giving to you." Logan Kolas, an economic policy analyst from the Buckeye Institute, gave the keynote address. His speech centered on population loss and the economic problems it causes. A solution he offered was policy reform related to skilled immigration. MCEDC Economic Development Manager Brandon Gibson said the summit was put on to change the conversation about immigration at the local level. "Because of what we hear about the workforce challenges in the business community almost every day, we knew it was important to try to take some fresh approaches to the talent issue…" Dentler said. "We look forward to continuing this conversation with you." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.