KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Business leaders, employees and other professionals are invited to hone their leadership skills during Southwest Michigan First's 11th annual Catalyst University.

The event's emcees -- Gretchen Slenk and Clarence Lloyd -- shared their insights on the impact of the event for participants and the community.

"What we're hearing from businesses is they're facing a ton of challenges when it comes to attracting and retaining the best talent: How do we create engagement opportunities? How do we create professional development opportunities? These are things that top talent are expecting," a partner and Chamber Director for Southwest Michigan First Clarence Lloyd said.

Economic development consulting firm Southwest Michigan First plans to host Catalyst University, a major leadership conference, in downtown Kalamazoo in late January. Registration is open for those who wish to attend.

"We have companies big and small: small business, large companies entrepreneurs, nonprofits, different leaders from different industries across our community coming to the conference- we are really excited for it," Gretchen Slenk, a director at Southwest Michigan First and Leadership Kalamazoo, said.

According to the event's website, "over the past 11 years, Catalyst University has built up 13,000 existing and emerging leaders - from all sectors - to carry our organizations and community into the future. And this year will be no different. The team at Southwest Michigan First is...

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