The Community Development Division of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce will launch a new program called Backstage Pass beginning this month. Backstage Pass is designed to connect potential community members, who may be in the area for a job interview, with a current resident.

Backstage Pass gives potential community members an opportunity to see Hutchinson and Reno County through the eyes of someone already living here. Participants will be able to ask questions and visualize themselves as part of the community.

The goal of the program is to make potential residents feel comfortable and connected before they make the decision to accept a job in Reno County .

“If we want the most qualified workers we can find, we must sell them on more than the job,” Bailey Stiggins, Community Development Coordinator, said. “Particularly amongst young professionals, where they’re living and what’s available in that community is usually more important than the job itself.”

The program will be delivered by volunteers who will be selected from Young Professionals of Reno County and the Chamber Ambassadors program. Each volunteer will complete a training that will help prepare them to answer questions regarding housing, schools, services and life in Reno County .

This service is free to area employers. However, if a business would like the volunteer to take their recruit to dinner or coffee, they are asked to cover that expense.

Backstage Pass is an effort of the newly created Community Development Division, which aims to make Reno County an interesting and attractive place to live, work and enjoy recreation, thereby improving worker availability.

Businesses seeking to utilize this program may contact the Chamber of Commerce.