Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan's Second Wave's On the Ground Kalamazoo series.

KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo’s first-ever Home Energy Efficiency Summit is being held on Saturday, October 19 at the Northside Association for Community Development. Taking place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the free event is open to the public and includes light refreshments. A raffle will be held, featuring prizes valued at approximately $1000. The big-ticket item is a complimentary home energy audit from Better World Builders, valued at $500. 
 
The summit seeks to “educate attendees on what improvements can be made in their homes and how they can take the first step towards change," according to the press release.

Though the event spans six hours, attendees are free to come and go as they please, choosing the topics that interest them. Numerous experts on energy efficiency will speak on several topics, including but not limited to home improvements, energy-efficient development, workforce development, solar energy, and tax incentives.
 
Alexa Hempel, the Community Sustainability liaison for the City of Kalamazoo, organized the event. In her eight months in the position, she has also played a key role in putting together the Natural World Symposium, organizing community bike audits along with the bats, birds, and bugs community science series. She is currently the lead on implementing reusable takeout containers. Hempel is also working on future projects, including a community solar event and a community home energy audit. 

As the inaugural Home Energy Efficiency Summit, the event’s goal, as described by Hempel, is “to connect people with the resources that are available to help them make energy efficiency and health and safety improvements to their home,” as well as “learn more about organizations in the community that are already doing that work and that can help them work as well.” 
 
When asked about how the panelists (who can be found here) were selected, Hempel responded that they came, more or less, from “personal connections and knowledge of folks doing things in our city.”

Energy efficiency workforce information
 
Hempel emphasized that even those who are not homeowners can benefit. If you’re curious about the energy efficiency workforce, she noted that “we're going to have folks there talking about workforce development, and there will be opportunities for people to connect [and find] ways to get involved.”  

Hempel adds that this includes “electrical apprenticeships, energy auditing as a career contractor” in addition to representatives “from the State Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity talking about the work that they're doing to help support these organizations with apprentices.” Kalamazoo Public Schools and ambassadors for the Promise Scholarship will also be in attendance to discuss how the scholarship can be used for apprenticeships and trade schools. 
 
Car owners may be interested in listening to representatives from the Kalamazoo Electric Vehicle Association discuss rebates and tax credits. This event goes far beyond catering to just homeowners. Hempel concluded that “we're just trying to spread the knowledge as far as we can, and hopefully get as many people out to this as possible.”