Notable area business leaders are coming to Wayne State College this Thursday.

WSC Comm Day—“Emerge”—will take place in the Frey Conference Suite of the Student Center. “Emerge” will fill the day with useful information about communication from various speakers, including keynote speaker John Gottschalk, former CEO of the Omaha World-Herald.

The purpose of “Emerge” is “to educate Wayne State College students and community members on why communication skills are important,” said Matt Lanik, President of WSC’s Wildcat Public Relations.

“Not many people know what a communication major does or how a degree can develop into a career,” Lanik said.

The morning will start at 9:30 a.m. with speakers Matt Ley, Mark Kanitz and Lukas Rix on “Emerging Men in Leadership.” Ley is the fifth-generation CEO of State Nebraska Bank & Trust in Wayne, while Kanitz and Rix are the owners of Rustic Treasures in downtown Wayne.

At 11 a.m., the WSC Media Club will share on “Emerging Roles in Mass Media.”

Following the Media Club, Gottschalk will speak at 12:30 p.m.

“Not Just a Men’s Game: Emerging Women in Leadership” will be presented at 2 p.m. by Sandy Brown, Marketing Director at State Nebraska Bank & Trust, Amy Gade, Coordinator of Admissions Services at WSC and Melody Younts, co-owner of Miss Molly’s Coffee Co. in downtown Wayne.

The day will finish out with “Emerging Through a Crisis: Communicating in Natural Disaster.” This topic will be covered at 3:15 p.m. by speakers James Duncan and Kimberly Niemann. Niemann was also a panelist at the Disaster Preparedness Summit held last week in Gardner Hall.

Kendall Uhrich booked the speakers for the event, which is free and open to anyone wishing to attend. Use the hashtag #WSCEMERGE2015 to join the conversation.