KALAMAZOO  (WKZO)  --  Ron Kitchens the CEO of Southwest Michigan First says the area is suffering from a brain drain of sorts.  Too many of the students who come to Kalamazoo to get their College Degrees do not stay here, either because of a lack of opportunities or because they can’t make enough here to pay off their college loans.

The Kalamazoo Promise is one solution for that, but he says they have to find other ways to either bring down the cost of a college education, or other ways to subsidize students.   He briefed the Kalamazoo County Board on his organization's activities at their regular meeting this week.

Kitchens says they are forming committees like never before to come up with solutions for that problem and others. So far they have about 400 people from the community working on various issues and hammering out proposals. They are always looking for more volunteers.