MERRILLVILLE | Change and diversity are necessary to survive in our economy. If you're not changing, you're slowly dying.

Gus Brown, Procurement Manager for Whiting Refinery Modernization Project at BP and a panelist at The Times Diversity Job Fair and Business Symposium Tuesday at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville, spoke about making changes and diversifying to a crowd of about 1,300 job seekers.

At a session on large corporations and diversity, Brown said his company recognizes that to grow for the future, companies need to employ different perspectives from different people.

"What we recognize is the need to develop a larger pool of diverse individuals for our workforce," Brown said. "We know it's important to reflect the community in which we operate. If you walk into the refinery, we want you to understand and feel like you're still in Northwest Indiana."

"We've done an awful lot, but we've got a long way to go, and to us diversity is about our actions, about the way we move forward."

Rob Campbell, executive vice president of human resources at NiSource, said his company is committed to building a diverse workforce with employees committed to serving customers and their communities.

Symposium panelists included Jackie Rogers, Best Buy's territory marketing manager for Hispanic Initiatives. Rogers said Best Buy's employees represent the broadest spectrum of diversity.

"The commitment to diversity starts the first second you walk in the door," she said.

Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez said the Sheriff's Department aggressively recruits.

"Diversity is not a bad word; it's saying everyone can participate," he said.

The symposium, which included a keynote address by Jennifer Dennis of Purdue University "provided deep and rich dialogue from well-prepared panelists," said Chris Loretto, Times director of product development, marketing and niche publications.

"I think one of the key points that came out of today was the need for and the focus on education," Loretto said. "It's giving kids hope that there is a plan for them here and there is a way to grow a career, but it needs to start at an earlier age."