WEDA Wire – August 9, 2024

It has been a great summer! Like many of you, I have been renewed and reenergized – enjoying the beautiful weather, the vacations, concerts in the park, and spending that extra time with family. As the heat of the summer starts to wind down, and we “get back in the groove” and begin to plan for a busy year, it is a perfect time to join WEDA or renew your membership.

So you may ask, why join WEDA…? There are many reasons…

• Many of our members rely on WEDA for our exceptional training and professional education programs – and that is a driving reason they continue to renew their WEDA membership.

• Others renew to ensure they can continue to grow their professional profile and reputation among the Midwest development community. Utilizing WEDA’s networking luncheons, receptions, and other events are always a fun, convenient, and affordable way to renew or make connections with mentors, vendors, prospective customers, and key stakeholders you might not otherwise meet.

• While WEDA cannot guarantee higher conversion rates for your business leads, we do provide many opportunities for our members to generate those leads. Opportunities such as our directory listings, program sponsorships, networking and volunteer opportunities all offer our members with face-to-face or virtual interactions with hundreds of people every year.

• There are those that join and renew their membership in WEDA because they know the organization is an exceptional resource for industry information, best practices, and insight on the latest policy developments that move the field of economic development forward. In short, WEDA listens well and communicates often.

• Our members support the organization because they know WEDA is the primary voice promoting and supporting the interests of economic development in Wisconsin.  Their membership gives them the ability to tap into our expertise when they need assistance in advocating or educating local, state, and federal elected officials, as well as other key community stakeholders.

• WEDA puts our community and economic development organization partners first, helping them meet their goals. In short, WEDA is a sphere of influence and an essential strategic partner for our members.

Lastly we know that your membership value is not determined by us, but by you.  With that in mind, I wanted to say thank you so much for your membership renewal. If you happen to be reading this and you are not a member (yet), contact me (donna.walker@dairylandpower.com), and let’s talk further about WEDA membership and not missing another summer without the advantages we provide.

Hello WEDA family! I hope you’re having a lovely summer! We have been enjoying every minute of it, but behind the scenes, there has been plenty of activity as we develop valuable content for the upcoming Best Practices Conference that will be held in La Crosse. Our hosts, the City of La Crosse, along with La Crosse County and La Crosse Area Development Corporation (LADCO) have been super generous with time, effort, and financial support. I think I can speak for them to say how thrilled they are to be hosting WEDA members and partners in their beautiful community September 28-30 – which incidentally overlaps with their world-famous Octoberfest. Registration and lodging information can be found here.

We’re also excited to report that WEDA continues to grow! We have been talking to organizations whose raison d’etre intersects with ours: promoting economic prosperity in Wisconsin. As a result of these conversations, we are happy and thankful to announce many corporate investors like WBD, Xcel Energy, MG & E, Vierbicher, VJS Construction, and US Bank have elevated their membership levels; and new corporate members like AARP Wisconsin, Spectrum, First American Credit Corp (FACC), and Acquire Talent have come on board!

Thanks to our generous Corporate Sponsors, WEDA is out and about around the state:

• In collaboration with corporate investors FACC, American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin (AICCW), and Institute of Business and Entrepreneurship, WEDA resumed our Tribal Economic Prosperity Planning program. In short, we are delivering exciting training designed to assist individual Native Nations in their business and enterprise structuring and expansion efforts.

• This fall, WEDA heads to beautiful Trempeauleau County to deliver ED 101-Economic Development for Local Leaders. Would you like your public officials, board members and residents to better understand and support economic development efforts? Then this is a program designed for you! Our curriculum is accredited by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and is designed and customized specifically to provide information foundational to economic development policies and practices affecting your area. Call me (414.699.3917) if you want to discuss hosting an ED 101.

• Wisconsin’s IEDC-accredited Basic Economic Development Course (BEDC) comes to Pewaukee September 12-15. Hosted by VJS Construction, The Wisconsin BEDC is a prerequisite to IEDC’s CEcD accreditation. Last year we had attendees from as far away at Montana, and this year we have an attendee coming all the way from the United Nations Development Programme in Ethiopia! Wisconsin BEDC is recognized as one of IEDC’s highest quality courses. Do you plan to pursue the IEDC Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) credential? Does your work require you to understand best practices in economic and community development? If so, register now… Just click here.

• As I reported in the previous issue of the WEDA Wire, despite our best efforts to prevent it, we are planning to raise 2023 membership rates and event registrations by approximately 10%. Pending WEDA Board approval, here are the Proposed New Rates for 2023:

• • Individual Membership: $350
  • Small Organization Membership: $600
  • MVP Membership: $650
  • Associate Membership: $1500
  • Elected and Tribal Membership: $250
  • Retired Membership: $60
  • Student Membership: $30

Enjoy the rest of your Summer! I look forward to seeing you in La Crosse at the end of September for the WEDA Best Practices Conference…

WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes

One of the most critical things we do as economic development leaders in Wisconsin is to build thriving communities. When our communities flourish, existing businesses grow, new businesses are attracted, and workers find a safe, welcoming place to raise their families.

During a recent visit to Mayville, Deputy Secretary Sam Rikkers and I had the chance to see up close how WEDC works with local partners to build prosperous communities through efforts like the Main Street and Connect Communities programs and Community Development Investment grants.

While we were there, we announced that the city is receiving a $250,000 Community Development Investment grant for the Albrecht School Apartments, which will create 20 apartments and a commercial space in the century old former Mayville High School – an iconic red brick building in the heart of downtown.

A city of about 5,000 people just east of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Mayville has been making smart investments in their downtown through support for facade improvements, adding creative amenities, historic renovation and making use of state resources to lure both residents and visitors to their city center along the Rock River.

In addition to the CDI grant for the apartment development, WEDC has supported other projects in the city, including Main Street Makeover winner Fred’s Beds and More, the nonprofit Open Door Coffeehouse and Sweet Pea’s Pie.

“What we’re trying to do is turn Mayville into a destination for new businesses and travel enthusiasts,” Dawn Gindt, manager of Mayville’s Main Street Program and Chamber of Commerce administrator, told us. “We are a rural community. We have the same struggles everyone does in terms of funding. WEDC and their continued generous support has really helped us make great strides.”

Mayville leaders say preserving the city’s historic downtown – many buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places — is key to making the community attractive to visitors and residents.

Andres Lezama and his wife, Lindsey, have longstanding ties to the former high school they’re renovating.

Lezama is the owner of Mayville’s BYCO Floor and Tile – a business started by his grandparents in 1953. He has already uncovered some family history as work begins on the renovating the school where his great-grandmother once taught.

At an open house this summer, Lezama says he was overwhelmed by residents who came and shared their memories of the school, including a couple in their 80s who asked him to take a photo of them in the spot where they first met.

Memories like that are the reason why Lezama said the project is trying to preserve as much of the historic building as possible while still making needed modern updates. It would be cost prohibitive without the $250,000 grant from WEDC, he told us.

It was the historic look and amazing people that convinced Rachel Smith and her husband, Kyle, to relocate their pie business to Mayville after finding the perfect Main Street building for their business. Sweet Pea’s Pie opened last year with the help of a $31,000 Community Development Investment grant from WEDC.

One of the first things to draw their attention to Mayville during an unplanned stop on a road trip was the Open Door Coffeehouse. Since then, Open Door has outgrown its former home and has a new, accessible Main Street space that allows the nonprofit to offer more programming and serve more people, said Amber Schraufnagel, president and founder of Mayville Open Door.

The nonprofit uses the funds raised by the coffeehouse to support its work offering mental health and parenting support as well as youth programming. WEDC supported the new coffeehouse with a $137,500 Community Development Investment grant.

The new space allows the group to offer multiple programs at once. The coffeehouse has become a go-to meeting spot for other groups in the city including Girl Scouts and a local veterans’ group that meets weekly.

Even in an historic downtown, one new business has a brand-new look thanks to WEDC’s Main Street Makeover.

A team from WEDC and Milwaukee design firm Retailworks worked with business owners Jeff and Janine Andes to create a new look for Fred’s Beds and More, a furniture and home décor store. WEDC provided up to $10,000 to carry out the plans in June.

“I feel completely hopeful,” Janine Andes said. “The community members have been so supportive. I think it means a lot to them that business owners are willing to invest in the city they call home.”

City officials are hoping that when the Albrecht School Apartments are completed, more people – and more businesses – will call Mayville home. And Mayville is a reminder to all of us of what we can achieve if we work together and focus our efforts on making Wisconsin a home for everyone.

Missy Hughes is Secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the state’s leading economic development organization.

Earlier this summer, WEDA unveiled the small list of state lawmakers who earned our 2022 “Champion of Economic Development” legislative award for their leadership in the State Capitol during the 2021-22 legislative session on initiatives to drive economic growth and prosperity in Wisconsin.

WEDA presents the awards at the end of each two-year legislative session to state lawmakers who demonstrate extraordinary support for important economic development policies. This year WEDA is presenting the award to 20 state lawmakers who exhibited an exceptional commitment to growing Wisconsin’s economy based on several factors, including voting record, sponsorship of legislation, and responsiveness to critical economic development issues.

WEDA is extremely appreciative of these legislators’ efforts to help provide legislative solutions to some of Wisconsin’s largest economic and business community challenges, including talent attraction; workforce housing; TIF preservation and enhancement; economic development incentives; community redevelopment tools; and rural broadband expansion.

Please find below the full list of state lawmakers who have been recognized as a WEDA 2022 “Champion of Economic Development”:

State Representatives:

• Rep. Dave Armstrong (R-Rice Lake)
• Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam)
• Rep. Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton)
• Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Greenville)
• Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D-Kenosha)
• Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Valez (D-Milwaukee)
• Rep. William Penterman (R-Columbus)
• Rep. Warren Petryk (R-Town of Washington)
• Rep. Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi)
• Rep. Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield)
• Rep. Rob Summerfield (R-Bloomer)
• Rep. Dave Tittl (R-Manitowoc)
• Rep. Ron Tusler (R-Harrison)
• Rep. Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah)
• Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester)

State Senators:

• Sen. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan)
• Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay)
• Sen. Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac)
• Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green)
• Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay)

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has announced it is offering new grant opportunities – through the Entrepreneurship Partner Grant – for nonprofits and communities to obtain funding to support entrepreneurs and small businesses and remove barriers to their success.

“Throughout Wisconsin there are wonderful nonprofits supporting our state’s entrepreneurs and small business owners with training, technical assistance and more,” said Missy Hughes, WEDC secretary and CEO. “WEDC wants to ensure that there’s room in our grant programs to support the valued organizations that have a track record of success working with entrepreneurs as well as newer innovative programs that push our entrepreneurship programs forward.”

Grants, which will likely range from $10,000 to $200,000, will be awarded to programs based on factors such as number of entrepreneurs served, cost effectiveness and innovation. For fiscal year 2023, the Entrepreneurship Partner Grants program has a budget of $2.25 million. The first application period opens Aug. 8 and closes Sept. 2.

The EPG program is for nonprofits, communities and other eligible organizations that are working to support entrepreneurs – including groups such as people of color, women, the LGBT+ community and rural residents who may not have had access to the same educational and funding opportunities as others. The program’s grants can help these nonprofits pay for things such as entrepreneurship training, mentors, seed accelerators, technical assistance and more.

Again, the deadline to apply for the first round of grants is Sept. 2. For more information, visit: www.wedc.org/programs-and-resources/entrepreneurship-partner-grant/ .

To begin the application process, please contact Allie Palmer, entrepreneurship investment coordinator at: allie.palmer@wedc.org.

Summer is a great time to explore the wonderful outdoor recreational opportunities that Wisconsin has to offer. In my travels, I like to spend time in nearby communities supporting local businesses, exploring festivals and events, and having a great meal and locally brewed beer.

Many of our Wisconsin communities continue working hard to build strong connections between people and the places where they live and work. At the WEDA Academy webinar on August 3 – Placemaking: Creating Your Quality Place – our instructors Anne Katz, Director, Create Wisconsin and Melinda Childs, Community Cultural Development Director, Artstart provided an excellent introduction to Placemaking.  As they demonstrated, these efforts can provide a foundation for building vibrant communities with a strong quality of life – enhancing efforts to successfully attract and retain businesses, talent, and residents.

Looking forward, the Academy will be holding a comprehensive program – Best Practices in Workforce Attraction on September 28 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. just prior to the WEDA Best Practices Conference in La Crosse. As we know, the shortage of workers to fill available jobs continues to be a high priority issue in communities across Wisconsin. Increasingly, economic developers have been looking to add talent attraction to their local and regional workforce development strategies to help address the limited workforce supply. In this workshop, essential components of workforce attraction will be introduced including using data to support and develop initiatives.

More specifically, targeted attraction opportunities – focusing on out-of-state recruitment, transitioning military service members and justice involved individuals – will be explored. The program will also include an in-depth look at successful talent attraction initiatives developed by the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce.

Confirmed speakers include Rebecca Deschane, Vice President, Talent Development at New North Inc.; Scott Hodek, Section Chief, Office of Economic Advisors, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development; Steven Janke, Founder and CEO, Mission Wisconsin; Scott Champion, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy, WEDC; Tasha Jenkins, Director, Bureau of Job Service and Becky Kikkert, Director, Office of Special Initiatives with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development; and Beth Franklin, Community Concierge and Neal Zygarlicke, CEO at the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce.  Registration should be available shortly at weda.org.

On November 2, the Academy will host its final webinar for 2022 – TIF Fundamentals.  Seth Hudson, Director of Economic and Strategic Development, Cedar Corporation and Sean Lenz, Senior Municipal Advisor, Ehlers, Inc. will serve as instructors for this program.

I hope that you will be able to join us for one or more of these exciting and affordable educational opportunities. As a reminder, be sure to look for approved credits/points for continuing education/recertification on the course registration webpage. Please reach out to me at kheady@weda.org if you have any program ideas, topic suggestions, or if you are interested in serving as an instructor.