Everybody Wins!

These are exciting times for our community.

The biggest news is the LCS contract has finally become reality for Marinette Marine, a Fincantieri company, and Lockheed Martin. This could mean as many as 1000 jobs at the shipyard, many of which will be new jobs.

The second piece of good news is the proposal for Anna's Vineyard on Green Island, a stunning vision of resort, recreation and vineyard that may result in 250 construction jobs across 25 trades and once operational, approximately 150 jobs for business operators, vendors, resort employees, vineyard workers and service personnel.

Don't forget the new research facility at Tyco and the new Walmart Supercentre. Other projects are likely to occur over the next year or so.

It's all a very heady prospect. The only thing I can compare it to is the lumber boom that crested in the 1880s when the railroad came to town, brining with it many families seeking a better life.

It's not pushing the envelope to imagine unprecented prosperity for our community. With that will come some challenges, too, but our organizations and municipalities are equal to the task.

What can you do to help enhnace economic vitality? The answere is simple: Shop local. Support local businesses.

When you buy from a locally-owned business, $68 of every $100 you spend stays here. And when you shop at a chain store or franchise, more than $40 stays here.

That's not true when you drive somewhere else to shop.

We're not suggesting you forgo shopping trips to Green Bay or Escanaba. Those cities are part of our region. Who doesn't appreciate a road trip, especially on the first nice Saturday of February? What we are suggesting is that you shop locally first.

By shopping locally, you help create a market for more goods and services. And you support business owners who support our community and its organizations. You support your friends and neighbors. And you help create a sense of community in our lovely little area.

Resolve to shop locally in 2011 and beyond. When you do, everybody wins!

A Christmas Gift to Our Community

It's official now. The U.S. Navy will build 10 littoral combat ships at Marinette Marine in partnership with Lockheed Martin.

It's been a long time coming. Officials from Lockheed Martin and Marinette Marine met with the chamber's board of directors in August 2009. At that time, everyone believed a decision in the then-winner-take-all contract could come as early as July of August 2010.

But these matters rarely happen without setbacks and obstacles and the contract was no exception. The purchase proposal changed to a split between our local shipyard and one in Mobile, Ala., with 10 ships built at each yard. And now it's reality: Good news indeed after a protracted recession that economists insist ended in June 2009.

The contract will create jobs at Marinette Marine and allow company officials to bring laid off workers back to the job. Some of this will happen in early 2011, the rest will occur over a period of years. In addition to new jobs at the shipyard, it is expected that 4,000 to 5,000 jobs will be created in supporting industries across Northeast Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

This is reason to rejoice during this season of good cheer and gratitude. Our community - like the rest of the country - has experienced unemployment. At one point, the percentage was high: Between 13 and 14 percent on both sides of the river.

In the fall of 2009, the chamber pulled a small group of economic development people together for lunch. The group made the decision to target lawmakers to get the job done in Washington. Those lawmakers - from both Michigan and Wisconsin - came through for our community and our region with fling colors.

We are grateful for their support.

Many of these same lawmakers are leaving office this month. But they will do so on a high note.

And so we will celebrate the winter holidays on a note of optimism and gratitude.

And when the lighted tree is once again hoisted on the shipyard crane - a long-standing tradition - we will know it's Christmas for certain.

A Reason to Rejoice

Thanks to a generous community and an outstanding committee, the annual Holiday Charity Ball, a project of the chamber foundation, raised about $20,000 for the Twin Counties Free Clinic.

That was our goal: To bring our total gift back up to 2007 and 2008 levels after a challenging 2009.

Thanks to you, we were successful.

We have much to be thankful for in the runup to 2011. The past few years have created challenge for our local, regional, national and global economies. But in challenges lie small triumphs and we have seen our share.

Our community remains compassionate. We saw that recently as community members rallied around the family of a troubled young man who took his own life. It is easy to take pride in how community members provided support in the wake of a tragedy.

We are proud, too, of Marinette Marine and its employees who recently launched another littoral combat ship for Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy. We are thankful to the lawmakers who have shepharded a bill for more LCS vessels through Congress and hope their Senate colleagues will join them in a desire to create more jobs for our region, and especially the Marinette Menominee area.

Find a reason to rejoice this season, as we have many.

And thanks for helping us help the Twin Counties Free Clinic.

A Night to Shine

We're expecting more than 160 people to attend Friday night's Holiday Charity Ball at Schussler's in Peshtigo.

And why not? It's a chance to dress up, to have fun and dance, and to raise money for the Twin Counties Free Clinic.

The clinic serves uninsured and underinsured residents of both Marinette and Menominee counties. Since 2002, the chamber foundation, our charitable arm, has organized the charity ball to support the clinic. The committee, chaired this year by Diane Becker of Stephenson National Bank & Trust and Barb Van De Hei of Bay Cities Radio, began working together in August. Holly Meyer is the chamber staff liaison to the event, and she works closely with Candy Sheridan, the clinic director.

Everyone on the committee works hard to solicit donations that keep operational costs down so more money can find its way to the free clinic. Committee members seek silent and live auction items, sell raffle tickets, solicit cash donations for the clinic, and perform a myriad os other tasks large and small.

This year for the first time, the event has a them - other than holiday giving - that offers up a few surprises. As usual, auctioneer Nellie Beland of Superior Auction & Appraisal, has some fun up her sleeve.

Board member (and local attorney) Arthur Baron will be master of ceremonies, doing his best to imitate Dean Martin (he does a great job). A few other "stars" will also make appearances. (Did I mention the decorations are truly stellar?)

Holly and her team have this event choreographed down to the smallest detail. Chamber staffers Donna Zeratsky and Sandi Brumbaugh will be there to greet you and Joe Plautz will be our guy who gets things done.

It's going to be a fun evening. And better still, it's going to raise money for a good cause. Cash donations are already about twice the level as last year.

We live in a generous community.