Today's EagleHerald landed on the doorstep with an ominous thump. "Fed chief delivers grim news: Bernanke says economy is 'close to faltering'"
"America has a jobs crisis," the article went on to say.
Fortunately in our community, the news is more positive. Employment in local industries is generally up, after taking a tumble at the end of 2008.
We have jobs. Just about any job you can train for, we've got, from highly-skilled maintenance specialist to research and development engineer. Our factories are clean environments. Machines do the work now; workers run machines.
In our community, you can have a pretty good life working in the industrial sector. But it's not the only choice.
You can get an associate's degree in a variety of exciting fields at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. You can get a liberal arts education that prepares you for life by giving you the skills to think and solve problems. You can also get a four-year degree, thanks to UW-Marinette's partnerships with baccalaureate-granting colleges. You can take college credits in high school. You can try on careers by getting a summer job in a local business.
It's a pretty good time to be a young person in the Marinette Menominee area. Our challenge is getting the word out.
Over the past several days at two separate economic development summits, I've heard local experts say that we've got to reach parents, we've got to tell them that there are many more choices locally than some of them realize.
Our Business & Education Partnership, a group made up of business people, local school officials and former teachers, already works with 8th graders, high-school sophomores, upperclassmen, new educators and school boards. Now it's time to identify ways to bring parents into the picture.
I'm looking forward to this challenge! Stay tuned: I'll keep you in the loop.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Business-Education Connection
Kudos to our friends at Nicolet Bank for arranging a Business-Education forum that brought industry and school leaders together for a stimulating panel discussion on Sept 29 at Little River Country Club.
Even those of us who have been involved in the conversation between industry and schools for many years left that meeting with new ideas and new challenges. Preparing our students for the jobs our community offers is everybody's responsibility.
Earlier in the week, the chamber and its members welcomed more than two dozen new teachers at an early-morning breakfast. This year, we assigned guests to tables, ensuring that teachers were paired with business leaders. Our goal was to further open the channels of communication between plant managers, bank presidents, and business owners and the dedicated teachers who educate our children.
The conversation will continue Tuesday at the Northwoods Economic Summit at UW-Marinette. This annual event focuses on workforce and economic development. The topic has taken on greater urgency this year as many if not most of our industries are thriving.
There are jobs locally in just about every field, from CNC machining to accounting. We are fortunate to have two colleges that can train young people to do these jobs.
I've never been more excited about the future of our community! As an area native whose roots here go back to the 1860s, I'm happy my husband and I returned to our home towns to live and work. I'm proud of our thriving businesses and our dedicated educators.
I'm equally proud of the chamber volunteers who have worked diligently to forge relationships between business and education to help our students thrive. Read more about their efforts here.
Even those of us who have been involved in the conversation between industry and schools for many years left that meeting with new ideas and new challenges. Preparing our students for the jobs our community offers is everybody's responsibility.
Earlier in the week, the chamber and its members welcomed more than two dozen new teachers at an early-morning breakfast. This year, we assigned guests to tables, ensuring that teachers were paired with business leaders. Our goal was to further open the channels of communication between plant managers, bank presidents, and business owners and the dedicated teachers who educate our children.
The conversation will continue Tuesday at the Northwoods Economic Summit at UW-Marinette. This annual event focuses on workforce and economic development. The topic has taken on greater urgency this year as many if not most of our industries are thriving.
There are jobs locally in just about every field, from CNC machining to accounting. We are fortunate to have two colleges that can train young people to do these jobs.
I've never been more excited about the future of our community! As an area native whose roots here go back to the 1860s, I'm happy my husband and I returned to our home towns to live and work. I'm proud of our thriving businesses and our dedicated educators.
I'm equally proud of the chamber volunteers who have worked diligently to forge relationships between business and education to help our students thrive. Read more about their efforts here.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
One Community with a State Line that Really Doesn't Matter
The Marinette-Menominee area may be the center of our world, but that's not the case for someone born, say, in Boston, Mass., or Fresno, Cal.
So when I was in college in Madison and I told someone from afar that I was from Marinette-Menominee, they asked me, "What's that?"
My reply was always the same: "It's two cities in two states, but really it's one big community."
I still believe that. In fact, I believe that more than ever. I know it to be a fact. So do a lot of other people.
That's what I was surprised a few weeks back when someone apologized to me for something happening on one side of the river and not the other. I didn't see a need for an apology, just because my house happens to be in Marinette.
What's good for one city is good for another. No one - well, no one who gets it - is keeping tabs on which city scores more new residents or more new jobs. For many years, people traveled across the state line to work, go to school, date, and marry. In fact, that's how I came to consider both cities my home town: My parents came from either side, went to Our Lady of Lourdes, and raised their four children in both states at one time or another.
I would be hard pressed to choose sides. In fact, I would not. I could not. But I have to live somewhere and my husband (a Menominee native like me) happened to own a home on the Wisconsin side.
The M&M Game is just two months away. Yes, this long-standing rivalry between Marinette and Menominee high schools is a lot of fun, and even for a Catholic Central alum like me, there's excitement in the air during M&M Week. It's one week out of the year.
Cheer for your team. Fight like crazy. But when something good happens on the other side of the river, cheer for that, too.
Because when one city wins, so does the other.
So when I was in college in Madison and I told someone from afar that I was from Marinette-Menominee, they asked me, "What's that?"
My reply was always the same: "It's two cities in two states, but really it's one big community."
I still believe that. In fact, I believe that more than ever. I know it to be a fact. So do a lot of other people.
That's what I was surprised a few weeks back when someone apologized to me for something happening on one side of the river and not the other. I didn't see a need for an apology, just because my house happens to be in Marinette.
What's good for one city is good for another. No one - well, no one who gets it - is keeping tabs on which city scores more new residents or more new jobs. For many years, people traveled across the state line to work, go to school, date, and marry. In fact, that's how I came to consider both cities my home town: My parents came from either side, went to Our Lady of Lourdes, and raised their four children in both states at one time or another.
I would be hard pressed to choose sides. In fact, I would not. I could not. But I have to live somewhere and my husband (a Menominee native like me) happened to own a home on the Wisconsin side.
The M&M Game is just two months away. Yes, this long-standing rivalry between Marinette and Menominee high schools is a lot of fun, and even for a Catholic Central alum like me, there's excitement in the air during M&M Week. It's one week out of the year.
Cheer for your team. Fight like crazy. But when something good happens on the other side of the river, cheer for that, too.
Because when one city wins, so does the other.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
See you at Waterfront Festival!
As my grandmother used to say, "There's big doings downtown this weekend."
Yes, this is the big weekend the entire community looks forward to: Waterfront Festival.
One the festival grounds are marked off by fences and the tents start to appear, the excitement is palpable, even a few days before the festival begins.
Downtown Menominee, a lovely place all year long, is especially exciting in summer when it's awash with visitors who come by boat or care to enjoy our marina and the natural air conditioning the bay offers on sweltering days.
But it's especially fun come Waterfront Festival.
The festival is now a few years away from entering its third decade. The chamber has always been involved, beginning back in the mid-1980s when Nancy Douglas and the former Menominee Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the event, which began when the city of Menominee celebrated its centennial in 1983. We were delighted last year when Nancy again became festival chairperson and we tip our hats to her and the hard-working committee, which includes our own Joe Plautz who ran the festival in 2009.
Each year brings some changes and a few tweaks, but Waterfront Festival has become one of the longest-running community institutions in recent memory.
Some people go down for the food, others the entertainment, still others to see and be seen by old friends who are back in town just for the festival. Even if you don't spend the better part of every day at the festival, it's exciting to know it's down there if you want it.
Summer weekends are always busy in our community, but somehow Waterfront weekend marks a turning point. It's high summer, and after this weekend, we'll begin to see hints of the coming season. And that's a whole other story.
Enjoy the festival. We'll see you there!
Yes, this is the big weekend the entire community looks forward to: Waterfront Festival.
One the festival grounds are marked off by fences and the tents start to appear, the excitement is palpable, even a few days before the festival begins.
Downtown Menominee, a lovely place all year long, is especially exciting in summer when it's awash with visitors who come by boat or care to enjoy our marina and the natural air conditioning the bay offers on sweltering days.
But it's especially fun come Waterfront Festival.
The festival is now a few years away from entering its third decade. The chamber has always been involved, beginning back in the mid-1980s when Nancy Douglas and the former Menominee Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the event, which began when the city of Menominee celebrated its centennial in 1983. We were delighted last year when Nancy again became festival chairperson and we tip our hats to her and the hard-working committee, which includes our own Joe Plautz who ran the festival in 2009.
Each year brings some changes and a few tweaks, but Waterfront Festival has become one of the longest-running community institutions in recent memory.
Some people go down for the food, others the entertainment, still others to see and be seen by old friends who are back in town just for the festival. Even if you don't spend the better part of every day at the festival, it's exciting to know it's down there if you want it.
Summer weekends are always busy in our community, but somehow Waterfront weekend marks a turning point. It's high summer, and after this weekend, we'll begin to see hints of the coming season. And that's a whole other story.
Enjoy the festival. We'll see you there!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Why Summer Concerts Matter
As I write this, it's cloudy and not terribly warm outside, but after the lovely weekend just past and more good weather to come, a gloomy day is palatable - more palatable that it was a week ago when we had a string of gray days to endure.
Our first concert of the year on beautiful Stephenson Island in Marinette was postponed until a later date due to wind and rain, but skies should be clear on Thursday night for our first Concert in the Park on the Bandshell in Menominee's equally lovely Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park.
Our staff members Joe Plautz and Sandi Brumbaugh work had to make these concerts happen. Our members businesses generously sponsor them. We make a concerted effort to concentrate on local and area entertainers because we believe the concerts are all about appreciating our area's assets.
How many cities have both a riverfront and a bay shore? How many cities have an island in the middle of town and one of the most beautiful marinas on the Great Lakes?
We are darned lucky to claim these natural resources. We are fortunate, too, that good entertainment is within our reach. By choosing local and regional bands, we've found another way to shop local.
By attending an outdoor concert this summer - Peshtigo and Wausaukee have them, too - you are not only supporting our efforts to shop locally first, you are helping us create a sense of community.
That sense of community is what helps us work together. And that, my friends, is what chambers of commerce are all about.
Our first concert of the year on beautiful Stephenson Island in Marinette was postponed until a later date due to wind and rain, but skies should be clear on Thursday night for our first Concert in the Park on the Bandshell in Menominee's equally lovely Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park.
Our staff members Joe Plautz and Sandi Brumbaugh work had to make these concerts happen. Our members businesses generously sponsor them. We make a concerted effort to concentrate on local and area entertainers because we believe the concerts are all about appreciating our area's assets.
How many cities have both a riverfront and a bay shore? How many cities have an island in the middle of town and one of the most beautiful marinas on the Great Lakes?
We are darned lucky to claim these natural resources. We are fortunate, too, that good entertainment is within our reach. By choosing local and regional bands, we've found another way to shop local.
By attending an outdoor concert this summer - Peshtigo and Wausaukee have them, too - you are not only supporting our efforts to shop locally first, you are helping us create a sense of community.
That sense of community is what helps us work together. And that, my friends, is what chambers of commerce are all about.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Report from Midwest Institute for Organization Management
>Whew! It's 92 degrees in Madison today, but inside air-cooled Grainger Hall (a new addition to campus since my graduation from Big Red), more than 100 chamber of commerce and association executives and managers are attending "chamber school," the Institute for Organization Management.
"Institute" teaches business leaders how to instill the very best practices in organization management: In the required 96 hours of courses, we are kept updated on legal, financial, governance, communications, leadership, electronic communication, advocacy, team-building, human resources and consensus building issues and techniques.
We hear each year how protecting the organization from costly missteps is one of the CEO's primary objectives. We learn how to do it the right way. We find out what we can do better to serve our members and to strive for excellence.
You can't run a chamber without it.
Our class started out in 2008 - the year floods inundated southern Wisconsin - as 30 chamber managers. The following year, our ranks diminished due to the weak economy, but we were joined by about 15 organization executives. We'll graduate together at the end of this session, but we will no doubt continue to share ideas by e-mail and social media.
It's always good to be back in Madison, even when it's sweltering and humid. It's especially exciting to face a second graduation here, and come away with ideas and strategies for building a stronger chamber to help our members grow and thrive into the future.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Your Business is Our Business
Nearly 18 months ago, we asked you, our members, what direction you want us to take.
Here’s what you said: Spend more time on business development. Offer more opportunities to help us grow our businesses. Enlarge the chamber’s roll in local education efforts.
I’m pleased to report that we are moving in that direction. Many of the community events the chamber was coordinating in years past are in the capable hands of other organizations or individuals. We are concentrating on business!
Thanks to partnership with UW-Marinette and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, we’ve offered some great new programs.
In the past month alone, nearly two dozen members attended our Cross Cultural Communications Skills workshop at NWTC. During the workshop, conducted by Alem Asres, director of campus diversity for NWTC, participants discussed how to communicate appropriately with a wide range of people.
A week later, we held a workshop aimed at helping businesses determine if they should work with the federal government and its prime contractors. This was another great partnership with the Wisconsin Procurement Institute, the Procurement Technical Assistance Center of Michigan, the Small Business Association and NWTC.
Both of these programs are aimed at helping local businesses handle and benefit from the growth associated with Marinette Marine’s partnership with Lockheed Martin to build more littoral combat ships for the US Navy.
Our May Business for Breakfast featured Lisa Nyquist and Kathy Leone from Northern Initiatives, a Marquette, Mich.-based private, non-profit organization that offers small business loans and provides information and training for small businesses. (We liked the group’s Profit Mastery Class, a 16-hour training program that helps business owners use financial statements as management tools, understand and predict cash flow and plan for and manage growth. If this sounds like a course you can use, call us and we’ll put you in touch with Northern Initiatives.)
Finally, I’m delighted to announce that the chamber is piloting a Teacher Leadership Academy, similar to our Community Leadership Academy. Offered for the first time this summer, TLA will give teachers a chance to get inside area businesses and industries, develop relationships with plant managers and business leaders, share information gleaned from job shadow experiences, and finally, create a classroom project that links curriculum to area businesses.
This new program is a partnership with UW-Marinette’s Department of Continuing Education. Area teachers, school administrators, manufacturers and business people worked together to help develop it. Teachers will earn 3.2 Continuing Education Credits for their participation.
Finally, I want to mention how hard our Chamber Ambassadors have worked on a Shop Local awareness campaign that now includes lapel buttons urging people to buy locally. In the past, we’ve used billboards, Facebook, news releases and window decals. Now, you can show people everywhere you go that you care about local businesses. The buttons were donated by some of the Ambassadors themselves: That’s dedication!
We continue to solicit your input. We are currently working on revamping this publication. Watch for a readership survey sent to you by e-mail in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, drop by on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., call, e-mail or message of via Facebook or our Website (www.mandmchamber.com). We want to hear from you!
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