Economic Development Plan Implementation

The Economic Development Committee believes that the primary, overall goal needs to be the establishment of some formal organizational structure to oversee the implementation of the plan.  So the Committee will continue investigating different types of economic development groups and interview other communities to figure out what best meets our needs.

In the meantime, the Committee wanted to keep up the excitement and momentum of the last year, so few recommendations – such as creating a local Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club, encouraging the library to host a Business Resources Center, and installing “way-finding” signs – are already in the works.

Information Interviews:

The  number one goal of the Economic Development Plan is to create an "alliance" or "organization" to oversee economic development for Evansville's future.  The mission of this entity will be implementation of the Economic Development Plan.  But it will also coordinate and consolidate efforts by the City, the Chamber of Commerce, and others, thus reducing duplication of effort and inefficient use of our resources.

With this in mind, the City's Economic Development Committee will host a series of information interviews with existing economic development organizations to learn about their structure and see if a similar organization may be a fit for Evansville.  This is our opportunity to learn from their successes and their missteps.

City of Columbus - On Monday, January 19, Mayor Nancy Osterhaus and Steven Sobiek, Economic Development/Energy Sustainability Director, for the City of Columbus discussed the City of Columbus approach to economic development.  The information interview was from 11:45 to 1:00 at Romanos.

Wisconsin Main Street - On Monday, December 15, Jim Engle, Director of the Bureau of Downtown and Community Revitalization and Coordinator of the Wisconsin Main Street Program for the Department of Commerce, will give a presentation and Q&A about the Main Street Program.  The information interview will be from 11:30 to 1:00 at the Baker Training Center.

Forward Janesville - On Wednesday, November 19, John Beckord, President of Forward Janesville, answered questions about their organization and how they address economic development.  The information interview was from noon to 1:00 at the Bank of Evansville community room.

MACCIT - The first of these information interviews was Monday, October 27.  Christina Slaback, Executive Director, from MACCIT (Milton Area Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism) answered questions about how they merged three separate organizations, how they are staffed, how they are funded, and how they accomplish economic development.  The information interview was from noon to 1:00 at the Evansville Country Club.

 

Business, Community, and Government Relations:

The number one goal of the entire Economic Development Plan is to create an "alliance" to oversee and to coordinate economic development efforts.  In late 2008 and early 2009, the Economic Development Committee is hosting a series of information interviews to help decide on the best organization for Evansville.  This process is detailed above.

A recurring theme in the Plan is to improve website information for economic development.  The City of Evansville has added information for businesses to its website and continues to make other improvements.  The Evansville Chamber of Commerce is overhauling its website and expects it to be completed in December 2008.

 

Downtown Revitalization:

The Chamber of Commerce has stepped up to say it will take the lead in developing and maintaining an inventory of buildings and properties.  This listing is a part of their enhanced website, available here.

 

Entrepreneurial Environment:

A local Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club (I&E Club) started in November 2008.  Evansville’s I&E Club has a mission to increase networking and referrals within the community, to provide educational opportunities through speakers, and a chance for local businesses and non-profits to build awareness by facilitating the networking of entrepreneurs, inventors, and investors to help bring new business ideas to fruition.  I&E Brochure....

The November 12, 2008, meeting welcomed back Terry Whipple, Executive Director of the Juneau County Economic Development Corporation and creator of the nationally-acclaimed I&E Club model for rural economic development.  Terry elaborated on his Catch the Culture presentation from the Economic Development Summit.

The December 10, 2008, meeting featured Gary Smith, Director and Business Counselor for the Southwest Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.  His topic was Running a Successful Business During an Economic Downturn.

Kevin McPherson spoke at the January 14, 2009, meeting.  Kevin is the Chief Financial Officer of the Madison-based venture capital firm Venture Investors, LLC, and discussed Entrepreneurial Finance in the Real World.

Carol Scovotti, Chair of the Marketing Department at UW-Whitewater, explained Marketing Mistakes that Cripple or Kill Small Businesses and How to Avoid Them at the February 11, 2009, meeting.  The meeting location moved to the lower level of the Eager Economy Building at 7 East Main Street.

John Russell and Rob Waterman presented SCORE as a Resource for Small Business at the March 11, 2009, I&E Club meeting.

Dave Warren, owner of Dave's Ace Hardware in Evansville and in Milton, spoke about Customer Service that Exceeds Expectations at the April 8, 2009, I&E Club.  A couple years ago, Dave was recognized by Ace Hardware for having the highest customer satisfaction rating of their over 4000 stores nationwide.

Attorney and author Beth Russell discussed Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark at the May 13 I&E Club.

On June 10, attorney Chuck Sara, chair of the DeWitt Ross & Stevens Intellectual Property practice group, presented Patents 101 for I&E Club members.

Local inventor Mike Hasz talked about being The Independent Inventor at the July 8 meeting.

The August 12 meeting featured Judy Whalen of Whalen & Associates discussed Strategic Planning.  Judy previously facilitated the Economic Development Summit.

Attorney and certified public accountant David Weller of Lathrop & Clark LLP talked about the formation of different business entities and the legal and tax benefits of each on September 9.  Kathi Kemp, director of the Eager Free Public Library gave an overview of business resources available at the library.

The October 14 meeting had Mary Rajek of the Rock County Economic Development Alliance present information on their free Business 101 seminar and other resources and activities of RCEDA.

The November 11 meeting marked the I&E Club's one-year anniversary.  Gary "The Biz Coach" Sedlacek spoke on informed business formation to avoid problems down the road.

 

Workforce Development:

The Economic Development Plan identified an immediate action item: Identifying opportunities for a RISE Grant program.

 

Marketing:

The City's Public Works Department designed way-finding signs.  After gauging the readability, visibility and size, a total of 25 uniform signs were installed around the downtown in June 2009.

With input from the Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Committee, Historic Preservation Commission, and Park Board, the old deteriorated "welcome" signs were replaced with new signs.

Discover Wisconsin is coming to town.  Evansville will be featured as a "Drive-To Destination" on the Discover Wisconsin television show, as well as its associated radio program and internet site.  Camera crews will start filming during our Fourth of July Celebration then return several times through the coming year.  The Evansville feature is scheduled to air in June 2010.