| I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather we've had the last few weeks. Sure is a nice change from the cold of February! I know I've been hinting at the new marketing collateral and plans to market the Gold Shovel Ready program, so I'm going to take this opportunity to give a more specific overview of what is being put together. We're very close to going to the printer with the printed collateral, and are ready to schedule meetings with the area economic development corporations, municipalities, developers, engineering firms and others that would like more information on the Gold Shovel Ready program. To reiterate, this program is a collaborative effort with WEDC, and will focus on sites of less than 50 acres. The program provides a process to market the sites once they are certified as Momentum West Gold Shovel Ready. In our program, all sites that receive the gold shovel certification will also be part of a larger marketing campaign to bring awareness to the certified sites in the region. Each site owner who participates will also have the site info loaded onto Locate in Wisconsin. The bottom line is to get the information on each site to the right audience in formats that will hopefully have the greatest impact. Here is what is in the works or ready to go: 12-page booklet A new magazine-style 12-page full color booklet describing the region is near completion. It will be utilized by all committees as an outreach piece to audiences within the MW territory and outside of the MW territory. It will take the place of the old identity pieces with an emphasis on the Gold Shovel Ready program. Folder New presentation folders to hold the booklet and Gold Shovel Ready site fliers will be leveraged as the primary printed response material to RFI's, as well as leveraged at Guild meetings and tradeshows. PDF's of individual properties will be available. Gold Shovel Ready Sites Flyer An 8.5" x 11" one sided flat flyer is ready, created to answer frequently asked questions about the Gold Shovel Ready program. It will be distributed to communities, counties, and landowners in the 10-county region. Direct Mail Piece A direct mail piece to promote the Gold Shovel Ready site program to property seeking users, namely site selectors, is being created. This will extend to an e-mail version, as well. It will target commercial real estate professionals, brokers, site selectors, developers, contractors, and others that will be routinely seeking property. Constant Contact upgrades We are designing a more attractive and customized newsletter background for Momentum West updates, special announcements, and Gold Shovel Ready Sites promotions. Outreach We are ready to schedule presentations to area EDC's, communities, engineering firms and developers. We are looking at additional presentations via possible collaboration w/NAIOP Minnesota and MNCAR to brokers and developers across the border. In addition, the new website launched last week. Please take some time to check it out. We know we haven't included all of the information and links to area associations that we eventually will, so please let us know what we've missed. Heading in a different direction, three UW system universities in our region, UW Eau Claire, UW River Falls and UW Stout, were honored at the Momentum West annual meeting for their contributions to economic development in the region. The following is a copy of the presentation given during the annual meeting outlining collectively and individually their contributions: "We are honored to present the 2015 Momentum West Partner Award to three outstanding UW System institutions for their significant contributions to economic development in the Momentum West region. Along with their individual contributions, these three universities have combined their resources through the Northwest Wisconsin Engineering Consortium (NWEC) in an effort to create new opportunities for the youth in our region to pursue engineering majors: an effort crucial in developing and retaining the talent in our region and helping address the exporting of this vital talent. Their work and dedication to student development is building and preparing high-quality graduates for success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics industry sectors. We'd like to highlight some of the efforts of each institution individually. UW Eau Claire has collaborated with several groups at the state, county, and city level on the confluence project. The goal of this project is to help redevelop a prime area in the heart of Eau Claire at the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers. In addition to the real estate at the heart of the community, the Confluence Project builds upon existing competitive strengths and further establishes the distinctive nature of Chippewa Valley. Additionally, UWEC goes above and beyond to serve the region and its students with its Materials Science Center. It provides state of the art technology, education, and analysis to both its students, and companies within the region. Since its formation in 2004, the Materials Science Center has completed nearly 200 projects for private sector partners. These projects allow companies to improve product properties, lower processing costs, and increase product durability. Beyond that, UWEC has implemented its Responsible Mining Initiative to help meet the demand for people with an understanding of mineral resources, responsible mining practices and environmental protection. UW River Falls has contributed to the growth of the region in several significant ways, one of these is through the Center for Innovation and Business Development, which is a program dedicated specifically to supporting economic growth and development in the greater St. Croix Valley through offering assistance and resources to businesses and the region. UW River Falls has also developed the Center of Economic Research which promotes economic development in many ways, such as identifying and assisting economic development research projects, and providing consultation to St. Croix Valley communities. Additionally, UWRF continues to connect regional businesses with highly skilled international interns through the Brazil Science Mobility Program. They are also a co-applicant on a pending EDA application to establish a business incubator in River Falls. The University of Wisconsin Stout has contributed heavily to the economic development of our region. One of the primary contributions made is through the development of ExporTech, which is the only national export assistance program that offers a structured yet customizable process that guides companies through every aspect of export growth. This program helps companies develop their own international growth plan and accelerate their export sales process, increasing revenues and savings in the process. UW Stout has also put together a program for small to mid-sized manufacturers called the Manufacturing Outreach Center. Through its strong partner networks, the MOC brings together resources and knowledge that help manufacturers become more efficient and effective. UW Stout has also been developing the Discovery Center, whose goals are to advance applied research, provide solutions to industry challenges, and drive research commercialization and economic development. They work to achieve those goals by mentoring new companies, engaging in development projects throughout the region, and conducting workshops and seminars. The Discovery Center is responsible for the creation and retention of 483 jobs since 2009." Accepting the awards were Chancellor James Schmidt from UWEC, Blake Fry, Director of Communications and External Relations at UWRF, and Randy Hulke, Director of the Discovery Center at UW Stout. As mentioned last month, Momentum West and the NWITA (Northwestern Wisconsin International Trade Association), a new offering of Momentum West, are bringing in the WEDC Trade Reps from Canada, China, Brazil, Chile, South Korea and the Middle East scheduled for May 5th. The location is yet to be determined, but we are planning a 1:30pm - 3:00pm group presentation with one-on-one meetings to take place with the reps after the group meeting. More specific details will follow in the next few weeks. The WEDC Trade Reps can serve as the eyes and ears of Wisconsin companies in foreign markets. They currently have 14 Trade Reps providing services in 54 countries around the world and can provide Market Assessments that look at a firm's potential in a market. Thanks, Steve ______________________________________________________  |
