Mount Horeb Area Economic Development Corporation (MHAEDC) is seeking qualified candidates for the part-time position of Executive Director. The Executive Director provides the nonprofit organization’s Board of Directors with leadership and administration to promote the economic health of the Mount Horeb area by supporting existing businesses and attracting new businesses.

Preferred background and skills include:

• Private sector experience managing a business or non-profit organization
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• Project management skills
• Previous experience supporting boards and committees
• Previous experience in a self-directed role with proven results
• Previous grant-writing experience
• A passion for improving the economic climate in Mount Horeb

View the job ad, and contact MHAEDC President Mike McNall at gilbert@mhtc.net or 608-437-4682.

 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced $26.8 million in Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program grant recipients on September 28, 2016. The grants create economic opportunities for producers, increase access to fresh, healthy food for consumers, and connect rural and urban communities across the country.

“There’s so much consumer interest in buying local, and these grant programs help build that connection,” says AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer. “Whether it’s through farmers markets, food hubs, restaurants or grocery stores, when farms and ranches can sell their products locally, it helps bolster rural economies and improve access to healthy foods for our nation’s families.”

One of the 102 grant recipients is Madison-based REAP Food Group, a non-profit whose mission is to grow a healthful, just, and sustainable local food system. REAP produces the annual Southern Wisconsin Farm Fresh Atlas and owns the copyright for four additional independently produced Farm Fresh Atlases throughout Wisconsin. Cumulatively, the five annual publications showcase over 300 sustainable farms and 200 farmers markets, with the number of listings increasing every year. Varying levels of technology among the regions has led to under‐utilization of the Farm Fresh Atlases as an online tool to find local food.

“Wisconsin has a wealth of farmers who grow and sell top‐quality food directly to consumers,” says REAP’s Executive Director Miriam Grunes. “However, Wisconsin consumers have problems sourcing local foods due to the lack of a single,comprehensive, informative, and updated guide to products for sale near where they live and travel.”

This project will expand farmer‐to‐consumer marketing in Wisconsin by:

1. Creating one statewide mobile‐ friendly, searchable database and website of sustainable farms, farmers’ markets, and businesses;
2. Launching a statewide marketing campaign to promote the website and printed atlases; and
3. Evaluating and improving the effectiveness of online and print atlases for farmers, farmers markets, and consumers.

Contact: Hannah Wente, Communications Director, REAP Food Group
hannahw@reapfoodgroup.org | 608.310.7835

Read the full press release.

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Excerpted from Beloit Daily News

A supplier for the Fiat Chrysler plant in Belvidere, Illinois, is planning to move into a building in Beloit and bring up to 118 jobs to the area.

Toledo Molding and Die, Inc.(TMD) will move into the 105,000-square-foot industrial building being put up by Hendricks Commercial Properties near the intersection of Willowbrook and Stateline Road. The two parties have executed a lease for the property.

“We are excited to be expanding our operations in the southern Wisconsin region,” said TMD Chief Operating Officer Dave Spotts. “The Beloit community is ideally located to support our continued partnership with Fiat Chrysler in the Belvidere Assembly plant. The support we have received from the Hendricks’ team, as well as state, county and local officials has been outstanding and we are looking forward to the successful launch of our newest facility.”

Founded in 1955 as a model and pattern shop, TMD has grown to be a global supplier of interior and air/fluid management systems.

“Plastics manufacturing is a key industry driver for both the state of Wisconsin, as well as the Janesville-Beloit MSA, and we look forward to adding TMD’s project to the growing list of firms that are investing in our market,” said James Otterstein, Rock County Economic Development Manager.

“The fact that TMD has chosen Beloit and HCP for their expansion before the building is even completed demonstrates the demand for high quality, Class A industrial buildings in the area. They are a fantastic company that brings good-paying manufacturing jobs to our community,” commented Rob Gerbitz, CEO of Hendricks Commercial Properties, “This building is the prototype for similar industrial development projects we are in the process of starting across the country so we are pleased to see how well it has been received here.”

The 28-acre business park can accommodate multiple buildings for a total of more than 400,000 square feet of industrial space with nearby access and visibility to I-39/90.

Read the full article.

Showcasing the best of the Madison Region’s people, places and positive business climate, the Madison Region Economic Development Guide reinforces the area’s favorable quality of place while also targeting prospective residents, employees, businesses and visitors. The publication will be distributed by the Madison Region Economic Partnership as well as through key local businesses, trade shows, conferences and events throughout the year.

The Madison Region Economic Development website, businessclimate.com/madison-region will also feature fresh, new extended content, video, photo galleries and more.

The annual publication is a collaborative effort between the Madison Region Economic Partnership and Journal Communications, an award-winning custom publisher of community and specialty magazines with clients in more than 30 states.

For more information on becoming a part of the Madison Region Economic Development Guide, email sales@jnlcom.com or call (800) 333-8842 Ext. 292.

The publication will publish in Spring 2017.

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Excerpted from Poynette Press
by Hannah Rajnicek

A group of approximately two dozen people, including local officials and business owners, gathered at Poynette’s village hall last week to attend a workshop on economic development.

Many took notes during the workshop presented by Michael Gay, senior vice president at the Madison Region Economic Partnership. The curriculum presented by Gay on Monday, Aug. 22, was developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association. Topics covered during the three-hour long workshop included the building blocks of economic development, business visits and relationship building.

Economic development in Poynette has been a topic at recent village board meetings and, according to village administrator Lisa Wilson, the completion of the workshop could help move the village forward into future plans.

“Poynette needed a momentum starter,” Wilson said. “I am optimistic that this was it and we can start to move forward from here. I think the information was well received. It demonstrated to our board, staff and business community that economic development is a very broad reaching topic with lots of moving parts and pieces to consider.”

Village president Diana Kaschinske had similar thoughts about the workshop as a starting point for Poynette.

“It seems so many times that we try to move forward and we end up in the same rut,” Kaschinske said. “I don’t want Poynette to grow at a rapid, unhealthy pace… But these guys have a reputation and they know what would be a business that would come to town and stay. That’s why we reached out to them, to get some ideas. The direction they gave us, it’s something that we could maybe follow in the future.”

When the presentation addressed creating a local development plan, Gay pointed out that in order to pursue more economic development, there has to be a launch point.

“Invest in a project that’s good for the community on many fronts,” Gay said. “Hold your leadership and staff accountable. Village boards change and you have to have a horizon.”

Throughout the workshop, Gay gave examples of nearby communities which succeeded at getting a project off the ground. One example came from DeForest, which recently welcomed a Little Potato Company processing and distribution facility into one of its industrial parks. Gay said the whole process happened in only a few months, with the help of tax credits from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, which “are as good as grants.”

According to Wilson, the examples of communities similar sized or situated to Poynette could help create plans and goals.

Read the full article.