On Thursday, July 14, Governor Jim Doyle proclaimed Door County as the Capital of Wisconsin for the day. The Governor, First Lady Jessica Doyle, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and 15 members of the Doyle Cabinet spent the entire day in the county, touring area businesses and community organizations, participating in a variety of meetings and events. Members of the Administration and Cabinet traveled from Southern Door Schools all the way to Washington Island.

From the Community and Business Breakfast in the morning in Sturgeon Bay, to the traditional Door County Fish Boil dinner in Baileys Harbor that evening, and through all of the many meetings, proclamations, groundbreakings and check presentations that took place in between, from our perspective Door County Capital for The Day was a smashing success. We had great turnouts across the board and many hundreds of Door County residents participated. We have not yet even begun to consider the potential of the important links that were established between Door County and Madison.

DCEDC staff was deeply involved in the planning and execution of the entire day and worked closely with the staffs of the Governor and members of the Cabinet to make sure everything went smoothly. DCEDC also hosted several meetings during the day, including one with Commerce Secretary Mary Burke and Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman regarding the recently released Door County Economic Development Adjustment Plan, and a talk regarding establishment of an angel investment group in Door County with Revenue Secretary Michael Morgan and Financial Institutions Secretary Lorrie Keating Heinemann. We were also honored to be included in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Brilliant Cities, Inc. fiber optic telecommunications network operations center in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park, which included Secretary Burke and Public Service Commission Chairperson Dan Ebert. WireTech Fabricators hosted a press conference with Secretary Burke presenting a $350,000 grant award to the City of Sturgeon Bay to help facilitate WireTech’s relocation.

Of course, the biggest news coming out of Capital for The Day was the announcement by Governor Doyle regarding his support of the state budget that includes funding for both the new Sturgeon Bay bridge crossing and the implementation of the Surgeon Bay Shipbuilding Cluster Master Plan. Both of these important projects will go a long way towards sustaining, diversifying and growing the Door County economy for many years to come.

Door County – Capital For The Day was obviously a great success for Door County, but was also good for the State of Wisconsin. While Door County enjoyed the state attention and the good news that Governor Doyle and members of his Cabinet shared throughout the day, the state delegation did not go away empty handed. They learned a great deal about the needs and opportunities from a rather important corner of the state. As the Governor said in his comments at the Community Breakfast, Door County is really an ambassador for the entire state. Many visitors first learn about the natural beauty and economic opportunities Wisconsin has to offer while on vacation in Door County. We are a vital and critical piece of the Wisconsin economy and quality of life.

We are very thankful to Governor and Mrs. Doyle and to every member of the state delegation for the very significant commitment of resources and energy that went into planning and executing this event. With their rigorous schedule of meetings and events and their commitment to touch every part of the county from Southern Door to Washington Island, this was no day off in vacationland. The Day included over 50 individual meetings or events. I personally had the pleasure of accompanying Commerce Secretary Mary Burke to her appointments. In addition to the breakfast and evening fish boil events, she spoke at a groundbreaking ceremony, presided over a press conference to award a grant to the City of Sturgeon Bay, chatted with business leaders over a working lunch and toured three manufacturing businesses. She wore me out.

I would also like to thank local government and businesses leaders and all Door County residents for the wonderful reception that you provided Governor and Mrs. Doyle and members of his Cabinet. We have received raving reports from the Governors office and several Cabinet Secretaries regarding the wonderful turnout and warm hospitality they enjoyed throughout the day.

I would also like to thank the members of the Door County Legislative Day Steering Committee that helped organize the event on our end. This is the group that helped come up with ideas and suggestions to showcase Door County and to plan the event details. A few individuals deserve special recognition including: County Board Chair Charlie Most, City Administrator Jay Krauss, and the Chamber of Commerce’s Karen Raymore and Jon Jarosh. Special thanks also go out to Kim and John Selvick for donation of the Sturgeon Bay Harbor Cruise aboard the Chicago Fire Boat and to the Door County Chapter of the Wisconsin Commercial Fisherman Association for the donation of the whitefish for the Community Fish Boil.

And last, but certainly not least, I need to acknowledge and extend a big Thank You to DCEDC’s own Sharon Spengler, Mary Paitrick and especially, Sam Perlman for an outstanding job of organizing and executing this event. The day went like clockwork because of the hard work and the attention to detail that you invested. Thank you very much!!

The DCEDC staff and Board of Directors have completed their evaluation and prioritization of the recommended strategies, tactics and action steps that were outlined in the recently released Door County Economic Development Adjustment Plan. After lengthy discussion and debate, the DCEDC Board has identified seven of the 75 individual action steps as the priorities that will guide the work of the DCEDC staff for the coming months and years.

The top three priority strategies include: the expansion of economic development around key existing business clusters that have demonstrated market opportunities (manufacturing, shipbuilding, healthcare and marine services); moving Door County towards a New Economy model that includes and supports seed capital formation, higher educational attainment, new business start-ups, networking, and technology infrastructure and technology/innovative product flow; and developing programs and initiatives that raise the education and skill level of the future workforce, designing programs that attract new workers to Door County and encouraging programs that explore the full utilization of older workers. Priority action steps include reactivation of the DCEDC Workforce Task Force, continued implementation of the Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding Cluster Master Plan, establishment of a local equity seed capital program and continued improvement in telecommunications infrastructure and broadband access.

Additionally, the DCEDC Board identified about a dozen tactics and action steps that would be best led by other local organizations. Over the coming months, DCEDC staff will be reaching out to those organizations, making presentations on the Plan and challenging them to help with the implementation of the recommended strategies. We’ll also be looking for ongoing assistance in the implementation of the various strategies, tactics and action steps outlined in the plan. If you’d like more information on the plan or how you can help, please contact DCEDC Executive Director Bill Chaudoir at 920-743-3113 x203 or bill@doorcountybusiness.com.

The Door County Job Center invites you to a day away from the office to focus on your needs as a community employer. Speakers from state government and the private sector will facilitate workshops on workforce-related topics that have been chosen by local human resource professionals through employer surveys and focus groups. Employers of all sizes from Door and Kewaunee Counties are invited to attend.

There will be four workshop sessions to choose from: Labor Market Information; Employer Assisted Housing and Benefits to Attract Employees; Tax Incentives, ADA issues and Fair Employment; and 7 Steps Required to Create an Effective Job Description. Employer Day 2005 will also feature a keynote speaker during lunch who will discuss background checks for new and existing employees.

Employer Day will be held on November 15th, 2005, 9:15am to 3pm, at Leathem Smith Lodge in Sturgeon Bay. Registration includes access to workshop sessions and the keynote luncheon. Registration fee is $40.00 before August 31st or $50.00 before November 10th. For complete details on presenters and topics and to submit your registration, contact Pam Busch or Kim Carley at the Door County Job Center at (920) 743-6915.