~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nell and J.R. Jarosh, owners of Edgewood Orchard Galleries in Fish Creek, are the winners of a $1,000 cash award for the best business plan originating from the NxLevel Entrepreneurial Training course conducted earlier this year. In addition to the $1,000 cash prize, to be used by Nell and J.R. Jarosh for business expansion, the Jaroshes will also receive a $5,000 advertising package for their business from DoorCountyDailyNews.com and the radio stations of Nicolet Broadcasting: WBDK-FM, WRLU-FM, WSBW-FM and WRKU-FM.
 
The $1000 award was generously sponsored and judged by Associated Bank, Baylake Bank and Citizens Bank. The advertising package is courtesy of Roger Utnehmer, President of DoorCountyDailyNews.com and Nicolet Broadcasting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Door County Business Development Center, the small business incubator operated and managed by DCEDC, welcomes a new/old client, Chapman Technical Services, to the facility, while saying goodbye to Phoenix Drafting, which has relocated to a new location.
 
Chapman Technical Services has returned to Door County after three years in Erie, PA, where founder John Chapman reestablished a defunct shipyard. Chapman Technical Services is a provider of technical support for the marine industry. (john@chaptech.us)  Phoenix Drafting, a residential drafting company offering services to contractors and homeowners, has become a home-based business while owner Kim Kasten continues her education. (phoenix413213@att.net)
 
The Business Development Center currently has 4,200 sq ft of light manufacturing space immediately available for rent. Eligible clients include new or young companies looking for support to get a strong start in business. For more information regarding the available space in the Business Development Center, located in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park, contact Mary Paitrick, DCEDC Operations Manager at (920) 743-3113 x202 or mary@doorcountybusiness.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Members of the DCEDC Workforce Taskforce are sponsoring a scooter giveaway during the annual Sevastopol Alumni Sports Tournament, held over the Labor Day weekend, which draws hundreds of alumni and spouses back to the County each year. This presents an opportunity for us to raise awareness of locally available career opportunities and capture information about the attendees. Those companies sponsoring the event will have access to the demographic data gleaned from the giveaway, and the Taskforce will use the contact information to subsequently send targeted promotional and recruitment information.
 
We are looking for companies willing to sponsor this and future giveaways AND volunteers to help staff the contest table the afternoon of Saturday, August 30, 1-7pm, in two hour shifts. If you are interested in sponsoring and/or volunteering for this new recruitment initiative, please contact Sam Perlman right away at (920) 743-3113 x204 or sam@doorcountybusiness.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Door County Habitat for Humanity and the Village of Sister Bay are exploring options for developing village-owned property into decent, sustainable and affordable housing for people in the Gibraltar School District. To kick-off the process, Habitat for Humanity will be hosting three Affordable Housing Employer Forums on Wednesday, September 10 in the Sister Bay South Fire Station - Large Meeting Room, 220 Mill Road, at 8am, 2pm and 7pm.
 
At the meeting, participants will be given background information about Habitat for Humanity and details regarding the proposed Water Tower Place project. Employers will also be asked to help distribute surveys to their employees, an extremely important tool for helping Habitat and the Village assess the need and demand for affordable housing in northern Door County. Contact the Door County Habitat for Humanity Office at (920) 743-2869 for more information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are thrilled to announce that DCEDC and DKBEP accepted an offer to purchase the 2007-08 High School Home Construction project house! The beautiful, 1650 square foot ranch-style home on Kentucky Street in the Spring Oaks Subdivision in Sturgeon Bay contains granite counter-tops, solid wood doors, Pella EnergyStar windows, tile and wood flooring thanks to generous donations and upgrades from participating sponsors and subcontractors. The sale of the house means that DKBEP can forge ahead with plans for the 2008-09 project house. Construction on the new home begins in September with the start of the new school year, and this year will be expanded to include twenty students from the four mainland Door County schools and the Algoma school district.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The annual "Ideas to Profits" Conference, sponsored by the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, will be held October 1-2 in Appleton at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. This will be the first time the event has been held in the NEW North. Also, for the first time, a juried Inventors' Showcase and Competition will be featured. Keynote speakers are Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton on Thursday and Guerrilla Marketing author Al Lautenslager on Wednesday.
 
There will be more than twenty-five workshops provided by patent lawyers, CEOs, business development specialists, and marketing and engineering experts. Topics include assessing the market for new products, creating competitive advantages with the right intellectual property protection, designing and testing affordable prototypes, financing a start-up, promoting a new product, and targeting potential business partners. This year's conference again features a special track for manufacturers looking to embrace innovation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On August 12-13, DCEDC and the Door County Visitor Bureau hosted several informational meetings around the County on a healthcare insurance option for local small businesses, introducing the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative as an affordable alternative for business owners and their employees. The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative allows its members to obtain a large group premium structure, take advantage of administrative efficiencies and benefit from an array of non-insurance programs, such as wellness programs, that can significantly help to contain healthcare costs.
 
The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative is open to any self-employed person, for-profit or non-profit organization or partnership. Over the past three years, the Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative has assisted over 140 companies lower their healthcare costs through a variety of initiatives. Signup deadline for the third co-op pool is Monday, September 1. For more information, interested businesses and organizations should contact Mary Paitrick, DCEDC Operations Manager, at (920) 743-3113 x 202 or mary@doorcountybusiness.com.