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The Door Kewaunee Business & Education Partnership (DKBEP) recently produced and released a series of e-mailable videos featuring nine high-demand manufacturing occupations that have current availabilities in the Door/Kewaunee County region. The videos present typical duties and skills required at local manufacturing and shipbuilding businesses along with projected wages for each of the careers, and support the DKBEP mission of exposing area youth to locally available businesses and career opportunities. The occupations featured in the videos include pipefitting, welding, machine operation, steel and aluminum fabrication, sheet metal fabrication, assembly, mechanical engineering, CNC machining and technical drafting. These new videos will serve as a tool for area high school technical education programs and workforce recruitment efforts. The videos will help expose area youth to the many career opportunities available in the community, helping to keep local high school graduates in the area and help businesses secure qualified employees.
 
To view the videos on-line, visit www.doorcountybusiness.com/WebOuts/EWebOuts/MachineOperation_EWO2.html

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The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has been very busy in Door County recently, with two major projects completed and opened this autumn. On September 21, the City of Sturgeon Bay and WisDOT celebrated the opening of the new $32 Million channel bridge crossing, connecting Maple and Oregon Streets. On October 6, the County of Door and WisDOT opened the final section of State Highway 57 as a four-lane divided highway, allowing for uninterrupted travel from Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay. The $72 Million four lane highway project and the new Maple-Oregon bridge will dramatically improve the transportation infrastructure in Door County, significantly enhance public safety and improve accessibility of the county for the vital tourism, industrial and commercial sectors of the local economy for many years to come.
 
DCEDC has been at the forefront of the advocacy for both of these projects, going back to the organization's founding. The Highway 57 expansion was a top goal of the DCEDC Board from 1989 until 1996 when the final approval was secured. DCEDC also took a lead in bringing the bridge issue to Madison during Door County Legislative Days. Over the years, the strong support of a broad cross-section of the County - including local government, schools, regional planning, agri-business, manufacturing, commercial business, tourism industry, law enforcement/emergency services and private citizens - helped secure the state and federal funding required for completion of these crucial infrastructure projects.

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Governor Jim Doyle announced in early September the appointment of Richard Leinenkugel as the new Secretary of the Department of Commerce. Leinenkugel, formerly the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and Group Manager, Specialty and Craft Brands, for Miller Brewing Company, began serving on September 29. Dick Leinenkugel graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marquette University with a B.S. in Business Administration. He went on to serve as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Leinenkugel began his career with the Leinenkugel Brewing Company in 1987. He was appointed to the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors where he represented Menomonee Falls from 1997 through 2000.

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The City of Sturgeon Bay Plan Commission, Common Council and Joint Review Board approved the plans for the relocation of WireTech Fabricators to the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park, the creation of a new Tax Increment Financing district and changes to existing TIF districts to help finance the move and the eventual development of the current WireTech site for workforce housing. The City and the company will continue to negotiate the details of the project, after passing this important milepost in the plan.

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Door County companies seeking to boost sales to Mexico are invited to join other businesses from the Northeast Wisconsin region for an export sales mission to Mexico City in February of 2009. The trip is designed to help identify and initiate business relationships with buyers or partners in Mexico. All participants will take part in two full days of one-on-one business appointments with potential sales partners and networking events with local VIPs, government officials and business partner organizations. The trip is being coordinated and sponsored by the Northeast Wisconsin Regional Economic Partnership (NEWREP), of which DCEDC is an active member.
 
The trip is limited to twenty companies and there are grant opportunities available to offset most of the costs associated with the trip. Deadline for registration is December 12, 2008. Those interested in more information or registering should contact Sam Perlman at (920) 743-3113 or sam@doorcountybusiness.com.

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Amy Nelson, a radiology technician from Green Bay and a 1999 graduate of Sevastopol High School, was the big winner of a new scooter as part of a giveaway organized by the DCEDC Workforce Taskforce. The giveaway was held during the annual Sevastopol Alumni Sports Tournament over Labor Day weekend. The giveaway, sponsored by Door County Memorial Hospital, Therma-Tron-X and Port Plaza Auto of Door County, gave the Taskforce the opportunity to raise awareness of locally available career opportunities to the hundreds of Sevastopol alumni and spouses attending. The Taskforce is targeting local high school reunion groups as an avenue to recruit graduates to return to Door County and become part of the local workforce.
 
Any local parents and former students who are interested in learning about local job opportunities are invited to share their contact info with DCEDC to receive information in the future. Visit www.doorcountybusiness.com/pdfs/Responseform.pdf to fill out and submit a brief questionnaire.

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DKBEP, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) and the Door County Home Builders Association (DCHBA) have once again joined forces in an effort to grow the construction industry's skilled workforce by providing real-world learning experiences for Door and Kewaunee County high school students. For the second straight year, the Build a Home, Build a Future program will construct a student-built home. This year's home will be located at 1847 Kentucky Street in the Spring Oaks subdivision, directly behind the Sturgeon Bay YMCA.
 
Eleven high school students will participate in the homebuilding project this year, representing the school districts of Algoma, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol. Unlike last year, students this year can expect to be involved with the excavation, foundation and flatwork components of home construction. They will also be working on the framing and finish work under the direct guidance of NWTC-contracted instructors Miles Zastrow and Pat Donley. Upon successful completion of the project, each student will earn 16 transcripted credits for advanced placement in the Wood Technical Diploma program at NWTC. The objective of the program is to place skilled local graduates in area construction or manufacturing businesses or prepare them to continue their education.

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Is your business prepared if disaster strikes? The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and the Door County Health Department is holding a Regional Emergency Preparedness conference on November 14, 2008 at the Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor. Survival Against the Odds: Business Disaster Planning will give your organization the tools to guide you through the recovery process. Participants will learn from Lisa Pentony, State of Wisconsin Pandemic Influenza expert, what the chances are for a flu pandemic. Don Miller from Infinity Technology will update you on how to keep your business records safe, and Lenora Borchardt, President of EPTEC, will conduct an interactive workshop teaching you how to do emergency continuity planning. For more information contact Kassie Van Remortel at 920-465-2468 or register on-line at www.uwgb.edu/outreach/survival.