Chaudoir Wins Statewide Innovation Award
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 DCEDC Executive Director William Chaudoir was recently recognized as a 2009 "Wisconsin Innovation Champion" by the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. During his 20-year tenure as executive director of the corporation, Chaudoir has coordinated business retention, expansion and recruitment programs and has helped develop innovative programs in entrepreneurial training, international business, workforce development and business incubation, including the Door County Business Development Center, one of the most successful business incubators in Wisconsin.
The Innovation Champion awards, presented to individuals who have had a significant impact on entrepreneurship in Wisconsin, began in 2005. Since then, more than 30 individuals have been honored. DCEDC Economic Development Manager Sam Perlman received the award in 2007. |
DKBEP Receives Grant Award
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 The Door/Kewaunee Business & Education Partnership recently received a $22,500 Community-Based Economic Development (CBED) grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, to develop and implement a three part program to expose youth to regional businesses and career opportunities that are available in the area, prepare them with the skills required for those jobs, and to help businesses and educators with training students in skills needed in the trades. The CBED grant will cover a Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program that will offer area high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to integrate school-based and work-based learning into their school curriculum; help students construct a student built "Green" home as part of the DKBEP High School Home Construction project; and develop a partnership with area healthcare facilities to provide on-the-job training to area high school students interested in medical fields. |
DCEDC Announces Northern Door Office Hours
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DCEDC is pleased to announce beginning Tuesday, October 20, the organization will resume offering monthly office hours in Northern Door County, providing business counseling and entrepreneurial services for any new or existing business owners. The third Tuesday of each month, DCEDC Economic Development Manager Sam Perlman will offer free, one-on-one business counseling sessions, providing advice on business planning, financing, business incentives and other issues. As a member of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Network, DCEDC also has the ability to tap into the expertise of a statewide support network to help find solutions to business issues and questions. Individual, confidential sessions will be held from 8am until Noon in the Sister Bay Fire Station small meeting room, 2258 Mill Road. An appointment is requested and can be made by contacting Perlman at (920) 743-3113 x 204 or via e-mail at sam@doorcountybusiness.com. Walk-ins are also welcome, based on availability. |
Space Available in the Door County Business Development Center!
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 The Door County Business Development Center, a small business incubator located in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park, currently has a variety of spaces available for rent: four finished offices from 150 to 267 sq ft; and 11,850 sq ft of light manufacturing space. Much of the available space is dividable to accommodate the needs of any size or type of business.
The Business Development Center helps reduce business start-up overhead costs by offering affordable rents and providing free or low-cost access to shared facilities, services and equipment, including: truck docks; forklift; high-speed internet access, copier, fax and mail services; and a private conference room. Center clients may also qualify for special business incentive and finance programs: low interest loans; business finance training and consulting; tax incentives; and financing eligibility and application assistance. Eligible clients include new or young companies looking for support to get a strong start in business. Clients typically graduate from the Center within three to five years. For more information regarding available space in the Door County Business Development Center, contact Victoria Marquardt, at (920) 743-3113 x202 or vicky@doorcountybusiness.com. |
Door County Opportunity Fund
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DCEDC has been interested in creating a locally based business equity funding organization for several years. The formation of a Door County angel investment network was one of the top priority action steps identified by the DCEDC staff and Board of Directors from the Door County Economic Development Adjustment Plan released in April 2005. It is hoped that making seed financing available in the area will encourage and entice entrepreneurs to start or relocate promising businesses to the peninsula. DCEDC has partnered with Mike Ward, Managing Director of Waypoint Private Capital, Inc. to assist in the establishment and management of the Door County Opportunity Fund, which will provide growth capital to Midwestern-based mid-market companies, as well as make much needed financing available to early-stage Door County companies. Mike Ward brings more than 15 years of professional financial experience to the project. Mike and his family are also longtime Door County visitors and seasonal residents of Washington Island. It is Mike's desire to create an organization that will benefit Door County while at the same time creating value for his clients. Mike Ward is going to be available in Door County for the next several weeks to discuss the Door County Opportunity Fund either one-on-one or in small group sessions. Anyone who would like to learn about this interesting opportunity to support entrepreneurship in Door County and business growth around the region is encouraged to contact Sam Perlman at (920) 743-3113 x 204 or sam@doorcountybusiness.com. |
Congratulations, Door Peninsula Winery!
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Door Peninsula Winery, winner of the 2009 Door County Industry of the Year Award, recently was also announced as one of nine winners of the fifth annual Small Business Success Stories Awardfrom Corporate Report Wisconsin magazine. The award will be presented later this month at the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh. DCEDC nominated the winery for this statewide recognition. The largest producer of wine in the state of Wisconsin - and Door County's original winery -Door Peninsula Winery was established in Carlsville in 1974 in a building that once served the area as a schoolhouse. Combining age old growing techniques with state of the art technology, Door Peninsula Winery produces fifty varieties of quality wines using the abundance of fruits from nearby orchards. As demonstrated by a long list of wine competition awards won over the years, the Winery is recognized nationally as a leader in the production of fruit wines. |
Doing Business In Latin America
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On Friday, November 20, 8am-4pm, the UW-Oshkosh College of Business will host a one-day conference for Northeast Wisconsin firms interested in sourcing from, exporting to, or collaborating with firms in the rapidly expanding markets of Latin America, with a special emphasis on the Andean Region in South America. Attendees will learn about the fast-growing economies of Peru and Columbia and business culture in the countries of such as Mexico and Ecuador. Hear from businesses that have used Mexico as a launching point for expansion into the Latin American market and case studies of successful partnerships, exporters, or importers. For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.uwosh.edu/cob/new-collaboration. Scholarships to attend are available for small businesses and nonprofit organizations: contact Marianne Johnson at johnsonm@uwosh.edu. |
Board of Directors
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We recently had some changes on the DCEDC Board of Directors. We were sad to see both Peter Trenchard and Will Jeanquart leave our Board after many years of service. However, we welcome new Board members Patrick Duffy, from the Village of Sister Bay; and Leroy Liebe, as our second representative from the Door County Board of Supervisors.
Also, there is a current opening on the Board for a 2-year term beginning in January 2010. Please contact Bill Chaudoir right away for more information or if you are interested in serving. | |
