Mid-Year Update

Posted by Lake Superior Community Partnership on July 24, 2015

I can’t believe we are already halfway through 2015 and what a whirlwind it has been here at the LSCP! We’ve worked with some amazing clients, coordinated the annual Ambassador trip to Lansing, completed two successful fundraising events and much more.

So far in 2015 we have worked with 242 clients from across the region. Of these clients, 26 were start-ups, 4 were attraction and 212 were expansion/retention clients. Some examples of services we assisted with are site location, strategic planning, business financing, business plan development, marketing and licensing. Some businesses who have given us permission to share that they have received our assistance include U.P. Marketing Department, UPPCO, Natural Organizing, Warrior Woman Beads, “Y is for Yooper” author Scott Reddinger, The Stitch Witch, Cognition Brewing Company and Panache.

When working with clients, we also keep track of the number of jobs involved. Of the clients we worked with, 121 jobs are projected to be created, 8 jobs were retained and 4,455 existing jobs were impacted by the additional services that the companies requested. Jobs impacted is defined as the number of jobs affected through LSCP actions and engagement with business clients.

I won’t go into too much detail on the Ambassador trip back in April as I dedicated an entire column to it already, but I do want to reiterate what a success it was. We were once again praised for our ability to collaborate with other counties in the U.P. focusing on key issues that affect us all, such as energy, dark stores, transportation and workforce.

Our Annual Dinner and Golf Outing were both successful due to the overwhelming support of our partners. We appreciate each and every partner who sponsored, volunteered and attended these events. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and are already thinking of ways to improve for the future.

Other highlights that come to mind so far this year are the promotion of Caralee Swanberg to VP of Economic Development and her recent Certified Economic Developer status; celebrating the addition of 484 new jobs by 38 businesses via our Plus One program; assisting with 20 ribbon cuttings and the many accolades Marquette County and our region have achieved including #8 Best Small City in America and top 10 Underrated U.S. Adventure Destination.

Although we’ve already accomplished a lot this year, we still have a lot more to do. Our team is working on a couple video and photography projects to be debuted later this year. The 2015/16 Vision Magazine will be complete later this summer. We are working with the UPCDC on a skilled trades marketing campaign to help educate students and parents on the many great opportunities in these fields. And we will continue to host networking and educational events that benefit the business community including Fall Fest in August. We are well on our way to achieving our metrics in economic development and stand ready to help you with your business or idea!

We are so thankful to be a part of such a supportive business community and couldn’t accomplish all we do without your help. For more information on the Lake Superior Community Partnership, our business development services or the benefits of being a partner, visit www.marquette.org.

Amy Clickner, CEO, writes a bi-weekly column for the Mining Journal.