Invest in Your Community

I have the good fortune to be a part of the My Marinette Menominee Movement and am proud of the work we are doing to build a more vibrant community.  Today I would like to challenge you to invest in our community.  I am not asking you to spend more than you are currently spending: I am asking you to use your dollars in a way that benefits our neighbors and neighborhoods. 

When you make an online purchase, your dollars are stripped from our local coffers forever.  Alternatively, when you purchase goods and services in Marinette County or Menominee County, your dollars recycle over and over again providing needed fuel for our M & M economy. 

The best way to ensure the economic health of our region and the businesses within it is to support local businesses and organizations.  Please make the conscious choice to utilize the professionals, suppliers, and resources here at home.  The folks who own and operate our businesses are the lifeblood of this great community.  We volunteer, donate, mentor, sit on committees and boards, and invest in our community in a myriad of ways. 

Please look at everything you currently buy online, from insurance to cleaning supplies.  Take the time to learn who the local providers are.  Whether you are buying for your household or for a large employer or organization, make the choices that will strengthen our local economy. 

Multi-million dollar advertising campaigns aim to convince us that shopping online is a good idea, but the consequences of those actions can be devastating to our local businesses.  Your choice to buy everything you can locally will be the catalyst for a stronger community.  By adding your dollars to the economy, you break down the barriers for entrepreneurs who want to open new businesses or expand existing businesses.  A broader base of goods and services will add to our quality of life.  Stronger companies will lead to higher wages.  Stronger tax rolls will lead to improved services.  And so on.

In creating a more vibrant community, you can benefit from a more robust region and will enjoy a better place to live.  We hope to entice our youth to stay here and our talent to remain here.  We are lucky to live in one of the greatest places in the nation.  Please join with me and invest in the health of this great community. 

Proud local business supporter, Kim Brooks

MyMarinetteMenominee Blog

The Fork in the Road

What if we are at the fork in the road where one path leads to prosperity and the promise of a brighter future? I believe we are at that point today.

There is a stump in my yard that I see each time I mow. I asked a local tree removal company to cut down certain trees in my yard.  Showing him the ones I marked, he said, “you are going to want to remove this one too.” A tree I had not scored. He said, “this one is rotted on the inside and will be the first to fall on your home in a windstorm.” “It looks OK to me, I said”; from my perspective, it looked OK, I liked where it stood.  His reply, “trust me.” Once cut, it was more hallow than I could have imagined.  He saw indicators of the problem that I did not see. I am reminded of the illusion each time we have a windy day.

Think about how we see our community. There are hidden indicators of problems that are not obvious. For example, being in the bottom 15% of economic strength for regions our size in the nation. Similarly, our small to midsize town livability index is not how we see it. We do not rank as a top place to live in Wisconsin. There are missed opportunities that we do not see that rot away unnecessarily at our prosperity.  Please resist the tendency is to say, “It is not that bad.” Let’s replace that with “we can do better.” Because we are capable of something better. We have what it takes, and are responsible for, paying forward the promise of a brighter future.

Despite that many of us care, and that we make some noble efforts, our culture and economy are in a slow decline. Pointing this out is the kindest thing I can do.  Realizing that our responsibility is more significant than settling for “its not that bad.” We can choose the path to success. How we do that is to use the energy we are already expending. We can transfer that energy to travel down the better road. If you want a hint of where to start; Step 1, choose to buy local first. You do not need anyone else’s permission, and the choice costs little to nothing extra. “Trust me.”

MyMarinetteMenominee Blog

We've Only Just Begun

Recognition for all 
who pulled together 
to begin this courageous journey 

#MyMarinetteMenominee is grateful to receive the Ron Wipfli Award.  This year’s Chamber of Commerce Ron Wipfli Award has been awarded to the efforts of the hundreds of people who are involved in the My Marinette Menominee Movement.  I am grateful to be a part of this developing initiative.  Our team flourished when My Marinette Menominee achieved “Top 10” status in the Small Business Revolution.  Achieving national recognition is significant because it proves that we are as creative and capable as any community in this country.  By pulling together as one community across our many boundaries, we are showing that we can amaze ourselves.  

The “My Marinette Menominee” label was given to us by the folks at Deluxe’s Small Business Revolution.  But, it just so happened to be the personification of the vision that our core group already had before the SBR competition. Last fall, we were looking for a community development vehicle with the kind of energy to give us a boost in the right direction.  SBR was a valuable tool, and now that energy supports our vision for future community development.

During the Small Business Revolution frenzy, I made a statement – “Why wouldn’t you love where you live?”  Loving where you live is at the heart of why I am on this journey.  Where you live and with whom are worth the investment of your time, talent and energy.  Our team emboldens me to embark on the journey between where we are now and the promise of creating a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.

We can all recognize that where we live has a natural abundance of beauty: our waters, wildlife, and woodlands.  And, we have a growing list of things including a strong manufacturing base, a new Recreation Center, new Hospital, historic buildings that are being renovated, and more.  We are obligated to honor all the sacrifices others have made that give us today’s opportunity.  If you read Larry Ebsch’s articles in the Eagle Herald each Monday, you learn the stories of people that gave of themselves, they built, donated money, land, and time.  We must exercise the opportunities they have laid for us and keep that promise alive for our grandchildren, children, friends, and neighbors.

For me, the vision is about creating a place where my grandchildren can learn, develop their talents and prosper where they grow-up.  I hope to replace the advice of my generation with a new message.  Instead of telling our youth to “get a good education and move away to be successful,” we can become a place where talent from anywhere might desire to locate. We have all we need; however, it is about what we do with what we have. It is up to us to grow wisely. We can pave the way daily when, without other’s permission, and at little or no extra cost, we choose to pull together with mutual trust and respect and build on our abundance of strengths.

Thank you to those who chose #MyMM for the Ron Wipfli award.  It is encouraging to know that you believe in what we are doing.  Please join us on the journey to foster an even brighter future for our regional community.