Jobs program expected to fall short of goal

Halfway through an ambitious and well-funded program to create 1,000 new jobs in the region, the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce and its partners are confronting a stark reality: The goal is likely not achievable.

Despite more than $1 million in contributions from businesses and others, the Vision 2017 campaign launched more than two years ago has directly created about 125 jobs through business recruitment and expansion.

Officials involved in the economic development effort said an unskilled workforce has hampered the campaign’s initial objectives, which is why efforts are being redirected from job creation to job training, along with direct subsidies to upgrade existing businesses.

Gone is an incentive offer to business owners of $500 for every new job they create. Instead, more than $100,000 in grants has been distributed to businesses to help them complete interior or exterior remodeling jobs.

Chamber of commerce executives also have spent an undisclosed amount of funds on paying off the chamber’s headquarters facility at 1263 S. Main St. in Shawano.

Mary White, chairwoman of the steering committee for Vision 2017, said those directing the five-year program have realized that they can make a bigger impact on the region’s economy by investing in existing businesses rather than focusing on attracting 1,000 new jobs.

Job creation remains an objective, White said, but officials feel they are getting a better return on investment by improving businesses that are already here.

With another two years-plus before the program runs its course, White, an executive with Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats, is confident that people in the community will be satisfied with the effort when they see the impact on existing businesses.

“It’s kind of changed what our focus has been — and is going to be in the future,” she said. “I think it’s been a huge success.”

With another goal of spurring $40 million in new business investment through its varied initiatives, Vision 2017 is being credited with $20 million so far, although chamber leaders will not detail where that investment has occurred.

Along with its emphasis on investment and business upgrades, Vision 2017 has helped the chamber of commerce retire outstanding debts that were incurred when the organization built its new headquarters seven years ago to house the chamber and its partner, Shawano County Economic Progress Inc.

Officials will not say how much of the $1 million behind Vision 2017 went to pay off the building. Chamber President Nancy Smith, however, said it was “a small percentage” of the funds, adding that it was covered by two major donors, who she would not identify.

The building was about 80 percent paid off anyway, Smith said, and retiring the remaining debt is consistent with the Vision 2017 objective of strengthening the region’s economy and projecting a positive image to business people.

“This building provides a tremendous front door for the community,” she said. “It has really, really accomplished that.”

Donors supporting the Vision 2017 program said they are pleased with the results so far.

Lee Crawford, president of equipment manufacturer TimberPro Inc., said the debt on the chamber’s headquarters was an important obstacle to overcome. Crawford said it is all part of the overall objective of creating positive momentum for business growth in the area.

Noting that many businesses have been improved and many issues have been addressed through Vision 2017, Crawford said the goal of creating 1,000 new jobs is not easy to achieve in the current economic climate.

“If we could do that,” he said, “we’d be miracle workers.”

Seeking a recovery

Vision 2017 was conceived at a time when the Shawano-Menominee counties region was suffering the lingering effects of the national economic collapse and recession that started in 2007. Although a national recovery was technically under way by 2010, the local business climate was still sluggish. Many businesses remained in retreat.

Even chamber of commerce memberships were starting to dry up.

In tandem with Shawano County Economic Progress Inc., the chamber reached out to business and civic leaders to begin a dialogue about a new grassroots effort to jump-start the economy. The comprehensive approach combining job creation with tourism and workforce development found widespread support. Many backers were also ready to contribute funds to make it happen.

More than 75 businesses and individuals pledged a combined $1.1 million to fund the program over five years through cash or in-kind contributions. About a dozen supporters became “platinum investors” with pledges of $50,000 each, including Wolf River Media LLC, the company that publishes The Shawano Leader.

After much planning and organizing, the program officially kicked off in 2013 with high hopes of what could be accomplished by 2017.

Among the achievements that officials are citing so far: a youth leadership organization to foster future business leaders; new tourism branding efforts for both Shawano and Wittenberg; a partnership with health care officials to help businesses deal with alcohol and other drug abuse as workplace issues; and a job-training initiative that taps educational institutions in promoting job skills to students.

Of the $1.1 million that donors pledged, Vision 2017 administrators will not disclose how much has been spent so far, but they released details of approximately $120,000 that has been distributed to more than 20 businesses for physical improvements to their operations.

The grant program has been so popular that an additional $60,000 was allocated to support more applicants. Business owners are required to match the grants dollar for dollar, yet many have invested much more of their own money, resulting in an estimated $800,000 in business improvements attributed to Vision 2017 in Shawano, Tigerton, Gresham and elsewhere.

Dennis Heling, chief development officer of Shawano County Economic Progress Inc., said the grants for some businesses have produced such dramatic results that neighboring merchants have responded by upgrading their own properties, often without even asking for financial assistance.

“I’m really proud of the fact that we’ve seen that kind of impact,” Helling said.

Businesses applaud program

One grant recipient, Cobbler’s Closet shoe store in Shawano, used $7,500 in grants to launch an overdue renovation that included a new exterior facade, new interior flooring and much more. With new competitors arriving in town, store owners Bob and Nancy Dumke decided it was time to update their store both inside and out.

Although the investment did not create jobs directly, it has refreshed the look of Cobbler’s Closet and reinforced the store’s presence in the heart of downtown Shawano.

Bob Dumke said he was impressed by the can-do spirit exhibited by Vision 2017 and its representatives.

“It’s a tremendous program,” he said. “As soon as we expressed any interest, they were right here telling us how to get it done.”

Another beneficiary of the grant program is a start-up business in Tigerton that entrepreneur Judi Hegewald had been contemplating for years: a grocery store.

With funding and other assistance from Vision 2017, Hegewald was able to acquire an abandoned grocery store building and transform it into Cedar Street Market, a full-service grocery that opened this summer. The property had been dormant for about five years, but Hegewald assembled bank loans and other assistance to implement a complete makeover and bring Tigerton a badly needed new shopping option in Cedar Street Market.

The store owner said Vision 2017 not only provided $7,500 in funding, but also helped her organize a business plan.

“They were just wonderful all the way through,” she said. “I always dreamed of doing something like this.”

Cedar Street Market now has three full-time employees and five part-time.

Job rebate idea fizzles

In calculating the total number of jobs created since Vision 2017 began, officials say the program also played a role in growth at manufacturer Wisconsin Film & Bag, at agricultural firm Cooperative Resources International and at Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N Bake Pizza. Some of that job creation occurred under an early experiment in which businesses were promised direct rebates of $500 for every new job they added.

Confusion followed when some business owners thought rebates were available for jobs that had been created before Vision 2017 even existed. Officials quickly ended the experiment after realizing that the concept was unworkable as intended, which was an incentive to bring new jobs to the Shawano area that otherwise would not be here.

“It never quite worked that way,” Smith said. “It just wasn’t adding any value.”

When Wisconsin Film & Bag was awarded a rebate for boosting its work force, the company, a Vision 2017 donor, returned the money as a donation to the program. Company President Jim Feeney explained that he views such incentives as the state or federal government’s responsibility, and that local efforts such as Vision 2017 should devote their resources to promoting growth from within.

“Too often our attention is focused on attracting new businesses,” he said, “when our most important responsibility is supporting the businesses that are already in our community.”

To that end, Vision 2017 leaders have tried to re-calibrate the five-year program to direct more energy toward job training rather than job creation. Employers cannot bring new jobs to the region, the theory goes, if the work force here lacks the necessary skills.

With two years remaining, officials at the chamber of commerce and economic progress group have reached out to educational institutions and others for help identifying ways to boost job readiness. One of the approaches involves giving students guided tours of manufacturing plants in the area.

Heling described the job training efforts as part of a broader community priority to keep young people from leaving Shawano in search of greener pastures once they are ready to start their careers.

“It’s important that they understand that they have career opportunities here,” he said. “There’s going to be a broader emphasis on that.”

Raising awareness that job skills are a significant challenge is, by itself, an achievement worth noting, said another leader of the economic development effort.

Dan Gast, vice president of CoVantage Credit Union in Shawano, said he and other Vision 2017 supporters are pleased with the program’s successes in upgrading existing businesses, helping the chamber get out of debt, and creating a strong environment for economic growth.

Falling short of the 1,000 jobs is not reason for disappointment, Gast said. Identifying improved job skills and training as a future priority, he added, is a big step forward.

“Ideally it would be nice to see jobs, you bet,” he said. “But they’ve been able at least to identify some strengths and weaknesses.”