We are currently in process of designing our new web site. Please check back soon.
VEDA: Vernon Economic Development Association
402 Courthouse Square
Banta Building, Suite 207
Viroqua, WI 54665
(608) 637-5396
Susan Noble,
Executive Director
President - Al Hanson
Executive Director - Susan Noble
Think Success at the I&E Club, September,9th!!
Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club Sept 9, 2008
To All Creative Thinkers and Resource Providers, The next Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club meeting is Tuesday, September 9th at the Gays Mills Community Building, 212 Main Street. This month’s topic is "Keys to Success & Resources to Get You There" with speaker, Greg Wise. He is a Community Development Specialist at the Center of Community & Economic Development in Madison and is very knowledgeable about resources provided by the state to help you commercialize your ides.
Come early to network at 6:00 pm, program starts at 6:30 pm. Everyone is welcome!
For more information contact Sue Noble, Vernon County Economic Development Association at snoble@veda-wi.org or 608-637-5396 and Laura Brown, Crawford County UW Extension at laura.brown@ces.uwex.edu or 608-326-0224.
Mt. Borah a home for silent sports gear in Coon Valley
The unique terrain of Vernon County attracts people from all over the world but it also provides a recreational opportunity that has largely slipped under the radar.
Chris Jackson located his bicycle clothing company, Mt. Borah, here because he wanted to be in a small town, and also because Vernon County offers some of the best bicycling terrain in the country.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.vernonbroadcaster.com/articles/2008/10/03/unique_wonderful/05storyun.txt
PRESS RELEASE
August 29, 2008
Contact: Sue Noble, VEDA
637.5396 or snoble@veda-wi.org
Photo: Jason Krause from Krause Konstruction of Coon Valley showing company brochure to Prime Contractor, Lunda Corporation of Black River Falls, Andy Ellingson
Procurement Conference Benefits Businesses in Vernon County
The 7 Rivers Region hosted a dynamic conference for business owners. “Contracting with Governments and Prime Contractors” drew an attendance of nearly two hundred participants from around the state recently at Volk Field in Camp Douglas.
Nine businesses in Vernon County participated in the conference including: Leer Wood Industries LLC, Chaseburg Manufacturing, CWE Inc., VARC Inc., Krause Konstruction Company Inc., METCO, Great Lakes Regional Organizing Committee, R&L Associates, and Toman Tool Corporation.
Ron Anderson from METCO, a Petroleum Tank and Environmental Services business in Hillsboro, made these comments about the conference. “Our company thoroughly enjoyed the "Contracting with Governments and Prime Contractors" conference. It was the first time we attended this conference and enjoyed meeting and learning from all of the participants. As a growing company, we are excited to establish relationships over the next several months with many businesses and prime contractors that we met at the conference. It was a very upbeat and engaging day!”
Through presentations by the Wisconsin Procurement Institute and the Small Business Administration (SBA), businesses learned how to sell directly to federal and state government agencies and how to subcontract to prime contractors. Companies received help in submitting their business information to the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). Businesses must be CCR registered to obtain government contracts.
Jay Fields, from Chaseburg Manufacturing in Coon Valley benefited from his work at the conference. He said, "The conference was very educational. Being CCR registered has opened us to a lot of bid options including a bid to the US Naval Systems Command in Washington D.C. We also learned how to obtain a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Certification that will help us get more contracting opportunities. It was fantastic."
Information was also provided regarding SBA’s historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) program that promotes economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to more Federal contracting opportunities. Businesses who qualified for the program received help from SBA staff to process their HUBZone certification.
Buyers from government agencies and several prime contractors such as Ayres Associates, Bentley World Packaging LTD, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Department of Commerce Women’s Business Ombusdman and Minority Business Development, Rock Island Small Business Office, Lunda Corporation, Mathy Construction, Veterans Administration, US Army Corp of Engineers, State of Wisconsin Purchasing, Case New Holland, Fastenal, WPS Health Insurance, Grainger, and Pierce Manufacturing were available for one-on-one discussions. It was a great networking opportunity as businesses could meet and learn from other businesses from across the state, select from a variety of mini-workshops, talk with agency specialists, and meet with government contractors and prime contractors.
Jason Krause from Krause Konstruction in Coon Valley noted, “The networking at the conference was very helpful. We were contacted by a business about repair work needed on an historic dome on their building. Thank you for your efforts.”
Topics for the afternoon mini-workshops included: Government 101-The Basics, Government Packaging-RFID, and US Highway 41 Project. Tours of Volk Field Air National Guard Base and the Wisconsin National Guard Library and Museum were also available.
The event was co-sponsored by: 7 Rivers Alliance, Volk Field, Wisconsin Procurement Institute, Juneau County Economic Development, Vernon Economic Development Association, UW-La Crosse Small Business Development Center, and UW-Extension.
The next seminar will be expanded to a two day event on August 5-6, 2009. Plan to attend if you are interested in expanding your sales to include governments and prime contractors. For more information contact Sue Noble at snoble@veda-wi.org or (608) 637-5396.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2008
Contact: Sue Noble
Vernon Economic Development Association
637-5396 or snoble@veda-wi.org
Students Attend Youth Entrepreneurship Day
“Persistence, optimism, creativity and the willingness to seek mentors are important for young entrepreneurs”, Ben Casnocha told the one hundred fifty high school students who recently attended Youth Entrepreneurship Day in Viroqua. The event was coordinated by Sue Noble, Director of Vernon Economic Development Association and Laura Brown, Community Development Educator for Crawford County UW Extension.
Entrepreneurs should take action and not find excuses to not get started on their ideas. Casnocha stressed. "Do something, then make corrections when you see what you are doing is wrong," he said. “A lot of great companies start with a "mediocre" idea by somebody who takes "baby steps" in starting action on that idea, makes some failures and then makes adjustments,” he added. “A big problem in most companies and most lives is too much talk, too little do. So go start accumulating unique experiences. Have a business idea? Jump in. Start something!”
Ben Casnocha is a Silicon Valley–based entrepreneur, author, and college student. Currently twenty years old, he serves on the board of Comcate, an e-government technology firm he founded at the age of fourteen. He is the author of the book "My Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley". He has been named by BusinessWeek as one of America's best young entrepreneurs. PoliticsOnline ranked him among the "twenty-five most influential people in the world of Internet and politics." His work has been noted on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, USA Today and ABC’s 20/20.
Casnocha said, “Our generation will need to be creative to compete. Thinking creatively is a big part of what it means to be an entrepreneur. To get ideas, go out into the market and the world, and figure out what people’s problems are. Develop a solution to a problem. You can improve your life and your business and your entrepreneurship. Feed your brain with books and ideas, your body with exercise, your soul with great relationships. Be the best that you can be!”
High School students attended from across the region including: DeSoto, Laurel, Necedah, North Crawford, Prairie du Chien, Seneca, Viroqua, Youth Initiative, and Westby. Casnocha’s presentation concluded a day where students also participated in business related workshops such as: Secrets of the Millionaires, Boost Your Creativity, How to Get the Upper Hand(shake), How to Decide if Your Business Idea is a Good One, and Powered Up: Young Women in Business. “It really was a wonderful experience for the kids. It got their minds thinking and gave them a little bit of Why can’t I do that? thinking”, noted Mitch Tollefson, a teacher from Prairie du Chien.
Sponsors for the event included: Xcel Energy, Alliant Energy, 3M–Prairie du Chien, Organic Valley, International Trade Business & Economic Development Council, Vernon Electric
Cooperative, Scenic Rivers Cooperative, Western Technical College, Southwest Technical College, Viroqua Food Cooperative, Vernon Memorial Hospital, Bramble Bookstore and
Super 8 Hotel.
Noble remarked, “Young entrepreneurs are the life blood of the future economy in our rural communities. We’re working to create a culture that encourages innovation, idea exploration and business development. Our goal is to inspire young people to believe in their own entrepreneurial potential and to help satisfy the growing interest among young people to learn about owning and operating their own business.” Brown added, “We are hoping this event will inspire longer term programming in youth entrepreneurship which may include curriculum development, support for mentorship programs, entrepreneurship clubs, or regular youth entrepreneurship events.” For more information, check out Casnocha’s blog at ben.casnocha.com or www.mystartuplife.com.