Wisconsin Rural Summit 5

Wisconsin Rural Summit 5 nets "Fresh Ideas"

Rural residents and service providers from across the region gathered at Stoney Creek Inn & Northwoods Conference Center in Mosinee/Wausau on September 25, 2003 to bring their "fresh ideas" for addressing rural Wisconsin's issues.

As the name implies, the Wisconsin Rural Summit 5 was the fifth biennial summit held for the purpose of identifying the top issues facing rural Wisconin, and developing collaborative, public-private strategies to address them. Results of the Summit inform public policy makers and guide the work of Wisconsin Rural Partners.

The day opened with WRP Vice President and Summit Group Leader Kathy Schmitt presenting a progress report to the participants on what has happened since the Wisconsin Rural Summit 4 which took place in November, 2001.

The 2003 Summit featured the F.I.S.H! theme, or "Fresh Ideas Start Here" - a fun approach to work that was cultivated in a Seattle fish market several years ago, and is now used in a variety of corporate and organizational settings.

Master Facilitator Gerry Campbell, of the University of Wisconsin Center for Community Economic Development, set the stage for the day's work by introducing participants to the F.I.S.H! theme and giving them the charge to "go fishing for fresh ideas" on how to work together on rural issues. Participants nominated their priority issues, which were categorized into Poverty & Rural-Urban Disparity; Micro-Business Development; Land Use Conflicts & Comprehensive Planning; Job Creation & Economic Development; Health Care; and Information Technology.

Participants worked in small groups throughout the day to identify strategies and first steps that can be taken to address the issues, then reported their "Fresh Ideas" to the full gathering at the end of the day. WRP Vice President and Summit Planning Group Leader Kathy Schmitt spent the evening compiling the results from the roundtables, and the WRP Board of Directors reviewed them the next day, integrating Summit participant ideas into WRP's work plan for the 2003-2004 year. Click here to view the full report from the Wisconsin Rural Summit 5.

Writer and rural policy commentator Thomas Rowley spoke to the luncheon crowd about "Citizenship and the Good Life in Rural America."

Thanks to our Sponsors of the Wisconsin Rural Summit 5:

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Golden Guernsey

Juneau County Economic Development Corporation

USDA Rural Development

UW-Extension Center for Community Economic Development

Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection

Wisconsin Dept. of Commerce

Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation

Wisconsin Rural Challenge, Inc.

Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program

Xcel Energy

Volunteer facilitators guided the issue roundtables through the day's work. Above left, Andy Lewis, UW Center for Community Economic Development and Bonnie Peterson, Juneau County Economic Development Corporation, lead the Information Technology issue table deliberations. Matt Joyce, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, and David Gibson, USDA Rural Development (above right photo) team up to assist the Land Use Conflicts & Comprehensive Planning table. Below right, Arlen Albrecht, UW-Extension, helps the Poverty & Rural-Urban Disparity issues table develop its recommendations. Below left: Natalie Parmentier, Wisconsin's Alice in Dairyland, participated in the day's events and signed souvenir posters for participants.

(Left) Students from Tomahawk High School contributed a great deal to the day's work, including presenting their groups' suggestions. (Right) Generous sponsors supported materials, luncheon meal and speaker Thomas Rowley, and refreshment breaks such as this milk and cookie break provided by Golden Guernsey of Wausau, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and Xcel Energy. Contributions from the sponsors kept the registration fees low to encourage diverse participation, as well as provided scholarships for high school students to participate.