— The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s latest annual dinner explored the concepts of belonging and human connection in the era of remote work.
“Gathering can happen in interesting ways, that doesn’t always have to be in person. But there are risks when it’s not in person … Remote work and hybrid meetings will be part of the future, but you have to be sure that you’re being thoughtful and intentional in how you convene,” Chamber President Zach Brandon said yesterday.
In an interview with WisBusiness.com, Brandon shared highlights of the organization’s 70th annual dinner. It was the chamber’s largest event to date, with about 1,250 people gathering at the Monona Terrace in Madison last week.
Attendees heard from featured speaker Priya Parker, host and executive producer of the New York Times podcast “Together Apart,” and author of “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters.” Multiple audience questions were related to the new remote and hybrid work paradigm, and how to form meaningful connections in that context, according to Brandon.
“She said that nowhere is gathering more contested than in the workplace,” he said. “I thought that was a really interesting take … the workplace really is the front line of that contest.”
Her comments focused on how business leaders and other team members can work together to find a balance between business priorities and the wants and needs of workers, Brandon explained.
Also at last week’s event, the chamber announced a new branding strategy around recruitment and promotional initiatives called Be Madison. That will encompass pitch materials and emerging technologies as well as the group’s “inclusive economic platform,” Brandon said.
And the chamber is set to release its latest advocacy agenda in the next month or so, he added.
Brandon yesterday also applauded the recent news that the state has been selected as a regional “Tech Hub” around precision medicine, noting “for maybe the first time in a long time, all of Wisconsin seems to be rowing in the right direction.”
In landing the federal designation, leaders in Madison and Milwaukee found a way to “bridge the mythical divide” between the cities, Brandon said.
“A lot of what personalized medicine is — which is the focus of this biohealth tech hub — we have long argued is unique to this region,” he said. “That we have something special here that is not easy to replicate, and in fact, we don’t even think anybody has even come close to replicating it.”
That acknowledgement of expertise creates a global competitive advantage for the region, state and country, he said.
Brandon will be in Chicago today to meet with representatives of major airlines in hopes of getting more direct flights between the West Coast and Madison, adding the Tech Hub designation validates such efforts to drive investment in the region.
“This is an affirmation, this is a statement by the federal government of what they believe the future looks like,” he said. “That when you’re thinking about what future technologies will define innovation and global competitive advantage, and what regions are best positioned in the next 10 years to deliver and deploy those technologies.”
See more on the Tech Hub designation here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisconsin-lands-one-of-31-regional-technology-hubs/
— A GOP architect of legislation to pump public money into maintenance of the Milwaukee Brewers stadium floated a series of expected changes the Senate could make to the legislation, including adding a ticket tax on non-baseball activities.
But state Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, said including Brewers games in a possible ticket tax would be a “nonstarter” for the team.
GOP Sen. Julian Bradley countered a ticket tax on all stadium events has been popular in his conversations with other lawmakers and constituents, challenging Brooks and fellow co-author Sen. Dan Feyen, R-Fond du Lac, on the idea during a public hearing yesterday.
“Frankly, the Brewers didn’t elect you guys. You were elected by your constituents,” said Bradley, R-Franklin.
Bradley indicated during the Senate Government Operations Committee hearing that he doesn’t support the bill and might not get to a yes even if some of his concerns are addressed.
One change Bradley said he wants to see is to align the team’s ownership stake in the stadium with its share of ongoing maintenance costs. Bradley said the team now owns 35 percent of American Family Field, but would account for just 21 percent of the $646 million package.
See more at WisPolitics: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/wed-pm-update-brewers-bill-co-author-outlines-possible-changes-calls-ticket-tax-on-baseball-games-nonstarter-for-team/
— State officials have announced four winners of the 2023 Governor’s Export Achievement Awards.
These include: Badger Technology Group of Port Washington; MacDonald & Owen Lumber Company, based in West Salem; S3 AeroDefense in Glendale; and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, based in Madison.
The award is meant to recognize businesses and other organizations for growth or “innovative strategies” in exporting. Each recipient was evaluated for export growth, efforts to enter or expand international markets, contributions to the state economy and trade development.
“Exporting is one of the keys to building a strong, diversified economy here in Wisconsin,” WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes said in a statement. “The award recipients are not only successfully building their businesses but they are helping to build Wisconsin’s reputation for quality and expertise.”
See more on the recipients here: https://wedc.org/blog/2023-governors-export-achievement-awards-honor-exporting-success-and-promotion/
— The Wisconsin State Building Commission has approved about $389 million in new construction projects, Gov. Tony Evers announced.
The commission has released grant funds for the construction of a Food and Farm Exploration Center in Plover, a two-story facility that will include event spaces, agricultural exhibit galleries and a farm technology demonstration space.
Other projects include renovations at Universities of Wisconsin campuses, maintenance and repair work across state agency facilities, construction of the Wisconsin History Museum in Madison, renovating and building an expanded admissions area at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute and more.
See the full list here:
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report…</b></i>
— DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson says the state is better prepared now for another pandemic, but that public health officials have work to do in rebuilding their credibility.
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
Sign up here: http://forms.gle/o8FtqTLviGJPja8C9
#TOP STORIES#
# Labor strike halts shipping between Great Lakes and overseas ports
# Brewers ballpark funding plan gets Senate hearing. It will need changes to win approval
# Dairy workers on Wisconsin’s small farms are dying. Many of those deaths are never investigated.
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin crop report, corn & soybeans ahead of average
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=949&yr=2023
– Wisconsin farm-to-food pantry deliveries top 220,000 pounds per year
# CONSTRUCTION
– NAMC-WI responds to WisDOT disadvantaged business report
# ECONOMY
– State officials say Wisconsin’s economy is strong, thanks to its workforce
– The stakes are high for downtown recoveries. Here’s how Milwaukee stacks up.
# EDUCATION
– Researchers to help farmers adopt agroforestry
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=950&yr=2023
– Stoughton high schooler advocates for student press freedom
# HEALTH CARE
– Urgent mental health care is often hours away. That may soon change.
– ThedaCare names Neenah birthing center after Theda Clark Peters as $100M modernization continues
# LABOR
– Appleton staffing business says it will close in December, cut 223 jobs
# LEGAL
– Report: 3M, a global company with Wisconsin workers, is under stress from lawsuits
– Man indicted for scamming older Wisconsin residents out of $200,000
# MANAGEMENT
– MMoCA director Christina Brungardt to depart
– These Wisconsin public companies have the most (and fewest) women on their boards
– See how Wisconsin’s top companies rank in gender representation on boards
# REAL ESTATE
– Mandel Group plans third new apartment building in West Allis
– Federal immigration agency to move to 310W building downtown
# SPORTS
– Republicans float changes to win approval for funding Milwaukee Brewers stadium repairs
– The MLB ballpark expense that has one official questioning whether district can keep up
# TRANSPORTATION
– City agrees to help fund county highway design plan
# COLUMNS
– Opinion: Private insurers insert profit-over-patient mentality into Medicare
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
Rural Minds: Nonprofit to host “Managing Rural Mental Illness” webinar
Dept. of Workforce Development: September local employment and unemployment data released
