Amy Clickner, CEO, Lake Superior Community Partnership

Well, it’s that time of year again for us to release our 2018 year-end results! We did so at our Annual Meeting on Northern Michigan University’s campus March 12. This was an opportunity for our stakeholders to come together to hear what we have been up to over the past year, as well as celebrate businesses who have added new jobs. It is these investments from businesses that drive the local economy.

Not only did Marquette County businesses invest in their employees, we also saw many development projects in 2018. From the Ojibwa Casino expansion to the completion of Northern Michigan University’s dorms and Holiday Inn’s beautiful renovation.

In 2018, we hosted our first Family Feud Partnership Edition event. Four local businesses had the opportunity to compete to be the first-ever Family Feud Champion. The Feud Favorite competition also gave the competing businesses a chance to raise money for their chosen nonprofit. The event was a great success and we look forward to making it bigger and better on Nov. 7 (Save the Date)!

In 2018 we broke a record in the Lake Superior Leadership Academy enrollment. The Lake Superior Leadership Academy brings together potential leaders from the area to address pertinent community needs, strengthen individual leadership abilities and encourage participants to personally commit to assuming new leadership roles in the community. If you are interested in becoming a participant in the program, reach out to Ashley Szczepanski at ashley@marquette.org.

The LSCP provides support and staff to the Economic Development Corporation of Marquette County, which holds and administers a revolving loan fund to provide capital to businesses not served by traditional lending sources. In 2018, the EDC served five clients and distributed $330,000 in loan funds.

Last year, our economic development team broke another record by serving 491 clients. These businesses ranged from all stages and sectors, with the majority falling into the category of “retention and expansion.” We assisted 13 percent with startup projects, 82 percent with expansion or retention and 5 percent with attraction. As I have said many times before, about 80 percent of a community’s growth comes from within, so therefore, we spend a large part of our time and resources working with existing companies and start-ups.

Speaking of existing companies, our Plus One program entered its 12th year, and we were proud to recognize 66 companies who created 171 jobs in the last year. These businesses grow our community a few jobs at a time and together make an impact that should be celebrated. After all, small business is the heart of a community and collectively they hire an incredible number of employees each year.

Since the inception of the program 12 years ago, Marquette County businesses have created 3,352 jobs. If your business adds a new job this year, please call our office at 906-226-6591 to be recognized for 2019.

To see all of our year-end accomplishments, including government relations, marketing and networking, talent development, and a more detailed breakdown of our business development activities, go to marquette.org and view our Annual Report.

Lastly, thank you! Without the support of our partners, stakeholders and the community, our team would not possess the expertise and resources required to provide critical business development services.

Editor’s NOTE: Amy Clickner is CEO of the Lake Superior Community Partnership. Her twice-monthly column will address topics of interest to the local business community.