Forward Janesville - TheReport - Second Quarter 2023

www.forwardjanesville.com | 11 Left to Right: State Senator Mark Spreitzer, State Representative Sue Conley, Susie Liston (District Director for Bryan Steil), & Angela Pakes (President & CEO, Forward Janesville) Left to Right: María Dominguez (La Preferida Radio Station), Oakleigh Ryan (Principal, Whiton House) & Zach Brockman (President, Beloit SkyCarp) Silvia Donday-Selenske (center) & PremierBank's Spanish- Speaking Team Left to Right: Fortunato Zuñiga (Mexico en la Sangre, Owner), Russ Turk (PremierBank, Chairman, President & CEO), Angela Pakes (Forward Janesville, President & CEO), & Kathy Rolfs (PremierBank, VP & Chief Marketing Officer) Erik Vazquez Luna (School District of Janesville) wins the BA5 drawing prize! Talking to people in the community has been eye opening, Olsen said. Growing up in Janesville, Olsen spent years thinking the community was not diverse. But she doesn’t see it that way anymore. “This dynamic has totally shifted. There are so many people embracing and opening their hearts in the community.” Olsen said. Open minds and hearts are key to creating a community that is no longer Latinx and non- Latinx, but instead one united community. Her second greatest goal is to create space for conversations and a platform for people to be heard, Olsen said. There’s an “overwhelming sentiment” of love for Janesville from the Latinx community and council members she interviewed. She’s excited to move from talking to doing. There’s been a lot of questions and conversations, but now is the time to take action. The Latinx community is hardworking and family oriented. Finding time to give to themselves or to branch out and meet new people can be difficult. “At Forward Janesville, we know that diversity is a key ingredient to a thriving economy and an essential component to community development. This initiative was a result of Forward Janesville and its Foundation’s goal to broaden the chamber membership base to better reflect our community,” said Angela Pakes, President of Forward Janesville and the Forward Foundation. “The support from our membership has been overwhelmingly positive. We had many organizations step up to support this initiative and are grateful for the leadership of PremierBank,” according to Pakes. “Other partners including SSM Health and Beloit Sky Carp joined the effort as they see the value to our community.” The Latinx Business Council met for the first time in May and will continue to meet quarterly. On July 13, the community gathered for an extra special Business After Five (BA5) at PremierBank to officially launch Adelante Janesville . The event captured the amazing energy and excitement behind this initiative - you can see and feel it in the pictures from that evening. Forward Janesville identified in its 2018 Strategic Opportunity Report that one of its greatest opportunities was to redefine economic vitality. Economic development efforts must focus on more than unemployment rate and/or new jobs. Economic diversification, livable wage rates, and neighborhood security are all an important part of developing a strong economic blueprint and ensuring economic vitality. Janesville’s Latinx population has been steadily growing since 2000,