The Forward Janesville Annual Dinner brought together more than 650 guests for a night of connection, inspiration and celebration on Nov. 12. Held at the Janesville Conference Center inside the Holiday Inn Express, the event showcased the spirit of the Janesville business community. The highlight of the evening was an engaging fireside chat with Fred Smith, the visionary Founder and Executive Chairman of FedEx Corporation. Moderated by Brian Cullen, the voice of the Rock Aqua Jays and a long-time employee of FedEx, Smith shared stories of his journey from the company’s inception to its status as a global logistics powerhouse. His insights into innovation, leadership and focus on continuous improvement provided lessons for business leaders and entrepreneurs alike. One of Smith’s main messages was to embrace change. “You have to recognize that you have to work on change and make people comfortable with change every day. It’s your job as the [leader] to keep hammering on that. You have to change or go extinct.” Smith commended Janesville’s resurgence following the Great Recession in 2008 and closure of the General Motors plant in 2009. Rather than resisting change, Janesville embraced it. Today, the economy is more diversified, downtown is on the upswing, and community development projects like the Woodman’s Sports & Convention Center, the Children’s Museum of Rock County and the Boys & Girls Club are taking off. This was Forward Janesville President & CEO Shar Hermanson’s first annual dinner. Her remarks reflected on the organization’s accomplishments over the past year and highlighted our community’s resilience with a video that challenged the audience to think of “What’s Next?” Attendees helped answer that question in real-time. They submitted their ideas to a Mentimeter poll that generated a word cloud of our community’s aspirations. With words like growth, innovation, community, housing and family taking center stage, the path forward on “What’s Next?” is crystallizing. The event also served as a platform honor those who have contributed their time and talents to Forward Janesville’s growth. Current Forward Janesville Board Chair Derek Greene presented former Board Chair Dave Hiller with the annual Recognition of Service to Forward Janesville award. To Hiller, it meant a lot. “I’ve spent about a decade with this organization and am beyond thrilled with the change we’ve driven in the community and the relationship we’ve built with the School District of Janesville. Our community has tremendous momentum – we need to keep it going.” As one of the region’s premier business events, the Forward Janesville Annual Dinner once again proved to be an unforgettable evening, leaving attendees motivated to continue building a thriving business community. To relive the night, view a gallery of photos from the event and the full recording of the Annual Dinner, including an introduction from Janesville native and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, visit www.forwardjanesville.com/dinner. Attendees share their thoughts about “What’s Next?” for Janesville in a Mentimeter poll Word cloud results from the Mentimeter poll indicate what’s on the horizon for the community The evening’s engaging fireside chat with Fred Smith (right), the founder of FedEx, and moderator Brian Cullen (left) A Night to Remember Forward Janesville's 2024 Annual Dinner captured the energy of possibility By Megan Matuszeski www.forwardjanesville.com | 11 The Annual Dinner would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of the following member-businesses: PLATINUM: ABC Supply, Baird, Bommerang Home Rentals, JP Cullen, Nowlan Law, Quint & Rishy Studer, & Zilber Property Group. GOLD: Angus-Young, Axley Attorneys, BakerTilly, Batterman, BMO Bank, City of Janesville, FedEx, Hendricks Commercial Properties, Johnson Financial Group, Mary Terry Design, Mercyhealth, Meridian, Pindel Global Precision, Prent Corporation, The Janesville Gazette, Three Pillars Wealth Management, TRICOR Insurance, & Whiton House Consulting. WINE: Turke & Steil. TABLE DECOR: Avondale Roofing & PremierBank.
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