Forward Janesville - TheReport -Second Quarter 2022

Forward Foundation Meeting the Needs of the Time The long history of the chamber movement can be traced back to 1599, when the term "chambre de commerce" appeared for the first time, in Marseille, France. Currently, there are roughly 4,000 chambers of commerce in the United States with at least one full-time staff person and thousands more established as strictly volunteer entities. One thing is certain: Chambers are not static organizations. They have grown as the nation and economy have grown. Chambers adapt as a result of economic disasters, opportunities, or disagreements. They follow the formation of new cities and communities. Forward Janesville is no different. The organization has changed, developed, and responded throughout our city and region’s history. The Commercial Club of Wisconsin was founded in 1918 and would eventually become the Janesville Chamber of Commerce, a precursor to Forward Janesville. In the era of the Commercial Club’s founding, dramatic change was happening in our nation, state, and area: • Joseph A. Craig, President of Samson Tractor, was working to bring Samson to Janesville and merge with Janesville Machine Co. Craig worked to secure future contracts in the early years to ensure the plant ’s sustainability. • Parker Pen was thriving and establishing practices to ensure the community was welcoming and inviting to its workers. • City leaders reformed the way our city was managed, adopting a city manager system and hiring the now legendary Henry Traxler, who would put his imprint on this city through three decades of transformation. The City would support and give the first million-dollar school referendum to JP Cullen to build Janesville High School. • Women would receive the right to vote in 1919, and Janesville hired its first policewoman in 1921. Janesville business leaders were present and leading through this dynamic time. Sixty years later, leaders began to see that different times called for a different organization. In 1991, Janesville Economic Development Corporation and Janesville Area Chamber of Commerce merged. An aggressive program called New Beginnings was launched in partnership with the City of Janesville’s Economic Development Department. From 1994-95, the next phase of work began under The New Century Program to prepare Janesville for the 21st century and to focus on retention and expansion of existing businesses with four main focuses: existing business growth and retention; downtown revitalization; education; and economic diversity. Forward Janesville created two superfunds in its first decade of operations to financially support these efforts. A Key Tool – Forward Foundation These actions were made possible due to the Forward Foundation. Chambers typically operate under 501(c) (6) non-profit status, which allows them to represent their members in public policy debates. Some Chamber organizations also have a 501(c) (3) entity to support Chamber goals, which allows them to have a tax- deductible charitable vehicle. Forward Janesville’s early leaders were wise to establish our charitable organization – the Forward Foundation – to drive these important efforts and others including: • Redevelopment of the blighted block on S. Jackson Street in 2007 that is the current home of Forward Janesville and its foundation. • Establishment as Financial Agent and supporter of Rock 5.0, the regional collaboration focused on economic and workforce development, which was integral in moving our area forward following the Great Recession. • Principal charitable arm and organizational body behind the $6 million private ARISENow Campaign focused on Town Square and JPAC renovations. Each of these actions are seen as key levers for creating a dynamic and growing economy that helps create a strong quality of life. Early leaders of the merger that created Forward Janesville understood this. “As community leaders, we understood that we had an opportunity to continue and expand what previous leaders had started in the world of economic and community development”, Ron Ochs, an early Forward Janesville board member and now President of Janesville Foundation remembers. “We needed to be bold, innovative, and most importantly, collaborative. This collaboration between the public and private sectors of our community would be measured by not only strategic commitment, but also by financial commitments from all parts of our community.” Work Goes On Today Forward Foundation supports important initiatives which align with Forward Janesville’s focus of building quality of life that attracts and retains a top workforce. The Foundation is the financial agent for JOIN Janesville, our young professional group, Art Infusion, and the Ambassador Grant Program, enabling our community to support these great efforts with charitable contributions. The Foundation also worked with Blackhawk Community Credit Union to purchase the iconic 100 W. Milwaukee Street building and is actively evaluating its highest and best use for downtown and the greater Janesville community. The Future There is no doubt the pandemic changed our world in almost every respect. How we live, work and play is being re-evaluated. Like the challenges confronted over 100 years ago, we are at a critical juncture in the formation of our future. Urban design, work practices, needs of youth and health determinants are all being evaluated in the context of a seismic shift in human behavior, some forced and some embraced. Janesville has a history of resilience and action, and Forward Janesville, its predecessors, and the Forward Foundation have been key players in intentional actions to drive our community forward. With our important partners at the County, City and School District, we at Forward Janesville look forward to positively and deliberately driving our community and our members to their full potential by utilizing every tool we can, including the Foundation. Foward Foundation Past and Present Board Members 2002-2003 Mark Gregory | Jim Johnson | Steve Kennedy Curt Parish | Larry Squire | Ron Ochs 2003-2004 Jeff Hazekamp 2005-2006 Bill Kennedy | Marion Wozniak 2007-2008 Rich Gruber | Bruce Corner 2008-2009 Mary Willmer-Sheedy 2009-2010 David Bagley 2010-2011 Steve Werner 2012-2013 Mark Bush | Tim Weber 2013-2014 Craig DeGarmo 2015-2016 Sherri Stumpf | Barry Brandt | Mitch Benson 2018-2019 Lynn Gardinier | Tim Lindau 2019-2020 Oakleigh Ryan 2020-2021 David Hiller “As a longtime business owner and prior Forward Foundation Board member, I continue to be very impressed how deeply Forward Foundation impacts our community and member businesses. Staying involved and providing long term business input and ongoing financial support is a very important part of our family's giving back to a community and organization that has been so important to us for over 30 years. It's critical for a thriving community like Janesville to have business leadership that Forward Janesville provides within our community to make investments in the community. It's always the same answer, a very active and high performing local development and business support team that makes things happen every day, Forward Janesville!” – Mark Bush -