MADISON – Gov. Tony Evers today joined the owner and president of Advent Tool & Manufacturing, Inc., as well as local government and economic development officials, to announce that Advent is relocating its headquarters and production operation from Antioch (IL) to the new Salem Industrial Park, located in the Village of Salem Lakes. 

“This is great news for the Village of Salem Lakes, and the entire southeast region of our state, and will bring new opportunities to our communities,”  said Gov. Evers. “I want to thank Advent, WEDC, the Milwaukee 7, and all the local officials who helped make this a possibility. The partnerships and relationships these folks have been able to build, truly exemplify why Wisconsin is such a great place to live and work.” 

Rebuild and Revitalize Program seeded with $500,000 from T&M Partners and Kelben Foundation

MILWAUKEE -- The unjust act that took George Floyd’s life, which was emblematic of the racial inequities that exist in our community, has inspired a movement across the country and around the world. We support passionate and peaceful protests here in Milwaukee.

Unfortunately, several businesses have been damaged in areas such as Martin Luther King Drive, Harambee, Sherman Park and the Near South Side neighborhoods. To help these businesses already distressed by the COVID-19 pandemic, MMAC is launching a grant program through its Community Support Foundation. This grant program has been seeded with an initial $500,000 from T&M Partners and the Kelben Foundation.

“The peaceful demonstrators called out to many citizens as they passed by, ‘walk with us.’ We hear them,” said MMAC Chair Jonas Prising, Chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup. “We also want to help rebuild the businesses that were damaged and help improve the prospects for African American business prosperity. Thank you to T&M Partners and the Kelben Foundation for taking the lead on this important initiative. We hope this helps seed other contributions.”

MMAC’s mission is “to support a globally competitive region, that fosters high-value employment, to create a vibrant quality of life for all.” The tragic death of George Floyd shakes the core of who we are as a nation and encapsulates why at the MMAC we are committed to creating a vibrant quality of life for all.

Our prosperity as a business community is dependent on our prosperity as citizens. Here in our region, we know that the disparities for people of color are some of the deepest in the nation, including unemployment, poverty rates, housing ownership and educational attainment.
 
MMAC is committed through its program of work to outcomes that deliver equity in education, training and employment. Our Region of Choice initiative is needed now more than ever before. Launched in September of 2019, 100 companies, representing 140,000 employees, pledged to increase overall African American and Hispanic employment and management employment through hiring and advancement goals for these groups. Our role is to unite employers to establish best practices and lead with action.  
 
While hiring and advancement goals alone will not eradicate racial disparities overnight, achievement of these goals is foundational to any path to removing racial disparities that exist in our workplaces and our communities.    
 
The MMAC stands with those who are peacefully demonstrating and engaging to promote systematic change and will continue to walk with those who seek to create a vibrant quality of life for all.
 
Jonas Prising
Chairman and CEO, ManpowerGroup
MMAC Board Chair

Tim Sheehy
President
MMAC

Information on the Region of Choice pledge >>>
https://www.mmac.org/diverse-talent.html

Medical College of Wisconsin, MMAC and M7 provide guidance to help businesses prepare and protect employees, customers and facilities during COVID-19 pandemic.

MILWAUKEE – To help Milwaukee Region businesses reopen and operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and the Milwaukee 7 Economic Development Partnership (M7) have collaborated to launch an online toolkit with information, guidance and resources.
 
The toolkit, which can be accessed online, is designed to help businesses identify risks and implement health and safety procedures that will protect their employees and customers. Through the toolkit, companies are encouraged to enact procedures and protocols that minimize the introduction, exposure and spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

Last Friday, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution calling for a phased-in “smart restart” of our economy before May 26, beginning as early as the week of May 11.
 
MMAC’s support of Gov. Evers’ initial “Safer at Home” order through April 24 was strongly informed by concerns raised by health care leaders over the speed of the disease’s spread and the possibility of our health care systems being overwhelmed with critically ill patients. That initial Safer at Home period has had the desired effect of “flattening the curve” of COVID-19 spread to the point where we can safely begin reopening the economy, with measures in place to protect employees and customers, without putting our health system capacity at risk.

U.S. Bank has expedited its annual $1 million Market Impact Fund grant program to provide funding for 30 local nonprofits that are working to respond to the most pressing needs in their communities. The fund includes $50,000 to The Business Council, Inc. in Milwaukee to provide individual grants to small businesses who are members of the Ethnic and Diverse Business Coalition (EDBC).
 
The EDBC includes 13 of the multicultural and diverse chambers in Wisconsin including Hmong, African-American, LGBT, Veterans and Latino Chambers. The Business Council, Inc. will operate the fund and works in collaboration with the EDBC.
 
“The support from U.S. Bank’s Market Impact Fund is a huge win for ethnic and diverse businesses in the State of Wisconsin,” Marjorie Rucker, Chair of the Ethnic and Diverse Business Coalition and Executive Director of The Business Council, Inc. “Formulating partnerships to provide support to small ethnic and diverse businesses during this time shows the true leadership of our banking partners like U.S. Bank.”

As MMAC President Tim Sheehy wrote in a note to members last week, “We continue to believe that this data shows that we need to be flexible in determining a Smart Restart of our economy, and that improving trends will allow us to reel in the May 26th extension of ‘Safer at Home.’ In addition, we believe the challenging economic conditions are a growing factor in this consideration.”

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, MMAC has served its members by learning the facts, assessing their impact, and leading in your best interests.This discipline will apply to supporting you through the economic stages of recovery and into the next normal.
 
As part of those efforts, we are sending you a fact-based “Smart Restart” plan to move our economy forward. The MMAC’s Board of Directors approved this draft today, and we want your feedback. We are sharing this with our elected officials. View the full plan >>
 
Punchline: Key health and safety indicators provided by the Medical College of Wisconsin are showing noticeable improvements. The daily growth rate (the rate at which the number of cases change, day over day) has come down over 3 weeks from 35% to under 8%. The doubling time (days it takes for the number of cases to double) has increased from 2.5 days to over 9 days. New cases are trending downward.

Apple Spice Milwaukee Catering Company has partnered with the MMAC Community Support Foundation to raise money in an effort to provide a delicious meal for as many front-line workers as possible. Join Apple Spice and additional supporters Ted & Mary Kellner, Pete & Holly Helf and Paul & Lisa Sweeney by donating to this cause through the MMAC Community Support Foundation.
 
With all of the money raised, we will provide as many meals as possible for those fighting for us night and day to defeat this terrible disease. As you know, they have been working countless hours, often times unable to be with their loved ones. Help us to show our support and thankfulness. 
 
Checks should be made out to MMAC CSF—c/o FFLW.
Mail to:
MMAC
756 N Milwaukee Street
Suite 400
Milwaukee, WI 53202
 
Alternative payment methods can be arranged through Marjorie Yoshida at myoshida@mke7.com.
 All of your donations are fully tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your generous support.
 
Be safe and well!
 
Doug Mueller
President
Apple Spice Milwaukee

MMAC and the Milwaukee 7 support getting Wisconsin back to work as quickly and safely as possible. We are deeply engaged with our membership/investors and acutely sensitive to the economic impact of the current state shutdown and eagerly pursuing an economic restart.
 
We want to safely restart the Wisconsin economy, and move forward without lurching back in another closure. To that end, we will continue to work with the administration, legislators and our businesses and health care leaders to develop a viable restart of the economy.

Our goal from the onset has been to promote policies that flatten the health impact of COVID-19, while lifting the economy as efficiently as possible. A date certain to end the “safe at home” order is important, but we all need to prepare for living and working in the next normal -- one that will continue until a widespread vaccine is available.

First LEARN. Draw on the experience of our health care members and employers who have faced this crisis in other countries/states. Second, ASSESS. Consult a diverse team of CEOs from small, midsize and larger employers across industries (a subset of the board elected by the membership) and evaluate the best available information. And third, LEAD. Respond, communicate and take the actions necessary that balance the health risks with the economic risks of the coronavirus. It has been and it will continue to be a challenge to find the right path forward.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce remains open for business, as we have been for 158 years. But as our region, our country and our world face an unprecedented challenge with the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19, we will be working very differently for the foreseeable future.
 
Starting today, the MMAC employees are working from home, with our physical office closed for at least the next two weeks and perhaps much longer. MMAC and its Milwaukee 7 Economic Development Partnership employees will stay on the job and continue working remotely to meet your needs – a task now more important than ever. This is a significant challenge, but we will help you get through it. When there is a recovery and a return to growth, we will be here every step of the way.

MMAC’s leadership is closely monitoring developments regarding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19,) which was designated as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday.
 
While there have been a relatively limited number of positive cases identified in Wisconsin to date, this is a quickly evolving situation. We know that the Milwaukee Region’s business community and our citizens should plan for the outbreak to spread quickly, and to rapidly change our routines in response.

MILWAUKEE – The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) is pleased to welcome accomplished chamber of commerce executive Robert H. Recker as MMAC Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer for the Milwaukee 7 Economic Development Partnership (M7.)

Recker, who most recently worked for the Greater Memphis Chamber in Tennessee, will lead development efforts for MMAC and M7. This combined focus will allow both organizations to fund long-term strategies for the Milwaukee Region in areas such as:

• Corporate attraction and expansion
• Talent and workforce development
• Diversity and inclusion initiatives
• Investment in assets that enhance the region’s livability.

Recker will play a leading role in the upcoming MMAC/M7 Prosperity 2025 fundraising campaign, which was announced at the M7 Annual Meeting in January with a lead investment of $2 million from WEC Energy Group Executive Chairman and M7 Co-Chair Gale Klappa.

“We’re excited to welcome Robert to our team, and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” MMAC President Tim Sheehy said. “While the Milwaukee Region is experiencing a moment of opportunity right now, we also must prepare for trends and circumstances that could disrupt our economy. To have the resources it takes to be ready, we must connect missional investors throughout our region to the work they make possible. Robert’s skill set is ideally suited to this role, and I know he’s eager to get started.”

View the full study: homecrewadvantage.com                                                                     
 
MILWAUKEE -- An independent study released today by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) shows that the Milwaukee Brewers’ Miller Park has generated $2.5 billion in economic output over the last 20 years.

​With the five-county sales tax that supported Miller Park’s construction set to sunset shortly, MMAC President Tim Sheehy said the study’s findings are a welcome validation of a successful public-private partnership.
 
“Twenty years ago, MMAC made the case to our members and to state policymakers that keeping Milwaukee a major-league city was a wise investment,” Sheehy said. “This independent study shows that the actual return on that investment has exceeded our expectations.”

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee 7 Economic Development Partnership has recognized the Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC) with its inaugural Excellence in Economic Development Award, M7 officials announced on Wednesday.
 
The award, which recognizes outstanding economic development projects and partnerships that have contributed to the economic vitality of the Milwaukee Region, was presented during M7’s annual meeting at Northwestern Mutual’s headquarters in downtown Milwaukee. RCEDC President Greg Barron, Executive Director Jenny Trick and members of the RCEDC staff were present to accept the award.
 
“Racine County has been a valued and trusted M7 partner over the years, with a mission of connecting communities, facilitating jobs and growing businesses,” M7 co-chair Gale Klappa said. “We thank the team in Racine for all of its hard work and the exceptional contributions it is making to our region’s economic growth and prosperity.”

Metro Milwaukee’s economic trend continues on a sluggish path as less than half of the monthly indicators tracked by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) pointed upward in August. Nine of 23 indictors pointed upward in August, marking the sixth time in the past nine months that positive trending indicators accounted for less than half of the total.

“August’s trend can largely be attributed to two main patterns,” said Bret Mayborne, the MMAC’s economic research director. “Job gains across major industry sectors were increasingly uneven and manufacturing and production indicators posted continuing year over-year declines.”