EVENTS
53rd Annual Meeting Recap
On January 13, 2025, we had the privilege of hosting Missy Hughes, Secretary of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), who shared valuable insights on key development projects shaping La Crosse’s future. We also presented our winners for the Distinguished Service Award and the President's Award. A special thank you to our generous sponsors—Xcel Energy, La Crosse Regional Airport, Mayo Clinic Health System, and Dairyland Power Cooperative—for helping us make this event possible. For more information on our award winners, read their biographies below!
Distinguished Service Award: Chuck Olson
Every year, we host two awards at our Annual Meeting. One of these awards is the Distinguished Service Award, which is presented to an individual who is devoted to helping the businesses in our community thrive. This year's recipient of this award goes to Chuck Olson (pictured at the right). Chuck has made extraordinary contributions to our community, setting a new standard for excellence through his innovation, leadership, and mentorship. A business owner since 21, he has been actively involved in local leadership, serving on the LADCO Board for over 30 years and holding key roles with organizations like the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce and the Holmen School Board. Currently, Chuck is the Chairman of Coldwell Banker River Valley Realtors, continuing to make a lasting impact. Congratulations, Chuck!
President's Award:
Eagle Crest Communities
Our other award is chosen by the LADCO President to a person/group who embodies leadership, commitment, and community support. The recipient for this year's President's Award goes to Eagle Crest Communities. Formerly Bethany Lutheran Homes, Eagle Crest Communities has been serving the greater La Crosse area for 78 years and is now the 3rd largest non-profit senior care provider in Wisconsin. The organization has invested over $20 million in senior housing projects, contributing to the creation of 375 new jobs in the La Crosse area. Eagle Crest’s annual economic contribution to the region is approximately $44 million. Congratulations to both of our award winners, you all are an inspiration to our community.
27th Industry Appreciation Recap
On October 29, 2024, we had the honor of welcoming Lucas Herro, an inspiring Para Archer, who shared his journey of breaking barriers and overcoming adversity. The event also featured the presentation of our prestigious awards: the Disability Advocate Award, Triangle of Achievement Award, and Diamond Recognition Award. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our members, sponsors, and community partners for making this event possible. A special thank you to our generous sponsors: Coldwell Banker River Valley, REALTORS, Kwik Trip, Coulee Bank, and Stoney Creek Hotels. Read below for more information!
Disability
Advocate Award
​This new award recognizes a local business that goes beyond hiring, training, and supporting people with disabilities. This year’s Disability Advocacy award goes to the La Crosse Hy-Vee grocery store. La Crosse’s Hy-Vee opened on October 18, 2022, as the fifth Wisconsin Hy-Vee location. Hy-Vee is 100% employee-owned, with a total of 280 stores in the Midwest and 93,000 employees! Hy-Vee invested more than $33 million in the La Crosse community to bring Hy-Vee to the area and has created more than 500 new local jobs with this newest store. Hy-Vee is fully committed to hiring, retaining, and supporting people with disabilities and makes hiring people with a disability a priority to “build confidence, self-esteem, and social interaction.” Hy-Vee provides unique personalized training and extended training to make the training appropriate to each disabled person. Hy-Vee wants to motivate other companies to follow suit.
Triangle of Achievement Award
The Triangle of Achievement is awarded to an area project that embodies the collaborative spirit of the Coulee Region. This year we recognize six organizations comprised of area businesses, energy companies, and local governments that have been leading La Crosse County's economic development. This year’s Triangle of Achievement recognizes the XeteX expansion project and the North Holmen business park. LADCO celebrates XeteX for their new manufacturing facility, Mathy Construction for developing and selling the property, Riverland Energy and Dairyland Power Cooperatives, and La Crosse County for supporting the business park – especially the most recent developments – and the Village of Holmen for their vision and commitment in developing the North Holmen area into the regional business park you see today.
Diamond Recognition Award
This year’s Diamond Recognition Award was presented to Mayo Clinic Health System for its new state-of-the-art hospital. The newly opened six-level, 96-bed hospital represents the largest construction project in Mayo Clinic Health System’s history—a remarkable fusion of advanced technology and personalized care. This facility not only provides an unparalleled experience for patients but also offers a dynamic and inspiring work environment for staff. The hospital’s adaptable design promotes care team collaboration, integrates both in-person and digital care, and is built to evolve with patient needs over time. Beyond its role as a healthcare provider, Mayo Clinic Health System significantly contributes to the La Crosse region’s economy as one of our largest employers, with over 2,800 staff members. These efforts are a testament to their dedication to fostering a healthier, more inclusive, and vibrant region. Mayo Clinic Health System isn’t just a healthcare provider; it’s a vital thread in the community fabric.
Lucas Herro's #ShowUp Movement
The #ShowUp movement, led by Lucas Herro, carries a powerful and empowering message for individuals facing disabilities or challenging circumstances. At its core, #ShowUp is a rallying call to never surrender, to rise above adversity, and to persistently show up in every aspect of life. It embodies the unwavering commitment to continue showing up, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well, regardless of the difficulties faced. For more information, check out his website here.
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52nd Annual Meeting Recap
On January 26, 2024, we hosted Jay Rothman, Universities of Wisconsin President, to discuss the importance of higher education in our changing world. We also presented our winners for the Distinguished Service Award and the President's Award. We want to thank our sponsors Xcel Energy, La Crosse Regional Airport, and Dairyland Power Cooperative for helping us make this event possible. For more information on our award winners, read their biographies below!
Distinguished Service Award: Patti Balacek
Every year, we host two awards at our Annual Meeting. One of these awards is the Distinguished Service Award, which is presented to an individual who is devoted to helping the businesses in our community thrive. This year's recipient of this award goes to Patti Balacek (pictured at the right). Patti has over 30 years of experience in education, strategic planning, operational and leadership development, and project management. She currently works as the Director of Strategy at Gundersen Health System and serves at LADCO’s Past President. She has also served on numerous community boards and committees over the years and believes strongly that an organization dedicated to true economic development is what helps move communities forward. Congratulations, Patti!
President's Award:
The Kapanke Family
Our other award is chosen by the LADCO President to a person/group who embodies leadership, commitment, and community support. The recipient for this year's President's Award goes to the Kapanke Family. The Kapanke's got together with the Northwoods League and the City of La Crosse to create the Loggers Baseball team and are headed into their 22nd season. This team attracts college players from all over the United States to improve their skillset in the La Crosse area. In addition, the Kapanke family will host the very first game for the new La Crosse softball team on June 15th at Copeland Park! Congratulations to both of our award winners, you all are an inspiration to our community.
26th Industry Appreciation Recap
On October 5, 2023, we hosted Tom Larson, Executive Vice President at Wisconsin's Realtors Association, to discuss Wisconsin's real estate market. Tom talked through topics such as workforce housing, short-term rentals, court cases, and other commercial issues regarding real estate in Wisconsin. We also presented the results from the tri-state workforce survey, as well as our winners for the Kwik Trip Business Plan Competition, Triangle of Achievement, and Diamond Recognition awards. Read below for more information!
Tom Larson's Presentation Materials
We held our 26th Industry Appreciation in October and wanted to extend a thank you to our speaker, Tom Larson. Tom talked about Wisconsin's real estate market as well as addressed workforce housing and other commercial issues. Did you know, that the average housing development takes 14 months to be approved? To learn more about Wisconsin's regulations and real estate market, feel free to check out Tom's slideshow posted to the left.
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Tri-State Workforce Presentation Materials
As our region's businesses continue to face workforce and other economic-related challenges, La Crosse County, Western Technical College--Business & Industry Services, The 7 Rivers Alliance, LADCO, The Upper Mississippi Manufacturing Alliance, The Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission, and the Western Wisconsin Workforce Development Board have teamed up to develop a uniform survey that will provide our organizations guidance for future programming and member support. The results of this survey have since been collected and were presented at the Industry Appreciation event last week. For more information regarding the business retention survey, please see the presentation to the right!
Kwik Trip Business Plan Competition
This year’s winner of the LADCO/Kwik Trip Business Plan competition and recipient of a $2,000 grant was awarded to Savanna Xiong with FeyeneInk. FeyeneInk Studio operates as a specialized cosmetic studio providing permanent eyebrows, eyelash extensions, and fine line tattoo services. FeyeneInk is currently located in the Coulee Region Business Center but aspires to “graduate” into the community in a high-traffic area to ensure visibility and accessibility for their target clientele. In the future, Savanna would love to open a larger studio to allow students to rent chairs and have a place to start their careers. For more information, check out her website here.
Triangle of Achievement Award
This year’s Triangle of Achievement recognizes our three leading automotive businesses – Dahl Automotive, Morrie’s Auto Group, and Pischke Motors. Collectively, their investments in their people, in real estate, and in support of our community through various non-profits and fundraisers are remarkable examples of achievement, leadership, excellence, and collaboration. These three businesses represent more than $42 million in real estate investment, much of that occurring over the past few years, as well as supporting more than 780 jobs in the region. We would like to thank these businesses for their great impact on the community!
Diamond Recognition Award
This year’s Diamond Recognition award is presented to J.F. Brennan Company. This year’s winner understands the value of adaptation, but also recognizes the importance of retaining who they have always been as a company: their values, strong culture, and the way they do business remains the same. J.F. Brennan’s mission is to create and execute innovative solutions to the world's most complex maritime, environmental, and infrastructure challenges. Headquartered here in the La Crosse area, they are a fourth-generation, family-owned, marine construction firm that specializes in environmental services, dam, marine, and railroad construction, commercial dive, harbor services, and submarine cable services.
66th Economic Forum
LADCO's 66th Economic Forum highlighted the critical importance of organizational culture, how to better understand your organization's culture, and the impact it has on talent attraction and retention. We want to thank our speakers, Rob Van Craenenbroek and Tim Eimermann, for sharing their knowledge. Rob discussed his book, The Culture Factor, and what he has learned from his leadership roles. For more information, check out their website here.
Economic Forum Presentation Materials
We held our 66th Economic Forum in June and wanted to extend a thank you to our speakers, Rob Van Craenenbroeck and Tim Eimermann. Rob talked about his book, The Culture Factor, and explained how leadership can build the desired culture in the workplace. To learn more about workplace culture, feel free to check out their slideshow posted to the right, as well as the videos from their presentation below.
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The Solution for Labor Challenges