MONROE - Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Wisconsin Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett will be stopping in Monroe as part of the statewide kick-off of National Tourism Week, May 7-15.
During the stop, Kleefisch and Klett will present Green County with a Joint Effort Marketing grant for $39,550 for a county-wide destination branding project.
The presentation is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at the National Historic Cheesemaking Center, Monroe.
Kleefisch and Klett are stepping in to replace Gov. Scott Walker, originally scheduled to make the presentation. Walker will be attending a funeral, according to Noreen Rueckert, director of Green County Tourism.
The funding will help the county with research to find where Green County stands now in various aspects of economic development, including its tourism industry. Future economic development activities will be measurable against the baseline measurements to see if progress is being made, or if the county needs to take a different approach.
"The key to all of this is the discovery of a specific brand that will allow each community to bring their strengths to the table for a common vision," Rueckert said.
"Knowing where we are and benchmarking progress will be pivotal in the process of measuring our branding success," she added.
The Green County Destination Branding team includes Rueckert; Anna Schramke, director of Green County Development Corporation; Susie Weiss, director of New Glarus Chamber of Commerce; Pam Christopher, director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce; Ryan Wilson, chairman of Monroe Main Street; and John Baumann, president of Colony Brands.
According to Rueckert, Green County Tourism; its partners in Monroe, New Glarus, and Monroe Main Street; and the Green County communities of Albany, Belleville, Brodhead and Monticello will be going through an integrated process combining research, strategy, creativity and action to find a unique brand strategy.
"Although the focus of the grant project is to promote tourism marketing, much like the state of Wisconsin, we have long-term goals of job growth and retention, and attracting new talent," according to the Destination Branding team in a news release Friday.
Rueckert believes quantifying future results will lead to the ability of the county to leverage additional resources for tourism funding and other economic development initiatives.
Other state-funded JEM grants are available for applying the branding and marketing strategy, once it is developed, Rueckert said.
During the stop, Kleefisch and Klett will present Green County with a Joint Effort Marketing grant for $39,550 for a county-wide destination branding project.
The presentation is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at the National Historic Cheesemaking Center, Monroe.
Kleefisch and Klett are stepping in to replace Gov. Scott Walker, originally scheduled to make the presentation. Walker will be attending a funeral, according to Noreen Rueckert, director of Green County Tourism.
The funding will help the county with research to find where Green County stands now in various aspects of economic development, including its tourism industry. Future economic development activities will be measurable against the baseline measurements to see if progress is being made, or if the county needs to take a different approach.
"The key to all of this is the discovery of a specific brand that will allow each community to bring their strengths to the table for a common vision," Rueckert said.
"Knowing where we are and benchmarking progress will be pivotal in the process of measuring our branding success," she added.
The Green County Destination Branding team includes Rueckert; Anna Schramke, director of Green County Development Corporation; Susie Weiss, director of New Glarus Chamber of Commerce; Pam Christopher, director of Monroe Chamber of Commerce; Ryan Wilson, chairman of Monroe Main Street; and John Baumann, president of Colony Brands.
According to Rueckert, Green County Tourism; its partners in Monroe, New Glarus, and Monroe Main Street; and the Green County communities of Albany, Belleville, Brodhead and Monticello will be going through an integrated process combining research, strategy, creativity and action to find a unique brand strategy.
"Although the focus of the grant project is to promote tourism marketing, much like the state of Wisconsin, we have long-term goals of job growth and retention, and attracting new talent," according to the Destination Branding team in a news release Friday.
Rueckert believes quantifying future results will lead to the ability of the county to leverage additional resources for tourism funding and other economic development initiatives.
Other state-funded JEM grants are available for applying the branding and marketing strategy, once it is developed, Rueckert said.