The Greater Milwaukee Committee's mission is to keep Southeastern Wisconsin the best community to live, learn, work and play.

Our membership - comprised of our region's business, labor, academic, philanthropic, nonprofit and civic leadership - believes that intelligent, active interest in public affairs is the true measure of citizenship, and the foundation for community.

The Report is available on the Public Policy Forum's website, available with a link below. Here is GMC President Julia Taylor's response to the report:
"The Greater Milwaukee Committee has been monitoring the fiscal and structural challenges facing Milwaukee County. As part of that effort, we commissioned an in-depth study and report by the Public Policy Forum.  The report, released today, confirms the worsening fiscal crisis facing Milwaukee County.

"In the coming weeks, The Greater Milwaukee Committee will be working with a broad coalition of people and organizations, to develop detailed recommendations to address the challenges facing the County.

"The time to act is now. The time of short-term “solutions” and one-time “fixes” is at an end. Without significant structural changes, the County faces the need to eliminate whole areas of vital services to our community.

"We now have a unique window of opportunity to usher in meaningful change that will enable the County to not only maintain, but begin to restore, the vital services that make our community a great place to live, work and play. We look forward to working with our community partners to develop solutions to address these long-term challenges."

Read and download the Report here, from the Public Policy Forum's website.

The GMC's June meeting took place Monday, June 14, 2010 at the University Club, where guest speaker Ray Leach, CEO of JumpStart in Cleveland, presented how the state of Ohio has managed to turn $1.2 billion in public and private investment into over $6 billion in economic activity and over 55,000 jobs through an initiative known as the Third Frontier.  Focusing on public-private partnerships and investment in innovation, the Third Frontier has proven so successful in Ohio since its 2002 inception that voters overwhelmingly approved $700 in new bonding to expand the initative.

View the meeting and Ray Leach's presentation here or by clicking on his picture at left. More details and meeting video will be available shortly. In the meantime,you can download the slides from Ray Leach's presentation here.

The GMC's Insider Breakfast on Thursday, May 27 welcomed IFF, a nonprofit community development financial institution that, among other things, conducts comprehensive research in neighborhoods, real estate and with school systems. The organization also works with funding and consulting for public charter schools.

IFF studied Milwaukee's schools extensively and determined where the greatest needs are to help find ways to increase the amount of "performing schools" - those that graduate students with desirable rates of proficiency - throughout the city.

Read the report and get more information here.

From left to right: GMC Education co-chair Mark Sabljak, GMC President Julia Taylor, IFF EVP Joe Neri, IFF VP of Public Policy & Communications Jose Cerda, and IFF Community Initiatives Director for Milwaukee Heather Heaviland.

Commissioner Selig hits and delivers for GMC members

The GMC May meeting delivered a slight curve from its usual format, offering members ballpark fare and an inside conversation with longtime GMC member and Commissioner of Baseball, Allan H. (Bud) Selig.

The Commissioner shared the stories of persistence, tenacity and never giving up in his quest to bring baseball back to Milwaukee after the Braves left, ultimately leading to the Seattle Pilots becoming the Brewers and County Stadium decades later, evolving into Miller Park. He summoned the vision of leaders in 1949 and 1950 who, without a major league team ever having moved cities, worked tireless to get County Stadium constructed in Story Quarry. There was a lot of opposition to overcome, but their vision and persistence (and let's not forget they used the collective strength of the GMC) led to the stadium's construction and, in 1953, the arrival of major league baseball to Milwaukee.

Of course, as Commissioner of Baseball today, Bud had many more stories to tell and answered a few questions from GMC members to boot. One of the big takeaways, whether it's reveling in victories or dealing with adversity or even issues with players, is that baseball is a "metaphor for life."

We'd like to thank the Commissioner for coming, for bringing Pulitzer prize-winning columnist and baseball fan George Will with him, who shared both words of wisdom and the pain of being a Cubs fan. We'd also like to thank Rich Schlesinger and the Milwaukee Brewers, who cordially provided some sausages for the event.

The Miller Park Klements racing sausages oversee GMC members as they embark on lunch.

GMC April Meeting features wellness programs, healthcare updates and celebration of being a "Well City"

The GMC April meeting celebrated Milwaukee's new designation as a "Well City" by exploring wellness programs and what they do for companies and their employers.

Froedtert Hospital President/CEO Bill Petasnick not only moderated a panel representing four Milwaukee companies, but also delivered an update on the results of the recently-passed health care legislation at the federal level.

The trifecta for wellness: T. Michael Bolger (left), who serves as the GMC Health Care Task Force co-chair along with Mary Meehan, who also co-chairs Well City Milwaukee along with Dick Tillmar (right). 

 Below, left to right: GMC Health Care Task Force lead staff member Rich Greene; Alverno College President Mary Meehan; GMC Chair-Elect Mary Ellen Stanek; and GMC President Julia Taylor. 

Video of the meeting will be posted soon!

Milwaukee achieves "Well City" designation

Milwaukee community was awarded the official Well City USA designation Thursday, March 18, 2010 by WELCOA (the Wellness Council of America) for becoming a national leader in wellness, and creating a more vibrant and productive workforce by promoting healthy lifestyles.

A major milestone accomplishment for Well City Milwaukee, Mayor Barrett received the proclamation from Theresa Islo, Director of Operations for the Wellness Council of Wisconsin. The GMC, one of the primary sponsors and supporters of Well City Milwaukee, was represented by President Julia Taylor.

Speakers at the press conference include (left to right) Bevan Baker, Dick Tillmar, Mayor Tom Barrett, Janet McMahon, Theresa Islo, Julia Taylor and Tim Sheehy.

Find out more on the Well City Milwaukee website here.

VIDEO

GMC President Julia Taylor was one of the speakers at the Well City press conference on Thursday, March 18. Click here or on the picture to view the full video. GMC members can click here to view portions of the press conference.

The 2010 Inner City Business Awards took place in the Pfister Hotel on Monday, March 8. The awards honored seven business in Milwaukee's inner city, as well as Johnson Controls, which picked up this year's Trailblazer Award.

Along with Johnson Controls, winning companies included T.L. Reese Corporation, Comcentia, LLC, Glenn Rieder, Inc., B83 Testing & Engineering, Wild Flour Bakery, Northwest Funeral Chapel and Prostar, Inc.  The winners are pictured above.

The 2010 GMC Annual Meeting unfolded a packed agenda before a packed house on Monday, February 8 at the University Club. The main program feature covered two topics that on the surface appear separate, but in reality intermingle as two hallmarks of the innovation economy.

The first is the Talent Dividend, which was explained by CEOs for Cities President Carol Coletta and calculates that a one percentage point increase in educational attainment within the region would bring a $1.5 billion return in economic benefits, as measured by increases in personal income. Helping to achieve that Talent Dividend will be Beth Wnuk and Eileen Schwalbach, who will co-chair the effort.

The second was the announcement of Creativity Works!, a project that will focus on leveraging and building the Milwaukee Region's ability for innovation to become a key economic driver in the future, similar to how it was early in the last century. Quality of Life co-chair Jill Morin announced the effort and also announced that the Creative Executive Council - a result of work from the Cultural Alliance and Creative Coalition - selected Mt. Auburn Associates to lead the planning for Creativity Works!  Michael Kane from Mt. Auburn followed Jill with a discussion on how creative economies can work and grow.

The entire meeting is available online. Click here or on the picture to the right  of Carol Coletta from CEOs for Cities to watch! 

GMC releases Public Policy Forum report on Milwaukee County

The GMC-commissioned Public Policy Forum report on Milwaukee was released Wednesday, January 27, 2010. The report, entitled Should It Stay Or Should It Go?, explores the county's fiscal situation and current governance structure, along with potential alternative solutions. Rob Henken (left) of the Public Policy Forum presented the report; reaction was provided by GMC County Task Force Chair Sheldon Lubar.

You can view the GMC meeting at the Milwaukee Hilton by clicking on the image or by linking here.

 Download the full report here. 

 Download the executive summary here.

The Public Policy Forum has the report divided by sections on its website.  You can download the full report or the executive summary above, or download the report in sections here from the Public Policy Forum page.

Strong show of support for regional transit

Business leaders, including a number of GMC members, joined Governor Doyle and representatives from the legislature, unions, and the community at large to voice support for a regional transit authority at Bucyrus' world headquarters in South Milwaukee Tuesday morning.

Bucyrus International President & CEO Tim Sullivan welcomed the standing room-only crowd. Following were comments from Governor Jim Doyle, as well as GMC members Ed Zore, Bob Mariano and Scott VanderSanden. A strong Racine contingent was present in the form of Fisk Johnson, Chairman & CEO of S.C. Johnson, Jeff Van Koningsveld, President of IBEW Local 430, and Racine Mayor John Dickert.

GMC achieves "Well Workplace" status

The Greater Milwaukee Committee, a major supporter of the Well City Milwaukee initiative, joins a series of other Milwaukee area companies and organizations by achieving "Well Workplace" status. The goal continues for Milwaukee to achieve "Well City" status this year.

January GMC meeting: quality school research can build capacity for school reform

The January GMC membership meeting, held on Monday, January 11th at the University Club, featured guests from the Chicago Consortium on School Research (CCSR), explaining their model of using high-quality, comprehensive research on factors affecting student performance to help improve graduation rates.

CCSR representatives Nick Montgomery (pictured at left) and Emily Krone (center) presented and described their methods, their model and results during the organization's 20-year history. They also took a series of questions from members, led by chair Mike Grebe (right).

The shocking statistic, although unfortunately not uncommon in large urban school districts, is that only 6% of the children entering high school in Chicago went on to graduate from a 4-year college. CCSR developed a method known as the "On-Track Indicator" to help determine contributing factors leading to better student and school performance and track them for each student in the district. Graduation rates have since improved and the data from CCSR is being used by all parties involved in Chicago Public Schools, from administrators to the teachers' union to the business community.

Video of the meeting is available by clicking here or on the image to the left. Download their presentation by clicking on the title slide to the right.  You can also find out more about the book Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago by clicking on this link.

The November GMC membership meeting featured Rob Henken, President of the Public Policy Forum, as the keynote speaker. The Public Policy Forum has been commissioned by the GMC to research the fiscal, legal and logistical issues involved with transferring the various pieces of county government to other entities, and what options might exist for doing so. Mr. Henken's presentation included questions, examples and initial observations on their research thus far, and cautioned members that the full report must be absorbed in it's entirely before any conclusions can be reached.

The complete report will be released at a joint GMC-Public Policy Forum breakfast meeting on January 27, 2010. Watch the video from the meeting here.

For coverage of earlier meetings, connections to video and more, check out the Archive Page.