Iowa Lakes Corridor wins two Mid-America Economic Development Council Awards

Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation captured two awards at the Mid-American Economic Development Council Conference & Site Selector Forum earlier this month.  Iowa Lakes Corridor took 1^st place for Best Workforce Development program and Best Annual Report in the small organization category, which included economic development groups with annual marketing budgets of less than $100,000.

“The Mid-American Economic Development Council is one of the premier economic development organizations in the nation and we are very proud to earn their accolades,” said Kiley Miller, CEO of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation. “These honors are further indication of the hard work and vision of our board of directors and staff, as well as the strong partnerships we enjoy with local governments and businesses.”

The Iowa Lakes Corridor won the Best Workforce Development program honor for the Manufacturing 101 Adult Workshop. Spearheaded by instructor Scott Rettey and former Corridor Business-Education Partnership Professional Tina Sherrill-Range, the workshop helped over 25 Corridor residents gain employment at manufacturing companies across northwest Iowa.

"Receiving an award of this caliber validates the goals of the Iowa Lakes Corridor and its educational partners, employers, and other job placement professionals who worked to make it happen,” said Sherrill-Range. “The synergy which results from this type of collaboration in workforce development is a true service to career seekers in the Lakes Area, a departure from the paradigm, and truly addresses career readiness."

For the annual report, the Corridor worked with Blink Marketing of Okoboji. Blink Marketing is a full-service marketing agency that specializes in brand and marketing strategies, design, website development and social media strategies.

“In designing this year’s annual report, we had a focus of being both progressive and dynamic in style, which is why we chose to go black and white with a single splash of color on the front cover,” said Blink Marketing founder Jill Harms. “That color was focused on our report theme of ‘Jobs Aren’t Made, They’re Built.’  We also leveraged our current Iowa Lakes Corridor advertising campaign, ‘Good:  jobs, people, life’ for the cover. This campaign was the cornerstone for moving us forward in a direction that would focus our advertising on the variety of jobs that exist in our area. The cover, a picture of a Polaris mechanic working on a new motorcycle in the production assembly, is an example of that campaign. The photography that was used throughout the report also shows examples of all the great work that the Corridor is doing throughout our region.”

The Mid-America Economic Development Council is a multi-state association dedicated to being the leading resource for education, making connections, and sharing best practices for economic development professionals. The Mid-America Economic Development Council has sponsored the annual Economic Development Awards competition to recognize and stimulate the creative use of quality marketing by economic development organizations throughout the ten-state Mid-America region in promoting their respective communities. 

Below is the list of all winners from the 2014 Mid-America Economic Development Awards:

Annual Report

Small Division:

• 1^st place - Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corp. -  Iowa Lakes Corridor Annual Report 2013 – Spencer, IA
• 2^nd place – Greater Fremont Development Council – Greater Fremont is “Forging a New Path” – Member/Prospect Communication – Fremont, NE
• 3^rd place – Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation - Chippewa County EDC 2013/14 Annual Report – Chippewa Falls, WI

Large Division:

• 1^st place - Madison Region Economic Partnership - 2014 State of the Madison Region Report – Madison, WI

• 2^nd place - Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation – Madison, WI

Business Retention & Expansion

Small Division:

• 1^st place – Iowa City Area Development Group - Making Iowa City and Iowa's Creative Corridor a Hub for Workplace Culture – Iowa City, IA
• 2^nd place - Whitley County Economic Development Corporation - Toolbox Campaign – Columbia City, IN
• 3^rd place - Norfolk Area Economic Development Council - BR!E by Norfolk, Nebraska

Large Division:

• 1^st place - Rockford Area Economic Development Council - 2013 Voice of the Customer Summary Report – Rockford, IL
• 2^nd place – Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development - Lincoln Business Retention & Expansion Program – Lincoln, NE
• 3^rd place - Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce - Quad Cities Business Retention and Expansion Program – Davenport, IA

Marketing Program

Small Division:

• 1^st place - APEX (Area Partnership for Economic Expansion) Data Center Attraction Strategy – Duluth, MN
• 2^nd place – Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation – Special Purpose Website – Chippewa Falls, WI
• 3^rd place - City of Hudson - "Businesses Welcome Workforce Ready" Marketing Campaign – Hudson, OH

Large Division:

• 1^st place - Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation - Wisconsin Video Brochure – Madison, WI
• 2^nd place – Greater Dubuque Development Corporation - Greater Dubuque Development Marketing Program – Dubuque, IA
• 3^rd place – Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation - Wisconsin Business Climate Television Commercials – Madison, WI

Workforce Development

Small Division:

• 1^st place – Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corp. – Manufacturing Workforce Training – Spencer, IA
• 2^nd place – Norfolk Area Economic Development Council - NorfolkNow Magazine - Norfolk, NE
• 3^rd place – Whitley County Economic Development Corporation - Industry Immersion – Columbia City, IN

For more information about the Mid-America Economic Development Council, contact Tracey Hogan at tracey@assnoffices.com, or see their website at www.maedc.net. For more information about the Iowa Lakes Corridor, contact Libby Glaser at lglaser@lakescorridor.com, or call (712) 264-3474.