UPWARD Initiatives take local economy to new heights

When you get people to buy in and take ownership of an idea, the rest is smooth sailing. This is the case with UPWARD Initiatives, a multi-faceted alliance of volunteers who are making a difference across the Upper Peninsula and into Wisconsin.

"Regional stakeholders are interested in supporting our economy and want to see good things happening for our residents," says Holly Peoples, director of business services for Michigan Works! The Job Force Board, and one of many paid and volunteer facilitators of the program.

The stakeholders she's talking about is a group of 180 people--all volunteers. These folks aren't mere figureheads looking to add to their resume. It's a group of people, parlayed into seven different committees who have gotten down and--well, perhaps not dirty--but certainly busy making a difference in the U.P.

UPWARD Initiative was born out of the Economic Opportunity Study for the Michigan Upper Peninsula/Wisconsin Border Region in 2009, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and conducted by the Upper Peninsula Economic Development Alliance, Michigan Works!, and the Small Business and Technology Development Center.

Instead of being just another study, this one turned into a plan of action.

"We didn't want this to be another study that got shelved," says Peoples. Actually, the ideas from the study never got a chance to collect dust.

The group got together and identified seven different areas of concern that they could turn into strategic initiatives, as follows: Higher education, education and workforce training, business growth and development, tourism, infrastructure, natural resources, and health care.

One shining example of what the group does can be found in the UPWARD Business Plan Competition. Participants submit a business plan and vie for the first place prize: start-up capital, mentoring services, and media exposure. Last year the honors went to Advanced Precision Solutions, LLC, of Escanaba.

Each committee or initiative has its own progress to boast about. For instance, the health care committee is working on finding more ways people in the U.P. can be treated for illnesses and ailments without straying too far from home. The tourism committee is working on its second annual tourist conference as well as brainstorming on how to attract more tourists.

Meanwhile, the natural resource committee has helped expand the fresh food initiative, started in part by the Marquette Food Co-op, by making small agricultural businesses aware of the services that are available to them, including business mentoring.

And the higher education committee has completed an inventory of large and small colleges across the U.P. to discover that all of these institutions are willing to help entrepreneurs, both students and nonstudents. More importantly, they're passing this information along to interested parties.

"A lot of people don't know they can connect with these universities for entrepreneurial guidance and support," says Peoples.

In addition, the infrastructure committee is collaborating with airports to ensure Yoopers don't get left standing on the runway. They're working to ensure the government sticks to their commitment to subsidize rural airports, something they've done for years but we shouldn't take for granted.

Lastly, the education and workforce committee is working to identify gaps in skill sets, such as those that might occur in local hospitals, and are communicating this information back to high schools and universities so they can prepare students accordingly.

What makes the U.P. and northern Wisconsin a great place to live is our distance from the hustle and bustle of the major metropolitan areas. It can also be a disadvantage when it comes to delivery of services. UPWARD Initiatives is working in the spirit of the residents of this great peninsula to ensure the quality of life we've become accustomed to can be passed on to our grandchildren.

Neil Moran is a freelance writer/copywriter and owner of Haylake Business Communications.