UW-Madison Extension’s Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference, a hands-on, immersive conference aimed at strengthening rural Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, will be held June 16-18 in Wisconsin Rapids. Unlike other entrepreneurial conferences, CEC focuses on what works in small towns and addresses the distinct challenges and opportunities that these communities face in bolstering entrepreneurship.
Designed for economic developers, local government leaders, and community champions, CEC participants will take home new ideas about digital commerce, agritourism, and public-private partnerships. Participants can choose from sixteen different sessions, gathering insights on topics ranging from rural tech hubs, youth entrepreneurship, and how to redirect a local economy after economic shock.
“Across the country, there is a new movement to encourage entrepreneurship as a rural revitalization strategy,” says Maggie Cornelius, the UW-Madison Extension Rural Entrepreneurship Specialist who is organizing the event. “This conference is a way for Wisconsin’s rural communities to tap into that movement and build businesses using the resources that they already have locally. Participants will leave feeling energized and well-informed about what they can do to support entrepreneurship in their own small town.”
Now in its second year, the conference “about small towns, for small towns” will be held in Wisconsin Rapids. Once known as “The Paper City,” Wisconsin Rapids is now a hub of entrepreneurial energy, rebuilding businesses in its downtown along the scenic Wisconsin River.
CEC will tour attendees around Wisconsin Rapids to explore the area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Local businesses will host panels and presentations, and conference attendees can check out the local food scene, visit key community sites, including a cranberry marsh, and network with fellow leaders in rural development. The first 70 registrants will get tickets to a minor league baseball game on June 16, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters versus the Traverse City Pit Spitters.
“Other Midwestern states host this conference on an annual basis, and now Extension is working to annualize it in Wisconsin. It is a distinct conference model, truly rooted in the community. Plus, how many conferences can boast a baseball game and a tour of a cranberry marsh?” says Cornelius.
Registration for the CEC conference is now open. Register by June 3 to participate.
The CEC conference is hosted by Extension’s Community Economic Development Program, in collaboration with Wood County, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation/Office of Rural Prosperity, Office of Business and Entrepreneurship, Centergy, Sentry School of Business & Economics at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Mid-State Technical College, and the Wisconsin Technical Assistance Referral Tool.
