Several years ago, members of the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) Board of Directors business, expansion, and retention (BEAR) program decided to visit with local companies who were committed to gaining feedback and discuss concerns on where the next generation of economic development leaders would emerge from. This BEAR program focused on how to best equip identified emerging leaders with the characteristics, ideas, knowledge, relationships, and values of economic development leadership. In turn, this answer was discovered by working with the Community Foundation of Chippewa County by establishing a fund called the “McDowell Economic Development Seedling Fund” where each year a portion of the proceeds from CCEDC’s Annual Chippewa Charity Classic Golf Tournament go to finance the mission of taking emerging leaders in the area and developing their understanding of the importance of fostering and assisting local entrepreneurship, business growth, and relationships needed to effectively work with others to build our best possible future in the Chippewa Valley. With help from generous donors, the Community Foundation provides grants to more than 150 nonprofit organizations in Chippewa County.

CCEDC believes that leadership is learned primarily by doing, with reinforcement from informal coaching and formal training. Essentially, we believe in the concept model of 70-20-10 which many successful corporations utilize. As its name points out- the model is 70% on-the-job training, supplemented with 20% coaching and mentoring, and 10% formal training.

Unfortunately, CCEDC’s Annual Chippewa Charity Classic Golf Tournament was canceled this year due to COVID-19, but there is still the opportunity to make a tax-free donation by December 31, 2020. We know that they can only succeed because people like you care about improving your community, both now and into the future. We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed to their success, and we look forward to growing!