Cass County Economic Development Corporation Hosts Annual Member Meeting

For nearly 30 years, the Cass County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) has had a mission to grow local businesses. Once a year, they meet with their members face to face. This year, the meeting was held at the Chase on the Lake Resort in Walker.

“We are a nonprofit, so it’s very important that we stay connected with our supporters and they know where their funds are going,” said CCEDC Executive Director Mike Paulus.

“It’s something that’s not really well known throughout the community,” stated Tyler Wittwer, a business consultant for the CCEDC. “Before I started doing it, I really didn’t know anything about it, either. I’ve known Mike for years and and when we started working together, I realized, really, this is a service that most people don’t know about. So that’s a big part of it, is showing that there is growth here and there’s people supporting this.”

During Wednesday’s meeting, community members and Cass County business owners had the opportunity to speak about their experiences with the EDC.

“They can be anywhere from starting businesses to needing help with their business, trying to work through issues,” Wittwer elaborated. “Basically, we’re there just to help people out, give them a helping hand with whatever they need.”

Another aspect of the meeting is handing out the EDC’s annual Legacy Business Award, which goes to one business every year. This year, it went to property management company D.W. Jones.

“It is difficult to stay in business a year, much less since 1976 when D.W. Jones was founded,” said Paulus. “So every year we try to recognize and award that longevity because it takes a lot of dedication, blood, sweat, and tears.”

“I was surprised for sure,” said D.W. Jones, Inc. President Skip Duchesneau. “I was not expecting it. We try to be a good steward of the community and we’ve been supporters of the EDC.”

Everything from walk-up songs to a taco bar made the yearly get-together a fun event to showcase what the EDC has done over the past year.

“We’re spearheading a workforce housing development just on the eastern edge of Walker,” said Paulus. “We lent over $562,000 in low-interest loans to various businesses. That resulted in five brand-new business startups within the county.”

“We need to keep growing our local communities,” Duchesneau added. “We need jobs and we need housing and we need people. So I think it can help people—to protect people, and it can also help them get their financing to see their dreams.”

The final aspect of the annual meeting was to talk about the CCEDC’s future plans, as their next fiscal year begins at the start of October.