Perspective delivered by

Christopher Germain, AICP, EDFP

CEO, LSCP.

Welcome to the new year! I hope everyone had a safe and healthy holiday season. While it was a rare Christmas without snow here, traffic across the county in the days leading up to Christmas seemed to suggest that didn’t deter many of us from our holiday traditions. And where else can you see a giant meatball drop at midnight on New Year’s Eve? Only here in Marquette County.

As we all settle into the year and seek to stay strong on our resolutions, I’d like to share the commitment the LSCP team made to our partners and all Marquette County organizations via our recently adopted strategic plan. In particular, our eight guiding principles:

• We are accessible

• We follow through

• We collaborate with partners

• We take initiative

• We’re nimble and adaptive

• We’re resourceful

• We invest in our organization

• We do the right thing

It is our intent that as we roll out updates from the strategic plan throughout 2024, the team’s commitment to living these guiding principles in every interaction we have with current and future partners will be felt throughout Marquette County.

I’d like to highlight a few of these principles today. First, our accessibility to businesses, organizations, and communities of all sizes and areas of the county. We are one of several organizations working in the economic development field in Marquette County, but we’re the only one without a specific type of client, meaning we have the flexibility to work with everyone regardless of their size, industry, experience, etc. Being as accessible as possible is an important principle for advancing our mission to ensure a vibrant local and regional economy. While we’ve always been out and about throughout Marquette County, you’ll find that to be even more evident in 2024.

Second, our commitment to being nimble and adaptive. In 1998, the LSCP was born out of a need to collaborate and adapt to changing economic conditions and it continues to do so to this day. In 2020, the team pivoted to help hundreds of businesses in the county access pandemic-related information and resources. In 2022 and 2023, initiatives such as the Intergovernmental Housing Taskforce and Childcare SPARK were housed within the LSCP due to its nimbleness. In 2024, we’ll continue to adapt to meet businesses where they are and to tackle new emerging challenges to economic prosperity.

Third, we invest in the organization. We commit to ensuring our team is well-informed, connected, and has the tools they need to maximize the impact of our 300+ partners’ valuable funds which are invested toward the advancement of our shared mission. Like any business or organization, the LSCP is strongest when it is able and willing to invest in its own team so they can best serve businesses and communities throughout the county.

The other five guiding principles are just as important, but I only have so much room to write today so we will visit those in future columns.

Looking forward to the first quarter of the year, you’ll see more information come out about the new strategic plan. You’ll also see some refreshed branding, the launch of our quarterly breakfast series, the official launch of the Central Upper Peninsula Small Business Support Hub, updates on efforts to enhance air service, and much more. This is all in addition to events like the Operational Action UP Annual Meeting, UP200-related events, Business After Hours, and more.

It’s never a dull day at the LSCP and we encourage anyone to reach out and let us know how we might be able to support your business or community’s economic development goals.

For more information, contact the Lake Superior Community Partnership at (906) 226-6591. The Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP) is Marquette County’s resource for economic development, providing a wide variety of affordable and effective development services. The LSCP helps our partners make the connections that matter – between businesses, organizations, leaders and legislators, and provides a powerful legislative voice for programs and policies that strengthen our regional economy. More information on the Lake Superior Community Partnership can be found at www.marquette.org.