History
Click to View WEDA History
July 2, 1974
WEDA Incorporated
July 2, 1974
First official meeting of WEDA (Green Bay), Dues set at $35 for two years, first officers were Robert Houle, President, Richard Hoffman, Vice-President, Darrell Paulson, Secretary/Treasurer
January 9, 1975
WEDA will have two membership meetings each year, WEDA Bd mtgs on 4th Friday of Jan., Feb., March, April, Sept., Nov., or as needed
May 28, 1975
Articles of Incorporation changed to include 501 (c) (6) designation; 58 voting members
January 30, 1976
Revised bylaws
January 1, 1978
Revised bylaws – expanded membership, board of directors to 9
January 13, 1978
First issue of W.E.D.A. Wire authored by John Clanton
January 18, 1980
James Hough retained as lobbyist
January 31, 1981
Executive Director position created and Jim Hough firm retained for this & Legislative Director@ $2,000/mo
December 19, 1984
WEDA proposes to state to appoint task force on community development
December 19, 1984
Communications Committee created
March 13, 1985
Restated Articles of Incorporation filed
September 17, 1985
WEDA/DOD joint report, "Wisconsin Community Preparedness Manual"
January, 1986
WEDA Awards Program proposed
February 4, 1986
Directors limited to two consecutive terms as of 1988 election
February 9, 1988
WEDA individual award renamed Frederick C. Pearce Award
September 28, 1988
Member Planning Survey
Fall 1988
Bylaws revised - proxy vote time limit; board size increased from 12 to 15 members; established Legislative, Public Relations and Education committees
September 30, 1988
Strategic Plan adopted
January, 1989
WEDA Membership Legislative Issues Survey
February 16, 1989
WEDA sponsors NDC training in WI, the first time in the state
89-90
Wisconsin Strategic Planning Council Report #2 by WEDA
February, 1990
Lifetime membership guidelines established
March 6, 1990
WEDAWIRE changed to quarterly publication to rotate with DOD and Forward Wisconsin; $5,000 appropriated
April 11, 1990
Increase conference registration by $10; to $85 for members, $100 for non-members and $110 at the door; increase additional membership dues by $10 to $35; increase sponsorship fees $25 to $35; change membership requirements to $35 from same company/organization
November 8, 1990
Skilled Labor Directory published (ANR Pipeline printed 1,000 copies)
February, 1992
Bylaws revised - Board nomination selection defined, Nominating Committee formalized, voting procedures clarified, established removal from board procedures, filling board vacancies, established President-Elect position
February 12, 1992
Corporate Membership Drive
June, 1992
First membership dues increased from $100 to $125 for 1993
September 25, 1992
WEDA, WMC, DOD, Forward WI & Foley & Lardner paper on “Incorporating in Wisconsin”
October 15, 1992
WEDA 1993-1994 Strategic Plan
March 1, 1993
Speaker fee limit set at $2,000
November 9, 1993
Bylaws amended - Officer duties listed, added membership committee
March 1, 1994
WEDA Membership Planning Survey
January 1, 1995
WEDA Strategic Planning Session using member survey input
February 5, 1995
WEDA Website inaugurated
Spring 96
Annual Governor’s Conference on Economic Development Resurrected
February 14, 1996
Bylaws amended, provides a formal process for the nomination of officers, requires first board meeting to be held immediately following annual meeting, expands Executive Committee from 4 to 5
February 13, 1997
Wisconsin Economic Development Institute (WEDI) started as committee attached to the Board
June 19, 1905
WEDA Focus Groups in four quadrants of WI
April 1, 1998
Strategic Planning Meeting
May 1, 1999
WEDI was incorporated as a separate nonprofit corporation 501©(3)
August 24, 2000
Economic Summit I, WEDA / WEDI White Paper: A Short History of Economic Development in Wisconsin And the Rise of Professional Economic Development
November 29, 2000
Association management services provided by Coenen/ Swandby Associates, Inc.
Fall, 01
WEDA Membership tops 500
In 2002
Economic Summit III, WEDA / WEDI White Paper: Measuring Economic Development Return On Investment (ROI): Wisconsin Models
October 11, 2002
Bylaws Revised: Board expanded to 18 members, categories created for retired members and students.
February, 2003
WEDA First Annual Electronic Member Planning Survey
August, 2003
Published WEDI / WEDA Handbook on "Smart Growth" Implementation
August, 2003
Economic Summit IV, WEDA Presentation: Regional Economic Development Cooperation - Lessons Learned
October, 2003
Very Successful Legislative Session, TIF law revised, Brownfield Grants retained, ozone non-attainment expansion blocked,
2003
Second Annual Electronic Member Planning Survey.
April, 2004
Hamilton Consulting picked as interim association management firm
July, 2004
Association management services provided by Schwartzer Management Group
February, 2005
WEDA hosts Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) exam
September, 2005
WEDA Third Annual Strategic Planning Survey
October, 2005
Survey WEDA Member Use of State ED Programs for LAB Response, WEDA testifies before Legislative Audit Bureau
August, 2006
WEDA Fourth Annual Strategic Planning Survey
September, 2006
WEDA Past Presidents' Reception at Governor's Conference on ED
February, 2007
WEDA Fifth Annual Strategic Planning Survey
July, 2008
WEDA hosts Joint Conference with the Governor’s Conference on Workforce Development in the Wisconsin Dells
October 27, 2008
1st Wisconsin Basic Economic Development Course
November 10, 2008
WEDA Announces Diverse coalition formed to create an economic development strategy for Wisconsin
Past Presidents
1975 Robert C. Houle
1976 Richard W. Hoffman
1977 Richard W. Hoffman
1978 John D Clanton
1979 John D Clanton
1980 Patrick A. LeSage
1981 Patrick A. LeSage
1982 Paul Juhnke
1983 Paul Juhnke
1984 H. Paul Bergmann
1985 Laura J. Strain
1986 Robert C. Brunner
1987 Jerold P. Franke
1988 Jerold P. Franke
1989 Robert G. Lamb
1990 Robert G. Lamb
1991 Roger A. Luce
1992 Paul W. Ehrfurth
1993 Larry D. Krause
1994 Douglas Venable
1995 Diane I. Pavelski
1996 Jonathon P. Bartz
1997 Michael J. Mathews
1998 Thomas P. Mihajlov
1999 Victor A. Grassman
2000 Roger M. Nacker
2001 Rob P. Kleman
2002 James L. Schneider
2003 Jan Alf
2004 Barbara Fleisner
2005 Peter Thillman
2006 James Otterstein
2007 Andy Lisak
2008 Kristen Fish
2009 Patrick Drinan
2010 Brian Doudna
2011 Bruce Kepner
2012 Andy Albarado
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