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D e c e m b e r 2 0 14 • I NSIGH T | 21 community first, then find a job, says Brian Johnson, who manages the young professionals group Current for the Greater Green Bay Chamber. Communities that have actively worked to attract this group have seen positive results. e Center for Creative Economy examined efforts to foster the creative economy in North Carolina and found that creative industries boast faster job growth than other sectors of the economy and slower job losses when things slow down. For example, in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina (an area bounded by Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point), the creative economy supports 30,000 creative jobs. It saw an 11 percent job growth in creative industries between 2003 and 2008 and watched its earnings grow from $1 billion a year to $2.97 billion. "We need people to see (Northeast Wisconsin) as an economic hub," Perkins says. "We are a best-kept secret and we need to start raising awareness of where and what we are. It's time to expand the reach." e job trends Perkins mentions are backed by a survey done for Current, which looked at perceptions and attitudes toward the Green Bay area by young professionals in the city. e results were then compared with that age group nationwide. Conducted by Next Generation Consulting, a Madison- based market research firm specializing in next-generation companies and communities, the survey — still considered relevant by those who commissioned it — looked at the group's attitudes toward the community and the assets it values. e values that scored the highest were: • Cost of lifestyle, as "a community where I can live, work and play." • Earning, defined as "a broad choice of places to work and an environment friendly to entrepreneurs." • Vitality, or "a vibrant community where people are 'out and about,' using public parks, trails, recreation areas and living in a healthy community." [ c o n t i n u e d ] » "Quality of life and community are the two most important factors for young professionals. We have to give them reasons to stay." – Brian Johnson, Manager, Current young professionals (ONLINE: Hear his perspective: http://vimeo.com/15433618) population surpassing 104,000, it was the creation of the City Deck that sparked a renewal in both the downtown and the emerging Broadway District. "It created a cool place to be," says Jeff Mirkes, executive director of Downtown Green Bay, Inc. It also touched off a wave of changes. With more people downtown, there was a rediscovery of the riverfront, he says. at resulted in a surge of new downtown residential and office developments. Six of the seven new office complexes are 100 percent full and new residential developments are running at 95 percent occupancy, Mirkes says. "Certainly, some of it is empty nesters, but a lot of it is that creative class of young professionals," Mirkes says. While Green Bay is larger than Appleton, the two share similar demographics. Green Bay skews a few years younger — a median age of 34 compared with 36 for Appleton — and both have experienced a growing ethnic and racial diversity since 2000, according to U.S Census Bureau data. Green Bay, of course, has one asset that's hard for other communities to replicate: the Green Bay Packers, one of 32 NFL franchises, which gives the city unique exposure. "We get national commentators saying, 'If you haven't been to Green Bay, you need to make a visit,'" Mirkes says. e Packers aside, Mirkes says there is no magic formula for a community to jump-start the process of attracting the creative class. It's about promoting the assets already in place, then working to improve areas that are deficient. Take Duluth, Minn., for example. Oen cited for an up- and-coming creative economy, the Knight Foundation's Soul of the Community report found the city's attraction is based on its aesthetics (its outdoor beauty, parks and trails are hard to beat), its welcoming attitude toward young professional talent and its improving nightlife. Some of the challenges include attractiveness to young families and the availability of cultural activities. Not bad for a city with some of the most brutal winters in the U.S. MAKING A GOOD IMPRESSION To keep the economy in Northeast Wisconsin vibrant for years to come, the region will need to actively improve upon what matters to millennials, Perkins says. "I've been seeing this now for several years as I work with companies around the country," Perkins says. "is is an opportunity for Northeast Wisconsin to make itself a destination." Ongoing demographic shis lend urgency to the need for the region to hasten the discussion, she says. Young creative professionals today begin by choosing a place they want to live, then looking for work or creating their own job when they get there. If you are under 28, you are more likely to choose a