Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/533571
w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m J u l y 2 0 15 • I NSIGH T | 15 I LIVED IN THE HURLEY AREA for about 26 years and was a business owner of both a resort and a coffee shop. I also did the economic development for Iron County for about 10 years. I worked with Jerry Murphy (New North Inc.'s executive director), who was at that time the Gogebic County, Mich., economic development director, so I've known Jerry for a long time. I moved to Wisconsin Rapids and was the president of the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance. When the job opened up at Progress Lakeshore (formerly the Manitowoc County Economic Development Corporation), I thought, 'ere's an opportunity to live on the lake.' I worked there a little more than four years, and got involved in New North as a board member. at broader perspective of working on a regional basis, I found pretty attractive. We're seeing a recovery from the downturn of the defense contracts to Oshkosh Corp. But one of the challenges in defense contracting that this experience has made us remember is there are ups and downs. When there aren't a lot of government contracts, then it hurts the suppliers to that particular industry. e interest and purpose of the defense Connie Loden on creating smarter supply chains U P F R O N T FACE TIME P H O T O G R A P H B Y B I L L K A P I N S K I / I M A G E S T U D I O S , F O R I N S I G H T Connie Loden, senior project manager at New North, Inc., has spent her career in business and economic development. In February, she transitioned from Progress Lakeshore to her role at New North, where she's been focusing on connecting regional businesses with new opportunities, including the Oshkosh Region Defense Industry Supply Chain Initiative. She sat down with IOM Editor Nikki Kallio to talk about those efforts. [continued ] »