Steve Van Remortel, Founder/CEO, MyTalentPlanner, Inc

CONVERSATIONS Community CONVERSATIONS Community

WITH STEVE VAN REMORTEL

In March’s episode of Community Conversations, Laurie Radke, President/ CEO of the Greater Green Bay Chamber, is joined by Steve Van Remortel, Founder/CEO, MyTalentPlanner, Inc. and Stop The Vanilla, LLC.

Steve and Laurie discuss why Greater Green Bay is such a great place to work, live, and raise a family. Steve also provides insight into what it was like starting his own business.

What has changed and what is the challenge now as you talk with employers?

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the great resignation where a lot of people are saying, hey, I’ve had enough of the grind. I want to do this. I want to do something I love to do. Retention has been a primary driver of a lot of companies. We got to keep the people we have and really help them enjoy their role.”

“And the companies that are proactive about it (recruiting talent) are the ones that are going to win in that regard.”

If you had just a couple thoughts to share with the community around talent, what would that be?

“I have a huge passion for creating shepherds of the talent. That when you see a shepherd, (they) nurture, care for, invest in, develops the people in their life, both at work and at home. It’s not a duty that’s just work based. So my passion is to build shepherds and then shepherds develop more shepherds. And next thing you know, there’s lives being changed across our community on a daily basis because the shepherd of the talents are at work.”

“So the answer to your question is on the responsibility that you have, because everybody has people that are responsible for to shepherd the talent.”

Watch the Full Interview and All Community Conversations

Courtesy of the Neville Public Museum of Brown County.

Courtesy of the Neville Public Museum of Brown County.

Photo Credit: Chuck Zentmeyer

140 Years of Building Greater Green Bay

By: Mary Rhode, Greater Green Bay Chamber

This year will mark 140 years for the Greater Green Bay Chamber. Throughout that time, our organization has supported the community by helping businesses find success and convening the doers and gathering the resources to accomplish those tasks. But like most, our story isn’t that simple.

What began as the Business Men’s Association in 1882, has grown to become the Greater Green Bay Chamber today. In the beginning, the founders tackled many of the challenges of those days including lobbying for construction of municipal waterworks. Moving into the 20th century, we played a relevant role in completing the master plan for the new airport, providing political support for a four-year college (UWGB), upgrading Highway 29, and more. Although we are not even halfway through the 21st century, the Chamber has cemented its place in community history by supporting construction of the Resch Center and Resch Expo, lobbying for a STEM Innovation Center, and many other notable projects and issues.

In 2017, an economic development strategic plan was drafted and organized around an ambitious set of 11 initiatives designed to support the creation of new jobs and investments. In early 2020, the Chamber considered updating the plan, however when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, a massive pivot caused the focus to shift to response mode. It was vital for the Chamber to be in a position for strong economic recovery and as we entered the third quarter of 2021, the timing was right to update the 2017 plan. The updated plan was released to business leaders, investors, Chamber members, and community members. The 11 initiatives were restructured into seven focus areas and each focus area was assigned to a task force. The work of each task force helped to drive the progress made on the 2017 plan and solidified how the updated plan would move forward.

Through the difficulties of the past years, we have continued to advocate for businesses, helping them thrive and with the foundation of the updated Strategic Plan, the Chamber has been able to help entrepreneurs and startups through the Startup Hub and Urban Hub, have informed and led discussions around and created solutions for talent retention and recruitment (Your Move Green Bay) and continued to build on the positive momentum and energy of this wonderful community.

One major difference throughout our history is HOW we tell our story. As the storytelling platforms have evolved over time, so have the Chamber’s methods for communicating who we are and why we exist. Most recently, the creation of our Community Conversations YouTube series. No matter the platform (i.e., social media, website, PR, video, photo, etc), we continue to emphasize the value our organization brings to the continued development of Greater Green Bay. We look forward to the next 140 years and being a part of many stories that have yet to be written.

We look forward to the next 140 years and being a part of many stories that have yet to be written.