Ep 101-102, Jan. 2022:

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Today on Wisconsin veterans forward. If you thought 20, 21 was big for the chamber. Oh boy, look out excited today to have our president and CEO of the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce SA Newton, the founder of the organization, our fearless leader, our strategic mind joining us on the show today, cuz we're gonna talk about our ambitious plans for 2022 and beyond. We're gonna talk about events. We're gonna talk about programming. We're gonna talk about overarchingly. Like where, where do we hope to be? What is our vision? You know, it's amazing how many people out there, how many professional and how many business leaders don't know the difference between a mission textbook style, a mission statement and a vision statement. And I think it's important for us to talk about our vision. It's it's in a perfect world. If we were to accomplish everything that we set out to accomplish, what would that world look like?

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And our vision for the end of 2022? Well, honestly, I'm to hear what, what all Newton has to say about it. And what's our five year vision in a perfect world. If we check all the boxes and, and are able to support veterans and military families and the whiter Wisconsin business community, and the way that we set out to do what does Wisconsin look like at the end of this year? And then we, and then we're, and then we're gonna go ahead and reverse engineer the living heck out of it. I do wanna bring your attention before we bring 'em on. We, we do ha we, we had a little bit of a facelift minor, one minor branding tweak. You'll notice on our social media, all of our banners and our profile pictures look a little bit different. And the reason why I say this is because we also have a new intro video with a new intro song for this show, a new intro video intro outro video, and outro song for this show that I'm really excited about.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

For two reasons, one, the music is slamming. I didn't think we'd improve upon the last one, but I think we found a good one, two, the video content isn't stock footage, man. It is stuff that we actually collected from our events and exploits this year. Check out the videos that are embedded in there, but in particular, the one on the right cause it's Saul, who's our guest today, like engaging with an alpaca, which is, is something that, that, that him and I did this last year hanging out in central Wisconsin. We went to one of our members, has an alpaca farm and we support our members everywhere. So we showed up and we're hanging out and having a good time. And I never would've thought in my entire life that we would've actually been able to get on video SA Newton, engaging with an alpaca.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I, I didn't have that on my 2021 bingo card, but there it was. So, so pay attention to that. We're gonna talk to Saul. We're gonna get into our vision for 2022 and beyond right after this new bumper, you are listening to Wisconsin veterans forward. Wisconsin's premier audio resource for veterans, military families, veteran owned and veteran friendly businesses. Wisconsin veterans forward is brought to you by the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce@wiveteranschamber.org. See that's it, everybody gets pumped up ready to rock. You get a little snippet of what we do for businesses for a workforce pillar and for our community, which may or may not include the padding of alpacas. Introducing president and CEO of the Wisconsin and veterans chamber of commerce, Saul Newton, my friend, how are you? I

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Am motivated after that bumper. That's

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Great. <Laugh> short and sweet. Let's us get right to the right to the nitty and the gritty. Before we look ahead you know, we, our last episode, which was a few weeks ago, we took a little bit of a break. Everybody knows that we talked about what a year, what kind of a year 2021 was for us. So we we've kind of talked about that extensively exhaustively, but if you can sum up 2021 for us, put it in a neat little nutshell, put a little bow on it, like were overarching feeling about 2021 and, and, and how, how that enables us and prepares us to have a successful 22. Do you have any closing thoughts before we slam the door on 21?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Yeah. If, if anything, I think that 21 for us, for a lot of nonprofits for a lot of business owners was all about resiliency. And trying to predict the unpredictable, right going from, you know, the, the depths of, of the pandemic getting vaccines rolled out, boosters rolled out, lit gathering restrictions, lifted, figuring out how to op in this brave new new world. I know new normal is kind of an overused cliche at this point, but it, it really is an accurate description of the operating environment that we're in. And so, right. You know, the, the last 12 months have really been educational, I think for us as a staff, for us as an organization just to to be able to be flexible, to be willing, to take risks and make adjustment, you know, adjust fire as necessary, right

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

On, you know, and, and you mentioned the pandemic, and obviously at the end of 20, we, as an organization had pretty much been in hibernation mode. So 21 was with the end of 20 into 21 was our reemergence. And, and we hit the ground running and we, you know, we we've gone over this, we've done, we did a ton of new things. We tried a lot of new things. We found some new things that worked and some, some new things that didn't, and, and then were able to get back into live events in the, in, in the summer. And so, I mean, we, we didn't waste any time. We just <laugh>. I mean, you know, if you guys have been in our events, you've seen it. I mean, we, we did not waste any time at all. And the overarching feeling was a forward momentum going into 22, like, look where look out world, here we come. And then now we're almost teetering on the edge of like, there's how much hesitancy do you have with this, with the, the <inaudible> variant or wherever we are with COVID and people are starting to shutter again and close down their doors. And, you know, does, does that make you hesitant at all about our momentum or does it further steal you or inspire you, like tell what, what are your current thoughts about that and how to handle it and, and how that informs your decision making moving forward?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

No, I, I think our our pro, which all along has been that we're gonna listen to the experts. We're gonna listen to public health officials and public officials and the guidance that they give. And, and the reality is right now at least in the state of Wisconsin despite the curve ball that Omicron has thrown and the disruption that it has presented for some businesses overarchingly, the economy is doing really well for for veteran business owners, for employers you know, folks are hiring looking to fill positions at unprecedented rates. So, you know, we, we certainly don't have the luxury of, of stepping back because the, the, the need is so great even with you know, a, a a disruptive factor, like, like <inaudible>. So you know, we're, we're tr when we put on programs, we are following the public safety guidelines that are, are in place wherever we happen to be regardless of whether we are in O Claire or green bay, Madison, Milwaukee we, we've been all over the state in the last six months.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

We're gonna be all over the state in the next 12 months. And, and we're just gonna continue to hold to that principle and, and trust people to to make the decision, make the decisions that they're most comfortable with. And that, that's why it's important that we're able to continue doing things like this in addition to in person offerings, offering virtual options as well. And of course we, you know, encourage everybody to listen to the experts, get vaccinated, get, get boosted, because that's the quickest way that we're gonna be able to get through this

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on well said. And I think we have you know, we have things set up and we've experienced enough over the last year plus to know how to continue to provide our services and our information and our programming in a hybrid fashion in person with masks, without masks inside, outside, online combination, whatever. So we're gonna get you that information and provide those services and, and give you those programming options that are valuable to you. No matter what, like we are, we're, our goal is it's, if I'm hearing you right, is, you know, we're just gonna correspond with whatever suggestions we get, but nothing's gonna stop us from getting this out there. And you know, we're not canceling anything. We may have to change our delivery, but I mean, we're, we're, we're rocking it out here. Yeah, absolutely.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

And, and it really comes down to, as I said you know, the, there is a, a substantial need for support for veteran entrepreneurs, business owners, employers you know, as I said, the, the economy is really emerging and, and doing well you know, unemployment has basically returned to pre pandemic levels. We're seeing a wave of new businesses being started. And, and we know that there are some unique needs among the veteran military affiliated population in, in Wisconsin, whether that's through business ownership, through employment. And that's what we are that's what we're here to do is to strengthen Wisconsin's economy by supporting our service members, our veterans and their families

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Precisely. And, and, and we meet those needs in a variety of ways. And the first thing that I want to ask you about, and I want to talk about is our events mm-hmm <affirmative> you know, cuz we ended strong last year with our biggest and best ever fourth annual business comp for Wisconsin veterans business conference. It was, it was an unmitigated unparalleled success from a attendance standpoint, from a number of exhibitors standpoint, from a presenter standpoint, from a sponsor standpoint, from a revenue standpoint, from a value add for our members and sponsor standpoint, I mean across the board, it was a win. So I really want to build on that momentum and talk about the cool things that we have planned to build on that in 22. But before I do that, anybody that's watching right now and I see that there's some people watching live, which is awesome.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Thank you so much. If you have questions for Saul about, you know, what we do, how we do it, where we do it, why we do it you know, if he knows any alpacas that he can personally introduce you to, or <laugh> anything in between, if you're just joining us that didn't make any sense, but if you've been watching since the beginning, you get it and you're in on the joke. Okay. but please throw them in the comments we want to address your questions. Comments, concerns live. So SA events wise traditionally since the founding of this organization really has been this organization's bread and butter, the warm handshake, the networking, the relationship building I anticipate will continue that in 22, what are you most looking forward to?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Well, look, I, I have a, a joke that I often repeat and I think I stole it from somebody, but it's that the military has the world's best alumni network in the world's worst alumni association. And, and part of our mission is really to help foster those relationships to be able to connect those and bring together folks who have a shared background have shared experiences are looking to connect with other folks who have a military affiliation, or maybe they're not in veterans themselves, but are looking for ways that they can support you know, tangibly support veteran and military folks across state. And so yeah, events have, have really been a core function of what we've done because there's you know, in addition to offering valuable information on how best to operate your business, how to attract customers, how to recruit and retain veteran and military affiliated talent, how to connect with the, the veteran community, the network of, of nonprofit and community organizations across the state, underlying all of that is the opportunity to meet and connect and build relationships with other folks.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

And so events are going to continue to be a, a core function for us you know, returning to everything from casual and informal networking events. Like we hosted last,

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Just last night here in, in Milwaukee. We're, we're going to be hitting every region of the state at least once this year, if not multiple times. And in ranging from those informal networking events to large events like our business conference and our upcoming workforce summit and all points in between. But you know, the, what I think distinguishes us is, is, you know, we are the only business association in the state that's dedicated to serving the veteran and military population. And what we've really through this organization is a statewide network, a true supportive community where folks are really committed to seeing one another be successful. And it's by offering those, those opportunities for engagement, those opportunities to meet new people who and I G to you, you might even run across some familiar faces that you had no idea had any veteran or military affiliation or background.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

But that, that really is I think what enables us to do everything else is the fact that we have a really strong network of business owners and professionals and employers across the state. And, and that comes from being able to bring those folks together. Absolutely. And, you know, you mentioned, you mentioned the the musters, there was a muster last night. Musters are, are, are most popular events and for good reason, this one more often than not, they're free. Sometimes we have kind of a bigger muster where we have food and some other things, and, and there would sometimes be a fee charge just to cover, you know, to make things, even on our end, we're not trying to break your bank or anything like that, but last nights was free, was in downtown. And why had like 20 people there.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So great opportunity for people to, to meet face to face and help build and foster relationships that lead to good that lead to business and professional success, career success, entrepreneurial successes. And we have countless countless case studies of folks who have like, you know, I got job because of this chamber connection, or I was able to sell X product, or I created X business relationship, or, you know, just an endless sea of that. And that's really what makes us tick. And if you look at our plan, just going through the first half of the year chamber muster, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, O Claire where else do we got talking with Raymond Roberts right now about Kenosha Racine mm-hmm <affirmative> Steven's point Ash that's Q1 alone. All right. Then we talk about there's another one in Milwaukee, lacrosse, Wasaw green bay. When, when Saul says we're going around him, the whole state to provide in-person support to help foster relationships in every corner of the state, he means it.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And that's what we're doing. That's the first half of the year alone. So those are our musters and all of you are familiar with our office hours. Obviously you're watching it right now and our morning formations, our educational series stuff, but I wanna talk about our spotlight events. You did mention our upcoming veterans in the workforce summit. You may not have said that it's on March 22nd, but it's on March 22nd. Can you tell everybody it, it hasn't even been posted online yet, but this is, this is a huge event. This is up there with our business conference. It's also our fourth annual veterans in the workforce summit. It's a big deal but it's a little different than the business conference in a very important way. Can you talk about what is that? Why are we doing it? Who's it for and so on?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Absolutely. The veterans in the workforce summit is an event that we have hosted in the past has been at a, at a little bit of a smaller scale, but just recognizing the critical talent shortage that exists across the entire state. And you how uniquely positioned our veteran and military population is to address that talent shortage. We are putting together this large scale event that will bring it's. It's essentially the premier event for employers HR professionals, hiring managers, recruiters anyone who is looking to hire, if you want to learn how to recruit or retain a veteran or military affiliated talent. This is the event for you. We're going to have a, a litany, a wide array of different resources organizations that offer job training and upskilling, where you can find veterans who are looking for work. We're going to be highlighting new programs that we're bringing to the state. One in particular that we'll have more information coming out about is a direct a direct pipeline to to transitioning service members. If, if, if employers

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

That's top secret saw <laugh>,

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

If employers are looking to connect with service members, as they're leaving active duty and, and coming back to, to Wisconsin we're gonna have a new resource available to help them do that. We're gonna have a lot of information about programs that are well established nationally, but maybe aren't as well known to Wisconsin employers programs like skill bridge. And I wanna mention one other thing, which is you know, we've, we've talked a lot about the impact of all of the events over the last 12 to, to 18 months have had on our garden reserve service members in, in the state. And, and we've done a lot to draw attention to you know, the series of activations and deployments, everything from COVID testing to election security, civil unrest you know, now vaccinations. Now we have Gar our, our national guard reserve members being relied upon to fill critical talent shortage areas like healthcare.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

All of these, all of these folks have stepped up and, and have have continued to serve in really admirable ways. And unfortunately we've seen that that has come at a professional cost for some of those folks in terms of employment in terms of opportunities. And so one of the other things that we're gonna be talking a lot about in the coming weeks and months, and, and that we will have a focus on at this, this workforce summit will be how can Wisconsin employers step up and take advantage of the immense talent and, and experience and skill that these folks who are serving in the guard, their families bring to the table so that they have family supporting, fulfilling, meaningful jobs and they are in, and, and our, our employers are able to address the, the number one challenge, I think, across the board, which is which is talent,

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

So to clarify this veterans in the workforce summit, our fourth annual veterans in the workforce summit is for business leaders in hiring managers that own or work for businesses or corporations or companies who wish to acquire veteran talent.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

That's right. That's right.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

This is not necessarily catered for the veteran job seeker.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

That's right. And, and that's very deliberate. Number one, because there are a lot of those types of resources and organizations and events out there. There are a lot of job fairs, career fairs, things like that.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

There's a ton of job fairs and they're they're,

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

And, and some of them are great and others have room to improve. But, you know, in, in anyone who's, who's watching who's interested in participating in one of those or learning about those. We are more than happy to find one near you or to connect you with those organizations that put those on. But our focus is making sure that the folks that are sh that are showing up to those, to those job fairs are engaging with employers who are, are culturally confident who are truly veteran friendly and veteran ready employers who understand the, and the skill and the contributions and the value that these individuals bring to the table. We want to make sure that, that as veterans engage with employers, those employers really see how, how much value those, those candidates bring to the table and how they can best leverage their experience in their skillset to to impact their workplace

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on. And, and so that's our, that is our, our spotlight, our premier event for Q1. You know, we call it the fourth annual it's been years since we've done it due to COVID last time we did, it was end of 19, correct. Downtown in downtown Milwaukee at Baird mm-hmm <affirmative> is a great event, man, really great event. But it's been a while. So we're, we're, we're definitely ready to, to, to rock it out. And, and like Saul said, you know, we are creating creating these opportunities. This is for people who wish to acquire veteran talent or people who work in a discipline that helps people acquire people. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>, that's, I mean, it's, if you're part of the pipeline, that is anything that's part of the pipeline, except for the entry point, that is the career seeker, then this is for you.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And, and you should, it's definitely advantageous to be there. So keep an eye out for that. Follow us on all of our social, our social platforms, because there's gonna be news and a signup link for that coming out very, very soon. All in all Q1 looks like we have 21 events planned currently with a few more actually to add to the calendar. And that is in person and live events, Saul myself, and Christian and our board and our amazing ambassadors and volunteers are gonna be working in tandem to bring those valuable opportunities to you and your business and your career Q2. We've got two spotlight events and in Q2, we're gonna be hitting lacrosse again, green bay, I mean, Wasaw we're all over the place, but our two big spotlight events first are women veteran owned business recognition and benefit. That's gonna be at the Wisconsin veterans museum in Madison. We had this event in Milwaukee this last fall, and it was incredibly inspirational and uplifting. It was one of our best events I think we had all year, and we were really excited about that. So keep an eye out for that. And then saw, can you tell us about veterans light up the art arts?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Absolutely. veterans led at the arts is actually one of my favorite things that, that we do. We've I, I have to think back. I think that this is probably the, the third or fourth year that, that we'll have put this on. It's a multi multidisciplinary art showcase of all veteran artists, every every mode of art type of artist that you can think of from painters, photographers, sculptors, visual artists, performing artists like musicians. We've had filmmakers, we've had standup comedians, but it's really a, an opportunity to showcase how much veterans contribute to the arts and cultural landscape of the state of Wisconsin and, and how meaningful artistic expression can be in you know, addressing some of the challenges that we know some folks face. But also through that through that challenge and, and through that expression really making making our, our communities more vibrant we know the important role that the arts play in, in quality of life and vibrancy of communities.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

And so it's, it's really great to be able to showcase just how, how you know, folks who, whether they're whether it's part of a a healthier wellness program or it's a, just a hobby or it's their profession. You know, the, these incredibly talented folks who are, are constantly you know, making communities more and constantly making communities better. And, and it's the only to my knowledge, it's the only type of event event of it it's type in, in the state that, that really brings together and focuses on you know, creative professionals and, and artists and, and folks who have that, that military background.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

You know, it may be one of the only events like it in the whole country, to be honest with you, it's a really innovative idea that came out of the, the incredible brain of one Mr. Saul Newton. It's. It really is. If there's, if we have a gala, this is it. I mean, at the, the closest thing that we have a GA to a gala as an organiza is this, it's at the beautiful, the Milwaukee art museum right there on lake Michigan, it's beautiful building really iconic, exterior and interior, a great place to hold an event like this. And, and like Saul said, we feature exclusively veteran and military spouse, artists, visual artists, performing artists, theatrical artist, musical artists, you name it you know, we have presentations, we have performances. It's just, it is a celebration. And it does a lot to destigmatize the general average civilians idea of what a veteran or military member is as some robotic follower you know not necessarily a creative people that don't know us or our community don't necessarily view us like creative.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Isn't the first word that would come up on their family feud board to describe us, right. And, and I get it but the, we are, there's a lot of talent in our military and our veteran community, and this is a showcase and a celebration of that which, which I think is fantastic. And it is, it also does give an opportunity to highlight the organizations who use the healing power of the arts to help veterans overcome the trauma of post-traumatic stress and, and, and similar the traumas of separation anxiety from constant deployments, or, you know, being called being activated. I mean, the, the, the, the arts are so important in so many veteran and military family members healing process to ignore it and, and not celebrate it is, is a mistake. So we had a comment from Keith he said, may I, may I recommend looking into SB 6 88 and a B seven 20 to create Wisconsin, military medics and corpsman program legislation to create military medics and Corman program, bipartisan legislation champion by editor, Jacque and representative Feld was officially introduced in Wisconsin Senate on veterans day, November 11.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

I'm gonna have to check that out. So all, do you know anything about that? I,

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

I do. This is an initiative that's being really spearheaded by our friends the nonprofit organization heroes for healthcare

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Know that that comment would be so big. <Laugh> like talking and both there's,

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

There's, there's a lot in there, Keith. Yeah. Thank you for, for flagging that Keith, it's a, it's a great example of and, and this is something that we've been proud to contribute to in a, in a small way. But one of the examples of kind of a mismatch in perceived between employer in, in transitioning service members particularly folks coming outta the military who have technical training in healthcare medics corpsmen folks who, who have a, a knowledge set that is desperately needed, especially now in our healthcare facilities maybe they're, they're not at the level where they're, where they can where they can be for instance, registered nurses or physicians assistants, and yet they, but they do have that foundational knowledge of how to provide immediate care. And, and this legislation would allow those folks to fill some really needed staffing challenges that healthcare facilities are, are facing and, and, and give the the service members, the opportunity to continue their training in the medical field and ultimately be able to go into that as their post-military profession.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

So, thanks for flagging that Keith it's, it's a really important initiative.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Absolutely. Yeah. Appreciate that. Keith, if I'm not mistaken, is heroes for healthcare in Wisconsin here associated with that bill in some way, I know they help military members transition and fill any gaps in their certification that would get them to a position where they could administer care. Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. Is that, is that accurate?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Yes. Yeah. That's a written that's the core of what they do. Mm. They, they actually looked at other states that have a similar type of program. I, I believe Virginia being the model that this bill, that this legislation was, was modeled upon. But they've, they've done a great job of getting the buy-in of all the stakeholders, you know, the medical field you know professional associations. And like I said, especially seeing the the talent shortage that we see in healthcare. This is a really creative way to be able to leverage the experience that folks get in the military and be able to have an immediate impact in, in a way that's, that's truly tangible and impactful

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on. Yeah, good stuff. See, I'm already getting motivated as it is. Let's let's shift to talking about programming cuz I mean, here we are, we talked about events and we're already nearing the end here, but I do wanna make sure that we talk about our program and I want to kind of skip to what would've been my last question. If you had a magic wand and could wave it right now, mm-hmm <affirmative> and you know, resource people people power, none of those, there was no obstacle in your way. What is the Wisconsin veterans chamber accomplish from a programmatic standpoint at, by the end of 22?

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

Well, I think my, my goal this year is to really develop out our ability to address two very important and critical challenges facing the facing veterans who are looking to start businesses. One of which is access to technical assistance. The other is access to capital. There's been a lot of research and a lot of attention called to veterans who are looking to start businesses. And we know that that businesses who who start without the capital that they need to to make a, a good start often are, are those that, that fall short. We also know that that this is an area where veterans, particularly our goal compared to non veterans. One report that came from the the small business administration found that veterans are four times as likely to be denied lending capital or a bank loan to start their business then compared to non veteran peers, that's something that we need to do something about that thing that I hope that over the course of the next year, we can work with our, our partners in the financial industry, our partners in, in the public sector to find some creative ways that we can make sure that any veteran who wants to start a business has access to the capital that they need to be successful.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

The, the other is is technical assistance and, and being able to address those immediate needs, provide that knowledge and provide that direct support. And there are a lot of resources out there ranging from the veteran business outreach center at WIC small business development centers across the state. The are a lot of resources out there, but there are still gaps that need to be filled and, and making sure that whether no matter where anyone may be in the state especially as we see the rates of entrepreneurship increasing coming out of the pandemic, more people starting businesses we wanna make sure that those that those folks that, that make that jump into entrepreneurship, which obviously we feel very strongly about is a positive thing half the support that they need. And finally the last thing again, I'll mention just the the, the really critical talent shortage that all businesses in the state, our, our state's economy across the board is really facing. And I hope that we can by hosting events, but also by offering some of the programs that I kind of teased a little bit that our that employers across this states see veteran and military affiliated talent as not only something that would benefit their business, but something that is advantageous for them to prioritize and that they see veterans and military service members as a solution to their hiring challenges,

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Right on couldn't have said it better. Couldn't have said it better myself really excited about this upcoming year. You know, I think we spent most of our time talking about events, but that's a huge part of what we do. And we're very excited for you know, all of our musters throughout the state, but then also our workforce summit women veteran owned recognition and benefit over there in Madison veteran veterans, light up the arts over there downtown Milwaukee, and may, I mean, we just have a bunch of cool stuff happening throughout the whole state, and you don't wanna miss it. You don't wanna miss it. Saul, I will ask you to hang on the line. Do you have any closing thoughts here? I appreciate you joining me today.

Saul Newton - WVCC President & CEO:

The, the only thing that I'll close with is, is that the only way that we are able to do everything that we do to host all of these, these events, and we're on track to host more than 80 events this year offer these, these different programs, marketing programs, direct assistance programs. The only way that we're able to do that is because we have the support of our, our members more than 300 businesses and nonprofit organizations who support us through membership. And, and so I would make one one plug, I guess, or one request that if anyone watching is not a member but supports what we do or would find value in membership that they reach out to any of us, myself, Adam Christian, anyone associated with our organization, we would certainly love to have everyone watching involved as, as members of the organization.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

Absolutely well said, Saul, everybody saw Newton, the president and CEO of the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce and to, and in Dem to what he just said that also gives us an opportunity. We love to celebrate our members. If our members have deals, if our members have successes, if they're doing some volunteer work, if they are building a new building, opening a, a new location, if you know any number of things, if they have unique thoughts or ideas about something related to the Wisconsin business world, and wanna share a guest blog article written by their president or so, you know, like there are a million ways that we can feature and celebrate our members and our sponsors, and we do it and we love doing it. So be a member, be a sponsor. You know, you get benefit from this, this isn't just a, this isn't just a donation.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

It's an investment because we leverage our net work and the power of our, our network for your benefit. And we do it aggressively. So we love being able to say, Hey, this business is killing it out here, and they're doing this, check it out. Our newsletter last year got over 300,000 unique opens, very in a very targeted fashion, too. And for an organization of our side, that's that size that is niche and locationally bound. That's a huge number. And it's only G it's only growing. So really great marketing leverage for our members and sponsors. But you know, we really support all of you. We want Wisconsin to succeed. When, when vet veterans and military families succeed in Wisconsin, when they thrive in Wisconsin, Wisconsin succeeds, it's a true story. It is a fact. It is verifiable. There is data behind it, and we wanna help make Wisconsin the best place for veterans and military families.

Adam Braatz - WVCC:

And we do it through our business endeavors. This has been an exciting chat and next week we're gonna be getting into our subject matter expert guests from throughout our network and throughout the state of Wisconsin, providing you with the valuable information that you need. You need to know, we cast a wide net, we cover a lot of really cool things. So make sure that you follow us on all social media platforms. So you don't miss a single one. This outro bump does not have Saul or Lama in it, but it does have some really great content. And I'm excited about it. It's, it's a shorter bumper. We'll see if you like it. Drop us a line on social. Let us know how much you like our bumpers. Thank you for listening to Wisconsin veterans forward brought to you by the Wisconsin veterans chamber of commerce. Please visit us@iveteranschamber.org. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave a rating and review in whatever platform you're listening through.