Connecting newcomers to the community, one link at a time

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

October 28, 2024

LA CROSSE – The La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce is doing what it can to create connections between newcomers and the Greater La Crosse area through its newly created La Crosse Links program.

The program is offered and financially supported by the chamber and administered by Hannah Amann, La Crosse Links administrator, consultant and owner of Hey There, Hannah. 

Amann said she had an idea for newcomers to the region, and it just so happened to mirror the exact program Beth Franklin, chief executive officer at the chamber, had learned about a few years ago and had tucked away for a future opportunity. 

The concept, Franklin said, was to replicate the Distinctively Dubuque learning experience, tailoring it to newcomers in the Coulee Region. 

Amann said their collaboration resulted in the establishment of La Crosse Links, a five-session program that intentionally showcases aspects of life in the Coulee Region, connecting participants with community partners, other newcomers and opportunities to get involved and rooted in the community. 

Workforce woes prompt action
Franklin said workforce development is nothing new to chambers, but the form it takes in Greater La Crosse continues to evolve as workforce dynamic shifts. 

She said in 2017, the La Crosse chamber conducted a major workforce study forecasting the shortage of employees for the coming years. 

By 2018, Franklin said the chamber secured funding to create a concierge program, and in 2019, launched one of the first programs in the nation with First Friend. 

Franklin said the premise of the program was simple.

“Businesses recruiting employees to the La Crosse area should focus on what their business has to offer a job candidate, and the First Friend Newcomer Connection Program would step in and showcase what living in the Greater La Crosse area had to offer in terms of quality of life,” she said. 

The program doesn’t merely present information – instead, Franklin said team members learn what is important to a candidate and his/her family in order to provide a customized experience and to showcase the community. 

“The concierge acts as a complement or extension of the human resources recruiter in providing an introduction to what La Crosse has to offer, and helps newcomers get acclimated after they relocate,” she said. “We have now served about 600 individuals, from a lower-level manager to a CEO or VP, and all ages.” 

Franklin said these efforts dovetailed into a regional talent attraction campaign, Thrive in the Heart of the Driftless Region, which aimed at enticing people within a 500-mile radius of La Crosse to consider relocating there. 

The $300,000 campaign launched in November 2021, highlighting what life is like in the Driftless Region. 

“Both these programs aid in talent attraction and retention of new employees,” Franklin said. 

And now, in 2024, she said those programs are further bolstered by the introduction of La Crosse Links, the latest in the chamber’s continued efforts to keep pace with members’ needs.

“We have a strong track record of creating new and unique programs born from listening to the needs of our members, especially in the realm of workforce challenges,” Franklin said. “La Crosse Links is a natural extension of these workforce programs, as one of its aims focuses specifically on retaining talent who move to our region.”

As such, she said the program is deliberately filled with opportunities for newcomers to connect more deeply with the larger community. 

“We know that newcomers, and any accompanying family they bring, are far more likely to remain in their new community if they feel connected to friendly faces, their hobbies and interests and other like-minded individuals,” Franklin said. 

Linking up with La Crosse Links
Though the chamber’s First Friend program can bring together a few newcomers to the community at a time, Franklin said La Crosse Links delivers an experiential program connecting a cohort of 30 participants. 

However, throughout the five-week program, she said they will meet an additional 70 community members as they engage activities.
“La Crosse Links will amplify the power of First Friend,” Franklin said. “The first cohort launched Oct. 15 and runs Tuesday evenings through Nov. 19, highlighting five concentrated weekly themes: History of the La Crosse Area, Hidden Gems of the Region, Recreation Opportunities, Arts & Culture and Building an Inclusive Community through Volunteering and Nonprofit Engagement. We are thrilled Hannah has thoughtfully planned every element of each thematic evening, including speakers, venues, caterers, activities, giveaway items and more.”

More information on the individual sessions can be found at LaCrosse-Links.com. 

“One (aspect) we wanted to open up more widely is focused on getting engaged in the community, be it through identity-based or cause-based organizations, and setting up a resource fair so people have face-to-face time with these organizations,” Amann said.

That session, she said, will also feature a focus group environment during which newcomers can share feedback on their experience in the community, as well as what they wish the community offered, for example.

“We want newcomers to see they have a voice in the community, and that we want to learn from them as much as they want to learn from us,” Amann said. “Their voice matters. We will take feedback and trends to the city and the county.”

About one-third of the registrants are people who participated in the First Friend program, Franklin said, and the group’s dynamics vary. 

“The demographics range from individuals in their early 20s to individuals nearing retirement age, and it’s that diversity that adds to the beauty of the program,” she said.

Franklin said the program serves many purposes.

“First and foremost, there is the community-building perspective and making people feel welcome and safe,” she said. “It serves a workforce purpose as a talent retention tool, as well as an economic development tool, because we want people to remain here even after they retire. We want them to shop, go to local restaurants, volunteer to improve aspects of the community and engage in our offerings and be connected in ways that benefit mental wellness.”

Franklin said the program also serves many purposes beyond workforce development.

“It’s also economic development and community building,” she said. “It serves needs on fundamental levels.”

First-hand experience
Amann said she vividly remembers wearing the shoes of a newcomer in La Crosse – in fact, she only hit her five-year mark as a resident in July, so that experience is fresh in her mind as she puts the final touches on the La Crosse Links’ first cohort sessions.

“My husband grew up here, and while I have always been outgoing and want to be involved and learn new things, I wasn’t sure how to find my own space in my new hometown,” she said. “When I arrived in La Crosse, I worked in higher education and found a sense of accomplishment in the community-building aspects of my role as a student engagement coordinator. When I was able to pursue the opportunity to build out La Crosse Links, I tapped into the idea of answering the question, ‘How can we kick-start that journey for other (newcomers)?’”

Amann said she credits a professional colleague with connecting her to Franklin, thereby taking the idea of a community learning experience and bringing it to life. 

“Some of Hannah’s greatest strengths include a passion for building connections between others and making people feel welcome, and that makes her a natural choice for bringing this program to life in the Coulee Region,” Franklin said.
Currently, there are cohorts scheduled for fall 2024 and spring/fall 2025. 

The fall 2024 session is full and several spots are already reserved for spring/fall 2025. 

The duo said while limiting the size of the group participating in the sessions is done with great intention, the number of cohorts offered per year will continue to be assessed.

Defining success
Amann said some of the outgrowths of La Crosse Links are tangible – such as the retention rates of individuals who participated in First Friend and go on to participate in La Crosse Links. 

Though there are some tangibles, she said the chamber team recognizes some of the program’s benefits are intangible and individualized, and therefore immeasurable.

“We’re hoping for people to feel a broadened, deepened community connectedness, however, they define that,” Amann said. “For an introverted individual, that might mean meeting one to two acquaintances in the program who develop into close friends.”

For someone who is very outgoing and passionate about community involvement, Franklin said they may want to meet as many people as possible and define that as success. 

“A deepened community connectedness is based on (individual) definitions, but that is the ultimate goal for the program,” she said.

Amann said she echoes Franklin’s comments, saying for her, the goal is “to empower each person’s story in their hometown, whatever that might be.”

Eileen McGuine, media coordinator with Mayo Clinic Health System and a newcomer to La Crosse, is part of the first cohort and said she looks forward to establishing the links on which the program was created.

“I haven’t lived in La Crosse that long, having moved from Madison in November 2020 to take a position at Mayo Clinic Health System,” she said. “I think what I’m most excited about during these sessions is to explore more about what the community has to offer while meeting and learning from some incredible local people.”

Debra Stangel, owner of The Court Above Main and The Wedding Tree and member of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, said she is fully supportive of La Crosse Links as well. 

As the owner of a nearly 35-year-old in downtown La Crosse business, she said she sees the program’s benefits as multi-faceted.

“I think this is a wonderful way for different areas, businesses and products to be featured to (newcomers) at a very-low-cost-and-great-exposure event,” Stangel said. “As a board member, what better way to further showcase the First Friend program that has been successful beyond our wildest expectations, coupled with another avenue to give incoming folks what the region has to offer? This is the best way to say, ‘Welcome to La Crosse.’”