“Meetings mean business” initiative announced for Wisconsin

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Department of Tourism Secretary Kelli Trumble have announced a new tourism campaign called “Meetings Mean Business for Wisconsin.” Unveiled at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Milwaukee last month, Governor Doyle encourages CEOs, presidents and decision-makers of companies headquartered in Wisconsin and those with substantial operations here to choose locations in Wisconsin for their company’s conventions, trade shows, training sessions and board meetings. Commerce Secretary Richard J. Leinenkugel will also help lead the initiative.

“Meetings mean business for Wisconsin on many levels, from tax revenue returned to local communities to job stability for the thousands of people employed in the state’s hospitality industry,” Doyle says. “We offer good value and excellent facilities, and I encourage Wisconsin business leaders to select venues in our great communities to hold their meetings.”

Tourism Secretary Trumble references those numbers in citing the critical nature of this campaign. “The tourism industry has done yeoman’s work in adding meetings and conventions to the mix as a way to grow and diversify the industry,” says Tsrumble. “Our state has long been admired for its innovation, originality and pride and now is the time to build on that legacy by selecting meeting venues in Wisconsin.”

Commerce Secretary Leinenkugel reminds CEOs to think of Wisconsin not just for conventions and conferences, but for smaller gatherings as well.

“We want businesses to think of Wisconsin first when they assemble their creative teams to plan and execute their growth strategies,” Leinenkugel says. “This initiative can help bring in tourism revenues, grow the economy, and increase jobs locally.”

Wisconsin tourism is a $13 billion per year industry and now supports more than 300,000 jobs. Wisconsin tourism is among the top three industries in the state, with meeting and conventions accounting for 11 percent of the state’s traveler expenditures.

Marcus Theatres to install 19 Additional RealD 3D Systems

Marcus Theatres, a division of The Marcus Corp., will continue its digital 3D expansion with plans to install 10 RealD 3D systems in new theatre locations throughout the Midwest and the technology to existing 3D locations in select Marcus Theatres.

“Expanding our digital 3D footprint continues to be a major part of our growth strategy,” says Bruce J. Olson, president of Marcus Theatres. “Monster hits like Avatar continue to move digital 3D full-speed ahead as digital 3D movies attract a wide variety of audiences. In fact, digital 3D films have outperformed the corresponding 2D version of the same movie by a factor of two to three times. We expect that digital 3D movies will continue to positively impact the box office as the number of 3D films continues to significantly increase and more 2D movies are being converted to 3D films.”

The new 3D locations in Wisconsin are in Marcus Theatres located in Green Bay, Delafield and Oshkosh.

MOVERS

>> The Department of Commerce has appointed Dagmar Beckel-Machyckova as the new Area Development Manager (ADM) for District No. 1 in the state which includes the western portion of the state including Eau Claire and La Crosse

>> Wells Fargo & Co. has added Julia Voss to its commercial banking team as a relationship manager to serve customers in Dane, Columbia, Sauk, Rock and Green counties.

>> Clifton Gunderson CEO Krista McMasters has been named as a panel member of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) new “blue-ribbon panel” established to address how U.S. accounting standards can best meet the needs of users of private company financial statements.

>> Clifton Gunderson has added Christopher Moss, CFA as lead advisor and vice president of investments.

>> The Wisconsin Builders Association has inducted Stan Martenson of Menasha firm Martenson & Eisele into the WBA Hall of Fame.

>> Barron’s has named Lauri Droster, CFP and senior vice president at The Droster Team, RBC Wealth Management, Madison, to their top adviser list. She is one of two women in Wisconsin and one of 15 financial advisers in the state to achieve the national ranking in magazine.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

MADISON: Core BTS, a national technology infrastructure and collaboration company, has announced plans to move its sales and delivery operations to Madison. More than one-third of Core’s 59 newest hires nationwide were made in-state. Core, which is on trajectory to reach $200 million in sales in 2010, employs more than 350 people in six states.

NEW YORK CITY: Kevin T. Conroy, President and Chief Executive, and Maneesh K. Arora, Chief Financial Officer of Exact Sciences Corp., presided over the Nasdaq Opening Bell on March 10 in honor of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Madison-based Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on colorectal cancer.