Vernon Economic Development Association

05/05/2026

We hope you will attend the Energy Independence Film Festival Sunday May 17th, 6 PM at Arkadia featuring projects filmed in Vernon County.

04/24/2026

Hello Creative Thinkers,

We are partnering with Michael Brown from “Rise Above Partners” to offer a free two-part, hands-on workshop to help small business owners put modern software to work in their businesses. Small Business Shortcuts: Doing More with Less will be held two Wednesday evenings, May 13 and May 20, 5:30 to 7:30 PM, at the Food Enterprise Center in Viroqua.

Rise Above Partners, founded by Michael Browne, is a go-to-market and operations consultancy serving growing companies and rural small businesses. Browne spent two decades in marketing leadership roles at outdoor and cycling industry companies including Trek Bicycle, Quality Bicycle Products, and Ride with GPS before launching Rise Above.

The workshop is very hands-on. The first session, "See It," demonstrates the software in action on real small business work — marketing, customer emails, research, content, and the repetitive tasks that consume an owner's week. The second session, "Build It," walks attendees through setting up a toolkit from scratch so they can follow along and repeat it themselves later.

The workshop is free, but has limited seating. RSVP is required at rise-above.net/shortcuts. Bring your laptop. No prior experience with software tools or AI is necessary. Entrepreneurs may attend one or both sessions. See how to Do More With Less!

Everyone is welcome!

02/21/2026

Dylan Bruce and Cody Egan made good connections for Driftless Seed Supply at the Wisconsin Garden & Green Living Expo in Madison.

02/10/2026

A big Thank You to our CHS volunteers, who in 2025 provided more than 675 hours of support! Their work is critical to the success of our program to relieve hunger in our communities.

01/24/2026

Learn about sourcing and growing HAZELNUTS at the C**n Creek Community
Watershed Council meeting. Hope to see you there!

01/20/2026

Thank you to the Viroqua Food Co-op's Give Where You Live program with generous support from the community for our Community Hunger Solutions program! This helps CHS deliver fresh produce and dairy items to more than 20 food pantries and meal sites across Vernon, Monroe, LaCrosse and Crawford counties.

10/21/2025

WI Small Business Summit & Celebrate Small Business Luncheon
November 13, 2025

The event will feature a full day program (8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) with tracks for existing businesses and start-ups. Plan to spend the day and engage in the activities that support your business.

Educational workshops with topics such as Financial Management – Cash Flow; Taxes – Preparing for 2026 and Beyond; New Strategies in Digital Marketing; Organizational Thinking; Innovation: Fostering the Creative Mindset; Start Strong Strategies; AI: Impact and Trends in Business; Show Me the Money; Building a Scalable Business.

Business Labs - Access the UWL LLC Formation Lab or UWL Digital Marketing Lab.

Meet 1x1 with subject matter experts (legal, tax, accounting, insurance, government opportunities, financing, etc.).

Attend the Celebrate Small Business luncheon – recognize new regional businesses, Small Business Champions, the Western Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year, and gain insights on the State of Small Business in Wisconsin.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY AS SEATS ARE LIMITED.
Call for questions! 608-785-8782

09/23/2025

Hello Creative Thinkers,

CALLING ALL INVENTORS: The next Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club meeting is Wednesday, October 8 at the Food Enterprise Center, 1201 North Main Street, Viroqua. “Celebrating Inventions” brings speaker, Stewart Holiday, a serial inventor. He will be bringing his asparagus picker and other items to demonstrate. Learn how he develops an idea into a product, what challenges he encounters, how he solves them and what inspires and motivates him. Bring your inventions and stories to share and find resources to help you. Networking starts at 5:30, the program begins at 6:00 p.m. No reservations are required. Everyone is welcome!

08/29/2025

Hello Creative Thinkers,

The next Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club meeting is Wednesday, September 10 at the Food Enterprise Center, 1201 North Main Street, Viroqua. “Cooperative Business Models” brings Kristin Forde Hurckes, a Cooperative Development Specialist with the UW Center for Cooperatives in Madison. She will provide information, examples and stories that illustrate how the cooperative model has served as a creative means to address social, cultural, and economic needs in communities across Wisconsin and beyond. Hurckes will focus especially on worker cooperatives as a viable succession plan for the increasing number of entrepreneurs looking to exit and sell their business.

Networking starts at 5:30, the program begins at 6:00 p.m. No reservations are required. Everyone is welcome!

08/29/2025

Nominations for the upcoming 2025 Vernon County Awards are open starting September 19th at noon! These awards celebrate the businesses, organizations, and people who are shaping our community’s future while honoring its traditions.

-Chambers, business associations, and community members can nominate member businesses, non-profits, and other organizations.

The Awards Banquet will be held Thursday, November 6 at 5:00pm at Venue in the Valley, C**n Valley.
Nomination details and the submission link are here:
https://c5te9h9wx74.typeform.com/to/GfX2FNDG

https://www.facebook.com/inVernoncountyWI

Nominate your favorite businesses, people, organizations and event for the 2024 Vernon County Awards!