Professionals return home to replace aging workforce
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Young professionals are finding that Janesville can serve them and their needs in ways that bigger cities can’t. 2001 Craig graduate Derek Wickhem found that out after moving back to Janesville to work at his dad’s insurance agency. Now he plans to take over the business someday.
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Traci Rogers, executive director at HealthNet, goes over internal controls for an audit with business manager Cheryl Renly. ‘I was just lucky enough to find a job in my hometown,’ Roger said.
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Dr. Greg Werner shows Chuck Harrington his dental X-ray earlier this month. Werner, a 1991 Craig graduate, moved back to Janesville and opened Contemporary Dental, 4425 Woodgate Drive. ‘For people with young kids, this is a good town,’ says Werner.
JANESVILLE — Derek Wickhem never expected to return to Janesville so soon.
The 2001 Craig High School graduate was willing to move anywhere in the country to get a job in computer mapping after graduating from UW-Whitewater with a degree in geography, but the perfect job just wasn’t out there.
Instead, Wickhem, 25, moved back to Janesville about three months ago and took a job selling insurance for his father’s company, John Wickhem Agency.
The move has worked well so far, he said. He now plans to stay in the city and take over his father’s business someday.
“Janesville is ideally located for me,” he said. “I’m not a big city kind of guy, but within an hour I’m within three cities pretty much ... so if I want to enjoy the city life, it’s just a stone’s throw away.”
No one seems to know how many Janesville natives, such as Wickhem, return to their hometown after earning degrees to start professional careers.
But local economic and business leaders appear to agree on one thing: They want more of them.
Attracting and retaining young professionals “is like the topic of the day among chambers of commerce,” said Dan Cunningham with Forward Janesville.
That’s because young, educated workers offer a “brain gain” to the community, said James Otterstein, Rock County economic development manager. They help build an economy’s business and professional sector and replace aging workers.
But Wisconsin historically has seen a “brain drain” of young professionals leaving the state, and Rock County tends to follow the state’s lead, Otterstein said.
In Rock County, the proportion of residents age 20-29 dropped from 14 percent in 1990 to 12.3 percent in 2000, Otterstein said. The number is projected to drop even further by 2030, he said.
To keep educated young people in the Janesville area, the community must provide jobs for them, Otterstein said. Job opportunities form the number one reason University of Wisconsin alumni give for leaving the state, he said.
That was certainly a big factor for Jennifer Meyer, a 1994 Craig High School graduate who never looked back after earning her bachelor’s degree at UW-Madison. She lived on the East Coast for a while before moving to Chicago, earning her Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
“The problem is that the type of job I’m working in, financial services, there’s nothing in Janesville,” she said.
But even if Meyer, 31, could find her ideal job in Janesville, she wouldn’t take it, she said.
“Janesville is a great place to grow up in, and it’s a great place to raise a family, but for a single person, there’s nothing to do,” she said.
Janesville has made some strides in offering activities for young people, such as the opening of the Janesville Performing Arts Center in 2004 and The Armory in 2006, but it still has a long way to go to attract young talent, said Jennifer Griffith, human resources director at Freedom Plastics.
Until June, Griffith was president of Blackhawk Human Resource Association, a network of human resource professionals in Rock and surrounding counties.
“A lot of young people are looking for work/life balance, and you have to be creative to find things to do for young people in Janesville,” she said.
She thinks the community needs more of a nightlife, with live music venues, dance clubs and hip, inexpensive restaurants.
Local businesses also need to do more to adjust themselves to young people’s needs and offer wages that compete with surrounding markets such as Madison, Rockford and Milwaukee, Griffith said.
So far, Forward Janesville hasn’t made much of an effort to reach out to young professionals because it
hasn’t heard a need from its members, Cunningham said. The organization occasionally has discussed starting a young professionals group, but the idea hasn’t gone anywhere.
But Cunningham thinks the need might increase as Janesville’s economy continues to “diversify.” He pointed out that Mercy Health Systems is now the city’s largest employer.
He also thinks the city has a good start in attracting more young people with its latest downtown plan approved in October. The plan includes new downtown housing, redeveloped historical buildings and a “High Street entertainment area.”
Traci Rogers, executive director of HealthNet, agrees the city is on the right track. Rogers, a 1998 Craig High School graduate, returned to Janesville in 2006 after earning degrees in Madison, La Crosse and Chicago.
“I was just lucky enough to find a job in my hometown, so it worked really well,” she said.
Rogers, 27, said she has seen the people she grew up with step into leadership roles in the community and thinks they will attract even more young people.
“The more young professionals that locate to Janesville, the more attractive it is for other young professionals,” she said.
Attracting young professionals
The first step in reaching out to young people is creating a young professionals organization, said Molly Foley with Next Generation Consulting of Madison.
The company helps communities, companies and organizations attract, retain and engage young professionals.
Next Generation looks at seven areas when assessing a community’s potential to attract young people, she said:
-- After hours. What kind of entertainment is available?
-- Around town. What’s the traffic situation? Is public transportation available? Is the community pedestrian-friendly?
-- Vitality. How healthy is the community? Does it offer bike trails or other types of recreation?
-- Earning. What kinds of jobs are available? Is there opportunity for advancement? Are wages in line with the rest of the region?
-- Learning. Is there opportunity for lifelong learning? Are higher education institutes nearby?
-- Social capital. How engaged are residents with the community? Do young people feel welcomed in volunteering and community leadership positions? Is the community diverse?
-- Cost of lifestyle. Do wages reflect costs?
Aug 5, 2008 at 12:16 p.m.
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kinsohn~
Thank you for the great insight. There are so many people who don't want to hear the info. you're bringing to the table here. People are blinded by what they "think they know" and what they really should know. It's so true, "you don't know what you don't know". Change is happening more rapidly than ever in this new age and it's important for people to get the right information in order to prosper. For every one piece of good info. (like your post), there's 50 pieces of bad info. out there. Thanks for that info. & I pray people are taking notice of it.
Nov 26, 2007 at 8:44 a.m.
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Kinsohn
The People's Republic of Wisconsin:
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"
Nov 26, 2007 at 8:18 a.m.
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As a near-lifetime resident of rural Whitewater who spent lots of time in Janesville who would LOVE to move back, let me give some perspective.
1. Wisconsin is a TAX HELL. Learn it, live it, know it. You don't realize it until you move out as I did about 3 years ago. My property taxes dropped by at least a third, income taxes by half, and gas taxes by 25 cents a gallon. Because the company I work for owns Blue Cross of WI, I could probably make it back there somehow eventually, but my fellow executives laugh, calling Wisconsin a socialist paradise. After living here, I know what they mean and it's embarassing! If I moved back, I would effectively take at least a 10% cut in take-home pay (basically my children's college education).
2. Spare me the whining about education. I was on the Whitewater School Board for 8 years and can tell you there is almost a negative correlation between spending and achievement. Where I live the education if anything is BETTER (both my sons' test scores went UP after moving here [and they still say the pledge of allegiance and Merry Christmas!]) And to hear you Janesville residents crow about the quality of education there is a joke! Have you seen your test scores! You easily spend $10k annually per student and are LUCKY to get average ACT scores. Anyone want to place bets on how much your average scores will DROP three years after the referendum is in effect?
3. Thus, the only people left in Janesville are GM workers (who will soon be put out of work by their Democratic friends in Washington) and people who are mostly too old, poor, or uneducated to move out who drank the tax me more kool-aid and are happy to spend outrageously on education while getting below average results for it.
Nov 25, 2007 at 5:22 p.m.
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Janesville does not even come close to having enough to do for a young professional, single or married
Until Janesville can:
A. Provide a 30% increase in the average job salary
B. Have at least 3 million people in it and the surrounding areas (what would be suburbs)
C. Warm up about 25 degrees in the winter
it will not attract me back. My undergrad degree was my ticket out of that boring town. Currently, I can go to any professional sporting event I want where I live. Plus have all the luxury of fine dining and an arts district. Janesville cannot even support a medium sized nice restaurant, you really think young professionals will be drawn to that kind of environment? No, we make a good chunk of money and want to be able to spend it on recreation. Your 'arts' area is a joke. The armory is the equivilent of community theatre on most nights. I can say this because I have been there. Not impressed at all and would never go again.
The Forward Janesville organization has a lot of major work to do. I would suggest first getting about 5 - 6 Fortune 500 companies to have their corporate headquarters there. Let them improve the community and maybe in 25 years, you may have the start of something.
Nov 25, 2007 at 3:26 p.m.
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Greenst: I understand where you are coming from. The funding for public education is completly wrong. Until we change the way education is funded we will all have to pay for everyone. I agree with you, people with children should pay more for education. People that choose not to have children should not have as great of a responsiblity or tax burden.
Nov 25, 2007 at 1:16 p.m.
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I think a big reason so many leave Wisconsin, is a simple desire to go out into the world and experience other places and people. That sentiment is not reserved to college grads either. I left and didn't come back for 6 years. Been to 10 different countries and every state in the union. Guess I came back because I missed my familly, not for any great economic opportunity offered here. As far as the J-ville area goes, Its still a blue-collar town. The need for people with degrees here isn't large enough to convince more college grads to stay, and what opportunities do exist here don't pay as well as elsewhere.
Nov 25, 2007 at 12:12 p.m.
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rew1975,
Please do not take any of my thoughts as an attack on you or you profession. I know what it is like to make your living off of taxes. Poeple only see you as a debt. They never see good value you bring them. The media only likes to show what we cost the tax payer not what we add. My concerns are more of the up keep cost. Eveyone wants new better things but they don't want to pay to keep them running. The next thing you know they want more money to replace what they did not take care of in the first place. Last contract I made $150 more then the one before. This next one looks like I could lose 5%. Even My extra $150 did not keep with inflation.
We chose not to have children in part because of the cost (and we enjoy our lifestyle). But sometime you look at what other people childern cost me and it gets frustrating. They made the choice why can't they pay more?
in solidarity
Nov 25, 2007 at 11:57 a.m.
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TCB: That makes complete sense! Well said!
Nov 25, 2007 at 11:52 a.m.
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"keep educated young people in the Janesville area, the community must provide jobs for them, Otterstein said. Job opportunities form the number one reason University of Wisconsin alumni give for leaving the state, he said"
If by "community" Otterstein means private business, then I agree with this statement. People with advanced degrees will generally go where opportunity exists-which generally does not include Janesville. A protectionist, antibusiness climate has existed in the state for years. The flight of Wisconsin's top talent will continue so long as the political ideology remains the same.
Nov 25, 2007 at 11:32 a.m.
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Greenst:
Of course I will get grief, I work in the school district. It can be difficult to teach students in a uncomfortable environment. I understand that many community members may be frustrated because they are not seeing direct results,and then they are asked to foot the bill. I do not always agree with the way things work. To many things in our lives are political. I do believe their is a benefit for everyone. It is difficult in today's society to succeed without some type of educational background. I believe in order for students to be given a fair shot they must also be given an environment to help them succeed. If the AC and Gymnasiums are right or wrong I do not know. I do know that what the tax payers have given the JSD is a huge positive for the communities future.
Nov 25, 2007 at 11:06 a.m.
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Some of you people are getting to worked up. I can see where you are coming from. Who wouldn't want the best. Is it so hard to believe that people may think differently than you? I just think the money could have been better spent or lets pay off the debt we have before getting more. We need to look at needs first. Then maybe the nice to have and wants. I just don't know if more money = better educated kids.
But if people are going to bully me bucause I think differently I guess I will change my mind. You all win. NEW SCHOOLS FOR ALL.
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:55 a.m.
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AC uses alot of power. The power thats generated causes more greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse gasses cause global warming. So, coddling your kids with AC is killing the planet. You are all bad parents.
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:42 a.m.
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rew1975,
I do work in that heat I work in a powerplant. No ac. 100 deg. plus all year. You get use to it. I went to Tech. school. I also remember sitting in the J room of craig sweating during study hall. What about you?
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:32 a.m.
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Greenst
Do you have ac? Would you sit in a room that is between 90-100 degrees 2 to 3 months out of the year with fans. AC is a very small percentage of this school referendum. As for the gym space, kids should not have to walk the hallways to get exercise. We do live in the 21st Century. Greenst what did you do for a living? Educational background etc. Just curious?
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:32 a.m.
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maorpor,
Nice. Way to get new people into our community. If you don't agree with them tell them to get out of town. By your post maybe we should spend more.
Most of my track turnaments were in town. B-ball some in town some in Madison. Football didn't get to state.
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:21 a.m.
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Greenst,
I perdict ya didn't do no turnaments round here when you were a youngin'! Do us all a favor . . . MOVE!
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:14 a.m.
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As a young professional who moved to Janesville in the last several months, I would love to see a young professional group put together by Forward Janesville. It's difficult to meet people here, and those I do are nowhere near my age and have kids.
Nov 25, 2007 at 10:02 a.m.
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rew1975,
On a $120k home tax were just under $3k. Are you telling me only $75-150 gos to the schools? I am all for good schools and paying my fare share. I just don't see how a/c and bigger gyms make kids smarter. Milton wants a new gym and pool so they can have turnaments. Who said every school needs to host everythig. In Janesville perdictions show that school enrollment will go down, then why do we need to keep adding. Taxes are less in whitewater and fort. and it looks like the schools are the main reason.
We have chosen not to have kids. but it feels like every time I turn around I have to pay more for something because of them. Everthing has to have saftey features to protect kids because their parents don't watch them. Cars, appliences, the list keeps on growing and it all cost money and if I want the product I have to pay for that also.
How about if you chose to have kids you pay more of the school cost say $200-$500 per kid. That way the elderly on fixed income and the people that chose not to have children do not have to pickup so much of the tab for someone else's choice.
Nov 25, 2007 at 9:34 a.m.
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Greenst, A big reason people move to a community is because of a school system. For many people this referendum was a positive. It will show people that the community is moving forward and not staying in the dark ages of education.
Nov 25, 2007 at 9:28 a.m.
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Greenst,
Are you telling me that 75-150 dollars a year is killing you. It could be more than that if you own a 500000 dollar house? The tax levy was just reduced by the school district? If you want to continue to struggle with taxes, by all means discourage people from moving back to Janesville so their are less people to pay more taxes.
Nov 25, 2007 at 8:53 a.m.
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One other thing is taxes. The school tax is killing us. If you are young and single or young and married and don't know if you want a family $70 $ $80 million referendom would be enough to make you think twice before coming back. I know it has made me think about moving out.
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