St. Croix EDC: Commerce Secretary Leinenkugel announced as keynote speaker at EDC banquet Feb. 19

Contact:

Bill Rubin/Jacki Bradham

St. Croix EDC

715-381-4383

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Richard J. Leinenkugel, the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, will speak at St. Croix EDC’s Business of the Year banquet on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at R&D Banquet Hall in rural New Richmond. He has served as Commerce Secretary since late September 2008 and his family has deep roots in Wisconsin with the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company.

Leinekugel graduated from Marquette University with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. He went on to serve as a officer in the United States Marine Corps. In 1987 he started his career with the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company as a District Sales Manager/Chain Sales Manager. Prior to his appointment at Commerce, he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company and Group Manager, Specialty and Craft Brands, for Miller Brewing Company. From 1997 through 2000 he served on the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors where he represented Menomonee Falls.

The Department of Commerce is the state’s lead economic development agency. It has approximately 400 employees who provide development assistance in areas such as marketing, business and community finance, exporting, and small business advocacy. The department issues professional credentials for the construction trades and administers safety and building codes. Commerce also regulates petroleum products and tank systems and administers the Petroleum Environmental Clean-up Fund.

Earlier this month, St. Croix EDC announced their 2008 businesses of the year in St. Croix County. BOH Electronics, Inc. (North Hudson) is the Emerging Business of the Year (in business for five or fewer years). K-Sun Corporation (Somerset) is the Small Business of the Year (29 or fewer employees) and Derrick Companies (New Richmond) is the Business of the Year (30 or more employees).

The banquet honoring the three companies is open to the public but reservations and meal selections are required in advance. An invitation and meal selection card are available online at http://www.stcroixedc.com/pdf/08bizyr_invitation.pdf. Registration and reception (cash bar) begins at 5:30 p.m. on the 19th, followed by the dinner, speaker and awards presentation. The cost is $30 per person and additional information can be obtained by calling St. Croix EDC at (715) 381-4383.