How do we get involvement from the people in the Shawano area in planning the future of our community? Perhaps we could start with interviewing a cross-section of the community in a search for the best ideas to give the best future for our area. This is the task that the Chamber of Commerce set for its Vision 2020 Committee last July.

With local representatives from business and government this group advertised in the community and held a series of open planning meetings. During a two-week period in January 2002, eight meetings were held with input from 88 Shawano area residents. Our thanks to the facilities allowing us space for these meetings: United Methodist Church, Best Western Motor Lodge, City/County Library, Senior Center, NWTC, SCHS, Somethin To Do, Chamber of Commerce.

Attached are the ideas generated by these sessions. They seem to hold particular promise for local governments doing their comprehensive planning, for voluntary organizations that seek to address the needs and hopes of our community, and for the citezens looking for shared dreams.

We have grouped them by some common categories but left many that were similar or repeated so that trends would become obvious. We also include a Vision Statement that tries to capture the trends we heard in these open forums.

We thank all those who participated and now present back to the community these best ideas for the best future: Shawano's Vision 2020.

Respectfully,

Gene Jordan

For the Vision 2020 Committee:	With guidance in planning phase from:
Jim Resick, UW Extension Tim Reed, County Planning John Kestly, Shawano Medical Center Val Wylie, Chamber of Commerce Gene Jordan, Heartland Health Care	Barb Schmidt, Community Foundation Terri Reeves, Town & Country Realty Jim Stadler, City Administrator Doug Knope, Knope Heating

Vision 2020 - A STATEMENT FOR THE SHAWANO AREA

It is our dream that the Shawano Area of the Year 2020 will be noted for a prosperous economy, a fulfilling quality of life, and a social atmosphere that embraces newcomers and long-time residents alike.

The economy will be well-diversifed, featuring a resilient mix of manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, and retirement as its basic industries. The wage scale will be caught up to the rest of northeastern Wisconsin's. Retail and service businesses will serve as attractions for visitors, while providing most of the consumer needs of our youth and mature markets. Our downtown will be a vibrant shopping and entertainment center. It will be friendly to pedestrians, exhibit ample parking for a growing customer base, be aesthetically pleasing, and showcase its historic assets. Commercial development throughout the area will make for expanded consumer choices and prosperity.

The "City on the Wolf" will have opened wide its watery backdoor. It will do this through the creation of new and expanded waterfront parks, through restoration and preservation of shorelines, and through a unique combination of pedestrian and boat traffic along its shores. The Towns of Richmond, Wescott, Belle Plaine and Waukechon will proudly display quality housing, which overlooks but does not degrade lake and river shores. An attitude of enviromental stewardship will show through in the area's commitment to preserve water quality, fisheries, natural views, wetlands, forests, and farmland. Our quality of life will continue to be well-served by the presence of a regional medical center and clinic, by excellent schools, and by a healthy environment in which to raise families.

Recreation, entertainment, arts and culture will be important elements of our well-rounded community. Expanded indoor recreation facilities will serve as a community center, providing for the social, physical and mental well-being of our citizens. The visual and performing arts will be showcased in events, art galleries, shops, and musical/theatrical productions. Our rich heritage will be preserved and celebrated through expanded museums, historic preservation, and cultural festivals. Youth will have a full share in recreation through creation of special purpose parks and facilities, and through creation and expansion of youth programs.

The area will be a "garden paradise" of beautifully maintained homes, well-kept gardens, and nicely landscaped public and private properties. Visual blight will have been eliminated, including unsightly signage, trashy yards, rural junkyards and rundown buildings. Neighborhoods will be physically inviting places to live and visit. Quality affordable housing will be available to meet the diverse needs of a growing population. It will be a wonderfully healthy place to live, a safe place to walk and bicycle and socialize with neighbors.

In the process of accomplishing all this, the Shawano Area will have become a more unified community. Trusting relationships and cooperative action will be evident in the way businesses, groups and local governments work on issues. We will create the social and political capacity to continually renew our community, while providing for the many interests to be represented in decision-making. Strong but inclusive leadership will be developed to bring all these and many other dreams to fruition. This is our dream, this is our Vision 2020.