Testimonials

Dr. Tim Bartholow, Physician and Partner, Prairie Clinic

"I wanted to thank you and your Board for the important work Thrive is doing. The health care sector analysis is important work and broader cross discipline conversations that you anticipate don't happen often enough. Karl Heinrich Robert, creator in 1989 of The Natural Step, spoke about municipalities collaborating for 'sustainability.' Thrive has already adopted these behaviors and philosophy. Again, thanks for strengthening the social fabric that clothes us all."

Dave Boyer, CEO and Co-Founder, MCD, Inc.

"At MCD, Inc, a Madison-based manufacturing company, we care a great deal about the regional economic development and quality of life efforts of Thrive. This may surprise some - we are not in Thrive's targeted sectors, we are not growing exponentially, we don't seek venture capital, and to top it off - few people have ever heard of us...

..While we are not on the "front line" of the targeted sectors, healthy growth in those sectors will bring business to our customers and their vendors in the region, which in turn will bring business to us...

MCD employs about 85 people in good paying jobs, and generally another 30 people in temporary employment positions. This brings the second reason we care - our people live in the communities that will benefit from quality of life initiatives, which in turn decreases our turnover and increases our ability to hire good people...We want them to return home each day to an ever more vibrant local community...

...We appreciate the efforts Thrive and its founders have begun in the region. We know it's a long-term effort, but then again so is our 35 years of success with good jobs and great customers in this region."
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Ed Clarke, Director of Grants and Special Projects, Madison Area Technical College

"If we get it right, the growth of biotech in the Madison Region will provide well-paid and satisfying careers for kids growing up throughout the state, plus it will continue to be a great place to live. Thrive will help make it happen."

Allen Fernandez, Director of Public Outreach, Genetics Policy Institute

"The Genetics Policy Institute deeply appreciates Thrive's support of the 2008 World Stem Cell Summit....With your organization's commitment and support, nearly 900 stem cell action stakeholders from 27 states and 18 countries assembled in Madison, Wisconsin. The 2008 Summit served as a platform for public outreach, global collaborations, and business development for this burgeoning field."

Peter Gray, Manager, Professional Recruitment, QTI

"As executive recruiters at The QTI Group, our job is often to persuade people to consider moving to the Madison Region for a job opportunity. The team at Thrive has been very helpful in customizing Thrive's 'headless pages' into announcement pages for our job opportunities. We've gotten great positive feedback from our candidates about the Thrive website! It is the first impression of the Madison Region for many people we speak with around the country, and it is a great marketing tool for the region.

For example, I was just speaking with executives in Kansas City, Seattle and New York who are candidates for positions in the Madison Region. None of them has ever been to Wisconsin, and all of them were very impressed with the Madison Region, from the Thrive website."

Molly Jahn, Dean and Director, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UW-Madison

"I see great opportunities for Thrive to work together with UW-Madison and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to promote a brighter future for our region and our state. The areas that Thrive has identified as critical for our region -- agriculture, biotechnology and health care -- align directly with CALS' core strengths and missions, and I am excited about the prospect of working with Thrive to address these important priorities."

Donna Katen-Bahensky, President & CEO, UW Hospitals & Clinics

"Thrive is about collaboration. It is bringing together a spectrum of healthcare and business leaders to collaboratively address workforce wellness on a regional basis. Collectively, we recognize that workforce wellness is both a quality of life issue for the region and also an economic development issue for health care organizations and the broader business community. By combining our unique strengths in our work through Thrive, we can truly make a difference in our region."

Susan LaBelle, VP of Global Marketing, Covance

"As a large and growing employer in Wisconsin, access to top talent is critical to our success. We are pleased that Thrive recognizes this as a priority and is working to help Covance and other local biotechnology companies attract talent to our region. Initiatives that Thrive is coordinating, like the Badger Boomerang project, provide real benefit to the biotechnology companies in the region."

F. Michael Langley, Chairman, Alliance for Regional Stewardship; CEO, Allegheny Conference on Community Development and Affiliates

"Regional collaboration works. It's different in every region, the path is rarely smooth, and results can be incremental, but it works. What Thrive is doing in the Madison Region, building a framework for prosperity atop a foundation of solid resources, talent and best practices, is a sign that the region is headed in the right direction. The work this organization is doing today is strengthening the region and preparing it to compete in the global marketplace tomorrow and for generations to come."

Jim Leonhart, Executive Director, Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association

"Thrive has been invaluable in efforts to improve the investment climate for biotech and other high potential companies in the Madison Region. Thrive brought together a group of organizations, including the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association, motivated to improve Wisconsin's growth capital policies. It takes this broad-based support to achieve real change."

Amy Loudenbeck, Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce

"Rock County is strong in food processing and food technology. To promote the economic impact of our regional food cluster, the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce was asked to map the specific locations of all food and agriculture-related businesses in a 13-county area. I found out that Thrive's Director of Agriculture Initiatives, Greg Lawless, had already mapped the eight county Madison Region which probably saved me a year of work! Thrive's work compiling information on the eight county region - both our assets and the opportunities for the region that come from those assets - is a tremendous resource for the entire region."

Jeff Maurer, Owner, Pierce's Market

"At Pierce's Markets, we see local food as a major new trend, and we want
our five stores to be out in front meeting that demand. Thrive is a great catalyst for pulling together farms and organizations and companies like ours that will make the most of this opportunity."

John Priske, Owner, Fountain Prairie Inn & Farms

"We are at the precipice of the day when the most important person you
know will be your farmer. That was my quote in USA Today in the fall
of 2007. Even then I had know idea just how quickly the turn of events here and throughout the world would make that statement more true than ever.

The time has come for the communities, businesses, universities, and government and agriculture to grab that bull by the horns and to work together to build a sustainable strong, secure and trusted local and regional food system.

I was so excited to hear about and be able to work with the newly formed
group called Thrive. When we invite all the stake holders in the
region to the table (served with locally-sourced food, of course) we
will be able not only to solve current short falls, but also come up
with new ideas that will carry us well into the future. The implementation of these new ideas will allow for local and regional food production, processing, storage and distribution so that our landscape and the folks that share that landscape will not only survive but will thrive.

Thrive, in my book, is the real deal."

Tim Size, Executive Director, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative

"First mission accomplished! Thrive has (1) regional buy-in from health sector leaders (2) consistent with your Vision (3) on a critical issue where (4) we can make major short and long-term contributions. Well done!"

Jay Smith, Chair, Teel Plastics

"The work Thrive is doing goes beyond important; I would say it's necessary work."

Trevor Twose, PhD. CEO, Mithridion, Inc

"Biotech is going from strength to strength in the Madison Region - but only the specialists in the rest of the world appreciate this. I'm convinced that Thrive will help us win broader recognition and attract additional investment and talent to fuel the growth of this vital industry."

Ted Waldbillig, Director of Sales, Mid-West Family Broadcasting

"Thanks to Thrive's information on the Madison Region, our sales team is better equipped to provide clients and prospects with valuable information about our marketplace."

Contact Us

Have a testimonial about Thrive that you'd like to share? Contact Jennifer Smith, Communications Specialist, at jsmith@thrivehere.org.