After 20 years of renewing Milwaukee’s south side neighborhoods and leveraging more than $40 million in investments, Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, Inc. will pause to celebrate its progress during its ninth annual Executive Breakfast on Thursday, March 19.
The breakfast event, which doubles as a celebration and a fundraiser, will gather more than 250 area leaders and residents who back the community development organization’s efforts to enhance city neighborhoods.
“At the Executive Breakfast, we will celebrate LBWN’s 20 years of building strong and healthy Milwaukee neighborhoods in Silver City, Burnham Park and Layton Park,” said Charlotte John-Gomez, executive director of LBWN. “Thanks to countless partnerships with government, business and civic leaders, LBWN has leveraged over $40 million in neighborhood investments that have resulted in enhanced neighborhood appearance, increased homeownership, and bolstered economic growth through business development and job creation. We look forward to continuing this momentum as we stabilize and revitalize the Layton Boulevard West neighborhoods and contribute to the overall economic vitality of the greater Milwaukee region.”
Much of the breakfast program will highlight the strides the nonprofit has made in terms of opening up opportunities for small business development and job creation, contributing to large scale real estate developments and improving individual homes, according to Will Sebern, director of fund development and communications at LBWN.
Among LBWN’s flagship programs are the Silver City Business Plan Competition, which grants a prospective business owner resources and tools needed to launch their venture, and the Turnkey Renovation Program, through which the organization restores vacant bank and city-owned properties.
Following a lineup of remarks from speakers including Milwaukee alderman Bob Donovan and Department of City Development commissioner Richard “Rocky” Marcoux, the Executive Breakfast will feature a community conversation with perspective from residents, business owners and leaders who have directly benefitted from neighborhood investments.
Panelists are: Sister Regina Pacis Meservey, who is part of the School Sisters of St. Francis and who helped form LBWN 20 years ago; Miguel Huerta, owner of Milwaukee restaurant El Senorial; Leo Ries, executive director of LISC Milwaukee; and Joey Zocher, a homeowner new to the neighborhood and a teacher at Escuela Verde.
The community conversation will funnel into the event’s focus on helping Milwaukee’s business community really understand how their investments are shaping Silver City, Burnham Park and Layton Park, Sebern said, adding that the event will display the “positive momentum” spreading across city neighborhoods.
The Executive Breakfast’s focus will also take a turn into the future as LBWN begins charting the course of its next few decades while seeking community input and ideas on neighborhood development priorities.
“We hope that people will come up with those ideas and contact us, and we’ll figure out a way to work on them together,” Sebern said.
The breakfast, which largely targets business and community leaders, will run from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Alverno College Sister Joel Read Center, located at 3400 S. 43rd St. in Milwaukee. Tickets cost $150, and attendees should plan to register by Friday, March 13.
For more information or to RSVP, visit www.lbwn.org/executivebreakfast.
