Winn-Worth Betco celebrates 30 years
16 May 2023
News, Blog
On May 11, roughly 100 people gathered at Diamond Jo Casino to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Winn-Worth Betco.
Winn-Worth Betco is an economic development company in Lake Mills that strives to improve the quality of life of those residing in Winnebago and Worth Counties.
The company formed in 1993 when residents of the two counties come together to form the council, formally based in Northwood’s Worth County Annex Building, to focus on economic development. To accomplish this, they formed a board consisting of one representative from each town and one representative for each entire county.
From this, Winnebago and Worth Counties became the first counties in Iowa to work together to accomplish their economic development goals.
“When you can show that communities can work together to promote an entire region, rather than their individual communities, it shows to local businesses that this is a great place to be,” said Melissa Michaelis, current Winn-Worth Betco executive director.
Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, made a guest appearance at the celebration and spoke about Iowa population, tourism, infrastructure, daycare and other elements of economic development.
Former Winn-Worth Betco executive directors Lisa Kremer, Dave Brunsvold, Beth Bilyeu and Teresa Nicholson all also attended the event. Einer Lunde also served as a director from December 2002 through April 2003 and has since passed away.
“People sometimes ask me what I do in my job, and I thought this would be a good way for them to come see what all Winn-Worth Betco has accomplished,” said Michaelis.
While the company has participated in numerous projects throughout the last few decades, a few of the most notable projects include working on the Top of Iowa Welcome Center, Poet Biorefinery and Ovation Farms. Winn-Worth Betco has also assisted in the expansions of Winnebago Industries and Larson Manufacturing.
“I’m looking forward to what the next 30 years brings,” Michaelis said.
Main Picture: (left to right) Beth Bilyeu, Lisa Kremer, Melissa Michaelis, Debi Debi Durham, Dave Brunsvold, Teresa Nicholson
By Kaylee Schuermann, Winn-Worth Betco Marketing Director
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