History
The first economic development conference for the area served by UW-Platteville, UW-Richland, and Southwest Wisconsin Technical College was held on April 19, 2001 in Fennimore, with over 80 people attending. UW-Platteville Chancellor David Markee and Southwest Wisconsin Technical College President Karen Knox challenged area economic development interests to explore forming a regional economic development coalition. A consensus was reached at the end of the Conference, as participants agreed that: