Tag: Mary Welder

Winona State students explore ways to attract millennials to Rochester

“A City Made for You,” “Picture Yourself Here,” and “Heart of Opportunity” were key messages from a group of students at Winona State University (WSU). Their mission: to devise a communication plan to attract millennials to Rochester.

In a partnership between WSU and Destination Medical Center (DMC), the students were instructed to create a comprehensive communication strategy and pitch their final presentation to DMC communications director Mary Welder, WSU associate vice president for academic affairs Jeanine Gangeness, and Post-Bulletin publisher Randy Chapman.

WSU DMC

Muriel Scott, professor of WSU’s Public Relations Planning class, said her students were eager to tackle DMC’s challenge. “They learned so much,” she says. “The students focused on how to rebrand a city in a way that met needs and interests of millennials in choosing where to live.”

DMC joins Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce and SE Minnesota leaders in St. Paul

More than 200 people from 10 southeast Minnesota chambers of commerce made the trek to St. Paul to engage with state legislators.

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Executive director Lisa Clarke

This was the first time the region has joined together for this event, and Lisa Clarke, DMC EDA executive director, recognized the importance and appreciation of this type of synergy.

“Having us together to represent our region as a whole is a testimony to how we are working together to make an impact for the state of Minnesota,” she says.