‘Live, Work, Play – Bay to Nicolet’

Oconto County Board passes vision statement; mission statement is next
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Oconto County Times Herald Editor

OCONTO — After thinking and brainstorming for more than a year, the Oconto County Board last month passed a vision statement for county government, the second-to-last step in a yearlong process designed to define the county’s mission.

The process, shepherded by Dale Mohr, economic development educator with the local University of Wisconsin Extension office, yielded a statement that talks about Oconto County as a welcoming destination with a “commitment to highways, public safety and mix of urban and rural housing (that) makes it a safe and affordable place to begin, raise a family, be an empty-nester or retire.”

Mohr said the last step in the process is to generate a mission statement that is more direct than a vision statement and often leads to a tagline, a working slogan or call to action.

“Really, it’s a culmination of all the work that’s been done before,” he said during the board’s Sept. 19 meeting.

The purpose of the mission statement is to clarify exactly what the organization’s purpose is, who it serves and why.

“A vision is really where you want to go, and it can be lengthy. A mission statement is going to be more direct. It’s going to define who you are as an organization so there’s no question to that,” Mohr said. “You have multiple aspects to your organization. You have different departments. So we really want to clarify for the public when they hear a mission statement coming from Oconto County, it’s the Oconto County supervisors.”

The proposed mission for Oconto County: “The mission of the Oconto County Board of Supervisors is to ensure reasonable services while providing oversight to each department and the county’s resources so that residents and visitors can have a great place to live, work and play from the shores of Green Bay to the Nicolet National Forest.”

The tagline is an echo of the statement: “Live, Work, Play – Bay to Nicolet.”

The draft mission statement will be considered by the County Board in October and sent to the Finance Committee for another review before coming to the board for final approval, probably in December.

Mohr said Kevin Hamann, the county administrative coordinator, told him a couple more months of waiting for the mission statement is OK, “because we haven’t had one for over a hundred years.”

Supervisor Rose Stellmacher thanked Mohr and others who have contributed to the process.

“This has been a team effort. There have been many supervisors as well as staff that put the time and effort into doing this,” Mohr said in acknowledgement.