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The Three Lakes Community Foundation fully supports the Forward Three Lakes initiative. In fact, we first made contact a few years ago with a University of Wisconsin Extension specialist to facilitate public discussions on community needs.

Then we learned of UW-Extension’s Design Wisconsin Team. They had won an award for efforts on behalf of Bailey’s Harbor.

We in Three Lakes are both proud of our community with its rich heritage and also seek resilience to ensure a bright future well into the future. There were some concerns including the health of our downtown and some businesses struggling. It was also noted that our schools of which we are very proud had seen declining enrollments. Some other issues, too. Then, we all were hit hard in early 2019 by fires destroying the iconic Oneida Village Inn and the Three Lakes Diner.

We succeeded in arranging for the Design Wisconsin Team to come to Three Lakes. The community formed both an Implementation Team and a Logistics Team. Then, several months later came Covid-19. As in most communities throughout our country, it hit us hard in many ways including economically. The emerging realization was that we wouldn’t be able to hold this transformative event, Forward Three Lakes, in person. Public gatherings would not be permitted. Both the public and the design team would be at risk.

The mutual decision between the community and the Design Wisconsin Team was to go virtual. It has been an amazing experience since then. For more details about Forward Three Lakes, please go to its website: www.forwardthreelakes.com