On January 5, 2017, six students from Belleville High School (Joey Sokol, Shea O'Malley, Leah Blask, Adam Gaff, Skylar Butenhoff, and Ryan Posthuma) attended the Wisconsin Economic Forecast luncheon. The students were able to take part in this experience because of the generous donation from UB & T Bank in Belleville. Students were able to hear Anthony Chan, Chief Economist with JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York, discuss the positive economic growth as a country. He predicted that the Federal Reserve would raise the interest rates twice in 2017. Students then had the privilege to hear Governor Scott Walker speak about the economic condition of Wisconsin. He mentioned many statistics about how the unemployment rate has been shrinking. According to the Governor, "Everyone in the State of Wisconsin who has the willingness and ability to have a job, should have a job." He then went on to say that he wants to focus on career-tracking for students as early as 6th grade. He wants students on the right track to gain the skills that employers of Wisconsin are looking for. Senior Joey Sokol was even fortunate enough to ask the Governor a clarifying question.
The luncheon was MC'ed by Jeff Mayers, President of WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com. Jeff specifically thanked all the students for attending as he ended the day's presentations. The students commented about how valuable the experience was. Senior Shea O'Malley said, "It was a very interesting experience, and it was cool to watch Joey interact with the Governor." [Submitted by Mr. Farrar]
