Ready for the Challenge Dear Friends, Whether we are in a recession or just a "slowdown," rough waters lie ahead for our national economy. Indicators were dire enough for Congress and the president to quickly come up with an economic stimulus package that will inject billions of dollars of consumer spending. I hope it helps, but at the same time we have to view it as a short-term fix. In the long term, the U.S. needs a "total quality" approach to economic policy. The U.S. can't  be the price leader for goods and services, but  can be the value leader. Locally, MATC is part of this movement. We recognize that end quality begins with quality education. Quality education is our day-to-day mission, but becomes even more critical for the greater good during hard times. Perhaps our most critical task right now: replace an entire generation of skilled professionals being lost to retirement  Also, MATC is one of the pillar institutions trying to rescue a young generation in danger of being lost permanently to poverty in urban Milwaukee. These challenges loom large, but fortunately we have some promising new blueprints for workforce development. The one you may know about is the "Tramont Model," which has received extensive discussion and publicity. Now I want to tell you about another one - let's call it the "Northcott Model." We have teamed with Northcott Neighborhood House and Wisconsin Fresh Start to create a pathway of hope for at-risk young people. The program allows them to obtain their high school equivalency diploma, gain some basic experience in construction work, and eventually enter that field professionally via MATC. As careers and technologies continue to evolve, MATC is here to help individuals and businesses throughout the region get ready for change and embrace it. Darnell E. Cole President

February 2008 Leveraging Outstanding Value TV bandwidths licensed back in the '70s for educational purposes are proving to be a valuable commodity. A New, Innovative Training Initiative In partnership with Wisconsin Fresh Start and Northcott Neighborhood House, 2460 N. 6th Street, we are helping a group of 23 at-risk young people earn their high school equivalency diplomas and become construction workers. Volunteers Offer Free Tax Preparation Those with an annual family income of $45,000 or less can receive free income tax return preparation at the Downtown Milwaukee and Oak Creek campuses. Virtually Dazzling I'm very pleased to report that a new MATC-sponsored HIVE pod opened recently at Discovery World.  Poblocki Donates ECAM Sign My personal thanks to a longtime and trusted vendor, Poblocki Sign Company, for generously donating the entrance sign for ECAM, the Center for Energy Conservation and Advanced Manufacturing.   Click here for top of Communique