Welcome Home Harley Riders!

For those of you who live in Milwaukee, you may have noticed the roughly 200,000 motorcycles rolling through the streets of our home town. You may know that this weekend is the 105th Birthday Party for Harley-Davidson, but after watching the parade this morning, I believe that this event is something much bigger. This is one of the biggest events ever for Greater Milwaukee.

This evening over 100,000 people are watching Bruce Springsteen, and also more than 125,000 tickets were sold to "Harley Fest" at the Summerfest grounds. For comparison's sake, that is more tourists than the Super Bowl or Olympic Opening Ceremonies. But when will we ever see a successful bid for an Olympic Games or find ourselves the selected city to host a Super Bowl. Not any time soon...

With food, drinks, lodging, fuel, and event tickets all being purchased right here is our local economy, this event is bringing millions of dollars of sales to our local businesses. Not to mention that all the great things we love our about Milwaukee will be on showcase for visitors from all 50 States and over 30 countries!

All in all, this week, there will be about 200,000 motorcycles and even more visitors to the city, and we should be thankful and eager to welcome them!

National City Bank to Open New State Headquarters in Milwaukee

In just another sign of downtown Milwaukee's emergence as a hot spot for big business, National City Bank has announced that as part of it's expansion into Wisconsin, it will be opening 11 new locations over then next three years and that it will be opening a 22,000 square foot state headquarters in downtown Milwaukee's 411 building.

Beth Wnuk, president of National City's Wisconsin banking, said: "Combining our existing Milwaukee operations into a downtown headquarters provides a dramatic and visible base to grow market share and strengthen the connection between our employees and their customers. We want to invest in the region's future and be a part of its success."

National City Downtown and Community Commitment

With a history of community involvement that exceeds 160 years, National City has been actively engaged in the Greater Milwaukee community since entering the market early this year. For instance:

-- National City is the major sponsor of the Milwaukee Museum's Act/React Exhibit opening October 4 and is a Cure Level sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Walk and "Pink in the Park" at downtown's lakefront Veterans Park in September.

-- This spring, National City committed $100,000 to the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) in the form of a $50,000 two-year program grant, which is matched with a $50,000 grant investment from the National City Community Development Corporation for WWBIC's Impact Revolving Loan Fund.

-- In June, National City's Community Development Corporation invested $4.8 million in the Blue Ribbon Loft Apartments located on the former Pabst Brewery site presently being redeveloped by local Milwaukee developer Joseph J. Zilber and also contributed $50,000 to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council for providing free assistance to consumers in helping curtail foreclosures.

"Our goal is not to be just another bank in Greater Milwaukee," said Wnuk, "but to be a vital community and economic partner in the development and growth of our community."

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2488317&title=National_City_Opens_New.html