Ribbon cutting planned for May 25 at shared complex on the Menominee Reservation.
KESHENA, Wis. — With the return of warmer weather in Wisconsin, the leaders of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Nation, and Bay Bank are ready to further showcase their collaborative and unique mixed-use development that opened in Menominee County and on the Menominee Reservation earlier this year with a week’s worth of festivities—both indoor and outdoor.
Daily grand-opening activities, including door-prize giveaways and chances to enter a drawing for three grand prizes, will be held May 24-28 at Bay Bank and building neighbor Standing Pines Convenience Store. The complex, located at N201 and N209 Highway 47-55 in Keshena, is adjacent to Menominee Casino Resort.
A ribbon cutting is planned for Tuesday, May 25, at Bay Bank and Standing Pines, which features an Amoco gas station, convenience store and car wash. Shawano radio station Frog Country (WJMQ-FM 92.3) will be on site May 25 for a live broadcast to promote the new development and give away prizes.
Tribal leaders from Oneida Nation, which owns Bay Bank, and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, whose Wolf River Development Company (WRDC) owns and manages Standing Pines Convenience Store, are scheduled to make remarks, along with executives from Bay Bank and Standing Pines and other local dignitaries. Representatives from Bay Bank and Standing Pines will simultaneously cut a long ribbon spanning the entrances of both businesses.
“This grand opening for Bay Bank and Standing Pines Convenience Store is the culmination of a tremendous and historic partnership between the Menominee and Oneida Nation tribes that started nearly a year ago last summer when we came together to break ground for the project on this same site,” said Jennifer Peters, WRDC general manager.
WRDC opened Standing Pines Convenience Store on Feb. 22, seven weeks after Bay Bank officially joined the Menominee community with the opening of its Keshena branch Jan. 6. Keller, Inc. led the construction of the 6,100-square-foot project.
Green Bay-based Bay Bank, which is the only tribally owned bank in the state of Wisconsin, became the first bank on the Menominee Reservation and in Menominee County. Bay Bank provides full-service banking services at the Keshena location with lobby and drive-thru hours Monday-Friday and a self-service Interactive Teller Machine (ITM) available 24/7.
“Our expansion to Keshena and Menominee Nation since the start of 2021, the 26th year of Bay Bank serving Northeast Wisconsin, has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Jeff Bowman, Bay Bank President and CEO. “Our dedicated, expert and passionate team at the Keshena branch is well-connected to the Menominee region, and we are proud to stand for the future of all people there.”
Bay Bank will have daily giveaways for anyone who stops in at its Keshena branch the week of May 24-28. The bank also will highlight its consumer loans, mortgages, and checking and savings accounts throughout the week.
Standing Pines Convenience Store will have daily T-shirt giveaways for the first 10 customers at different times to be determined each day. The store also will offer free hot dogs and bags of popcorn for customers throughout the week.
Standing Pines and Bay Bank are sponsoring three grand prizes that will be drawn May 28 from all entries received during the grand-opening week. The grand prizes are a grill package, a boys’ bicycle, and a girls’ bicycle.
ABOUT BAY BANK Bay Bank has a long and proud history of standing for its customers’ future. Founded in 1995 by the Oneida Nation and a group of five local businessmen, the Oneida Nation became the sole owner of Bay Bank in 2000. The operations, policies—and locally focused mission—of the bank remained similar to the mission before the purchase by the Oneida Nation, but were enhanced as Bay Bank provided more federally funded programs to directly assist tribal members. In addition, Bay Bank and the Oneida Nation developed unique mortgage and entrepreneurial programs to assist Oneidas in obtaining housing and starting business ventures. Today, Bay Bank has assets over $150 million and a dedicated team of 33 employees with two convenient locations for customers in the Greater Green Bay area as well as a new branch office in Keshena, which opened in January 2021. Bay Bank is the only Greater Green Bay bank to offer the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program. Learn more at BayBankGB.com.
ABOUT STANDING PINES/WRDC The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin owns and operates several businesses that are located on its reservation in north-central Wisconsin. In November 1998 and amended in its entirety in January 2015, the Tribe established an economic development corporation named the Wolf River Development Company (WRDC) for the purpose of operating and managing the non-gaming for-profit businesses.
WRDC relocated its current Menominee Fuel Station and has established a new corporation known as Standing Pines, LLC. Its sole purpose is to own and operate a new convenience store, which opened Feb. 22, 2021. WRDC also owns and operates the Keshena Save A Lot; The M.I.E.D.A mall property (current tenants are Subway and Family Dollar); Primal Wood Products, LLC; and Five Clans/Four Directions On-Line Lending companies.
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Mrs. Davis is the founder, publisher and executive editor of the only Native American wholly owned and operated national tribal business publication, Native Business Magazine, and the producer of the annual and nationally attended Native Business Summit.
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She was named in 2009 as one of the first recipients of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s, “40 Under 40” award which recognizes up and coming community and business leaders from across Indian Country.
