The monthly e-newsletter of the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce.
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www.wausauchamber.com Register for the 2015-2016 Leadership Excellence session: Registration is open for the 2015-2016 program. The first in the series of monthly sessions will be held on Sept. 1, 2015. For more information on the program, contact Nick O’Brien at 715- 848-5965 or nobrien@ wausauchamber.com. To register, visit wausauchamber.com. Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce members can participate in Leadership Excellence at a reduced rate. In this issue . . . Member News Social Media Update Ambassador of the Month New Members New Leadership Excellence class completes program WAUSAU — A group has completed their nine-month leadership course and was recognized at a ceremony held at The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company in Wausau on Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Leadership Excellence is a program led by Ray Mickevicius and includes 12 sessions totaling almost 100 hours. Cory Heckendorf, branch manager at Wisconsin Kenworth and a Leadership Excellence graduate, spoke at the ceremony. These graduates were recognized at the ceremony: Amber Anderson, Ben Bliven, Andrew Brueggeman, Duane Churkey, John Formella, Corey Fredericks, Becky Frisch, Peter Fuchs, Maggie Hemauer, Sara Holtz, Jen Kowalski, Renae Krings, Megan Lawrence, Amy Libertoski, Russell Michalski, Jake Miller, Michael Morse, Ashley Placek, Ron Pomasl, Dan Powers, John Raczek, Becky Schemenauer, Jon Shirck, Sean Spromberg, Philip Suckow, Phil Summers, Kristin Swanson, Kevin Terry, John Tracy, John Treweek, Kirk Van Den Heuvel, Michael Van Order, Scott Wright, Jenifer Zurfluh. Leadership Excellence improves the ability of those enrolled to manage change, create synergistic teams and uncover positive solutions. The program designed to develop the enrollee’s professional and personal self, based on their strengths. MAY 2015 Ray Mickevicius, right, shakes hands with Jen Kowalski as her completion of Leadership Excellence is recognized.
Transcript
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Register for the 2015-2016Leadership Excellence session:
Registration is open for the 2015-2016 program. The first in the series of monthly sessions will be held on Sept. 1, 2015.
For more information on the program, contact Nick O’Brien at 715-848-5965 or [email protected].
To register, visit wausauchamber.com.
Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce members can participate in Leadership Excellence at a reduced rate.
In this issue . . .Member NewsSocial Media UpdateAmbassador of the Month New Members
New Leadership Excellence class completes programWAUSAU — A group has completed their nine-month leadership course and was recognized at a ceremony held at The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company in Wausau on Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Leadership Excellence is a program led by Ray Mickevicius and includes 12 sessions totaling almost 100 hours. Cory Heckendorf, branch manager at Wisconsin Kenworth and a Leadership Excellence graduate, spoke at the ceremony. These graduates were recognized at the ceremony: Amber Anderson, Ben Bliven, Andrew Brueggeman, Duane Churkey, John Formella, Corey Fredericks, Becky Frisch, Peter Fuchs, Maggie Hemauer, Sara Holtz, Jen Kowalski, Renae Krings, Megan Lawrence, Amy Libertoski, Russell Michalski, Jake Miller, Michael Morse, Ashley Placek, Ron Pomasl, Dan Powers, John Raczek, Becky Schemenauer, Jon Shirck, Sean Spromberg, Philip Suckow, Phil Summers, Kristin Swanson, Kevin Terry, John Tracy, John Treweek, Kirk Van Den Heuvel, Michael Van Order, Scott Wright, Jenifer Zurfluh.
Leadership Excellence improves the ability of those enrolled to manage change, create synergistic teams and uncover positive solutions. The program designed to develop the enrollee’s professional and personal self, based on their strengths.
MAY 2015
Ray Mickevicius, right, shakes hands with Jen Kowalski as her completion of Leadership Excellence is recognized.
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Members of E3YP met to celebrate the organization’s first year on Thursday, May 14, 2015. The event also marked the opening of a new addition at Jalapeno’s Mexican Restaurante & Bar.
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Social Media
Members invited to post Mashup and #TBT photos
A new, fun way toshare membernews and images
The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and Twitter account include some regular new features. For our Member Mashup feature, post photos related to collaboration between Chamber members to our social media accounts or email them to [email protected].
For #TBT (Throwback Thursday) we want to share vintage photos of your business. Again, post historical photos to our social media accounts or email them to [email protected].
Young professionals group celebratesfirst anniversary
Six ribbon cuttings have been held recently. Events were held at The UPS Store on April 29, (clockwise from upper left), Krautkramer & Block LLC Law Firm on May 19, Wauskin Medical Aesthetics on May 20, North Central Health Care’s Community Corner Clubhouse on May 21, Wausau Financial Systems on May 12 and Community Soul Yoga on May 6.
To view more photos and video from ribbon cuttings and other Chamber events, ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow our Twitter account.
Connie Frieders, wireless consultant with Northway Communications Inc in Wausau, has been a Chamber Ambassador for five years.
Frieders has been with Northway Communications Inc, an Agent of Cellcom, for two years. Prior to entering the technology sales industry, Frieders worked in banking where she made valuable long lasting relationships. Frieders has met many people along the way and enjoys catching up with them.
With her career transition, she continues to cater to her clients the only way she knows how, with integrity, compassion, focus and plenty of communication. Frieders has always loved technology and made the career change to stay passionate about her work.
Frieders lives in Marathon City where she is married to Dale. The couple has two daughters, Olivia, 16, and Alexis, 14. The girls motivate Frieders and give her purpose and direction.
Frieders explained at a recent Ambassador meeting what she enjoyed about the role, but she forgot to include the item she appreciates the most. Frieders looks up to her fellow Ambassadors with gratitude and appreciation. The group offers her great leadership examples and she takes pride in being in the company of her fellow Ambassadors.
When Frieders dons her red jacket, she feels the value of the extra time she has invested in being an Ambassador. Frieders wrote, “The Chamber lets me be creative and connect people to other people, to other businesses, to training, to jobs, etc. The Chamber has so many different avenues to take at any given time. I love sharing my voice, as the Wausau and Marathon County are an exceptional area to live and work.”
Congratulations Connie Frieders
Connie Frieders
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Ambassador of the Month
The University of Wisconsin Colleges and UW-Extension have launched a series of brief videos aimed to help business leaders, community leaders, government officials and other stakeholders learn about their work on campus.In this month’s video, Chancellor Cathy Sandeen talks about the UW Flexible Option, a program designed to let busy adults start work on a degree or certificate when they want, advance at their own pace, test when they’re ready and earn credit for what they already know.An earlier video in the series explains the role UW Colleges plays in the higher education landscape and the partnership with counties and cities that allows UW Colleges to carry out their access mission.For more information, visit this YouTube channel.
WAUSAU — The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce named the three 2015 Small Businesses of the Year Award recipients at a ceremony on the morning of Tuesday, April 21 at Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center in Rothschild. The Small Business of the Year Award recognizes business growth, community involvement, and innovative efforts in the Wausau Region. Recipients were named in three categories:
Business-to-Business category: Mutual of Wausau Insurance Corporation, the result of Wausau and Stettin mutual merging in 1998, has provided fire and business insurance since 1875. Ten product lines are offered to 20,000 policyholders in 38 counties. A 2011 merger in addition to a 2014 affiliation led to the creation of the Mutual of Wausau Group. This new industry paradigm positions them to become a leader among mutuals across the country. This business is one of the Chamber’s oldest members.
Business-to-Consumer category: The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company was established by college
friends Eliot Butler and Rob Lobreglio. The pair dreamed of starting a brewpub that offered a variety of house-brewed ales and lagers and hearty, made-from-scratch pub fare. The success of the
first Great Dane led to the decision to open more pubs in the Madison area. In May 2009 the first Great Dane location outside of the Madison area debuted in Wausau. Charitable Non-Profit category: United Way of Marathon County Inc. brings our community together to care for one another. This non-profit invests in identified education, income and health priorities that lead to improved youth success, family financial stability and the reduction of risk behaviors. This organization connects people to get help through 2-1-1; encourages volunteerism through Volunteer Connection, RSVP and affinity groups; and uses coalitions to focus on a common agenda that leads to improved lives.
A Small Business of the Year Awards Recognition Ceremony was also held on Friday, April 24 at the Jefferson Street Inn.
Small Business of the Year Award Recipients Named
Mark Splinter, President and CEO of Mutual Of Wausau Insurance Corporation, accepts the Small Business of the Year Award in the Business-to-Business category.
Tim Grebe of Grebe’s presents Corey Young, General Manager of The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company, with the 2015 Small Business of the Year award in the Business-to-Consumer category.
Joanne Kelly, Executive Director of United Way of Marathon County, accepts her Small Business of the Year award in the Charitable Non-Profit category.
WAUSAU — Wausau is one of only 50 communities in the nation to advance to the quarterfinals of the “America’s Best Communities” competition sponsored by Frontier Communications, DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel across the country. This three-year competition lasts until April of 2017 and involves three more levels of elimination, with the final winner receiving $3 million for a community revitalization project and the title of America’s Best Community. As one of only two Wisconsin communities to advance out of almost 140 applications, Wausau will receive $50,000 and a corporate sponsor partner to help further develop the strategic community and economic revitalization plans outlined in the initial application. These plans, which focus on reviving the Wausau region economy and improving the quality of life in the community, were developed over a period of six months by a group of individuals representing multiple aspects of the Wausau Region, including tourism, business, government, education and young professionals. The terms of the competition
required the group to be led by a non-profit physically located within the community that it represented. The Wausau Region Chamber was honored to take on this role and worked closely with representatives from the City of Wausau, including the Mayor, board members and staff from a variety of departments, to complete the application. “It’s an honor to be selected with 49 other communities across the country as a part of the America’s Best Communities competition.” said Aaron Kapellusch, President and CEO of the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce. “We had many key collaborators involved in the submission process and it’s great to see our collective hard work pay off.
We look forward to the next round and want the country to know that Wausau is a great place for people of all ages to work, live and play. It really is America’s Best Community” The team now has six months to complete the revitalization plans in order to move to the next level of the competition and become a Top 15 semifinalist. In early 2016, these 15 semifinalists will attend the America’s Best Communities summit to present their strategies to a panel of judges. Eight finalists will then be selected and awarded an additional $100,000 to begin the implementation of their plans over the next 11 months, with the top three winners being awarded $1 million, $2 million and $3 million in
Wausau Named a National Finalist to Become America’s Best Community
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Chamber News
Sara Guild, government affairs director with the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Jones, general manager for Frontier Communications, present a banner to the City of Wausau at a City Council meeting on May 26. Photo by Raymond Neupert of WSAU.
Wausau will partner with American Century Investment for guidance and support throughout the next stage of the competition. The America’s Best Communities Adopt-a-Community Program has brought together 50 distinguished companies from across the U.S. to support the quarterfinalist communities. American Century Investment will serve as Wausau’s strategic mentor, while also contributing $15,000 of the $50,000 in prize money. This corporate partner will forge relationships with local leaders and focus their efforts on successful implementation of the innovative
business plans.
“We’ve said it before, and now we have proof: Wausau is one of America’s Best Communities,” said Steve Jones, Frontier general manager for the Wausau market. “With this major victory in the first round of the America’s Best Communities competition, Wausau has taken an important step forward in its work to revitalize our local economy and enhance quality of life.” For more information on the America’s Best Community Prize Competition, please visit AmericasBestCommunities.com or contact the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce at 715-845-6231.
Continued
America’s Best Communities
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Member News
ICYMI:(In Case You Missed It)
Deb Pagel, director or human resources consulting at Schenck SC answered questions about hiring talent at the WAKE UP Wausau Region program on hiring talent on May 13 at Dale’s Weston Lanes.To view more photos and video from Chamber events, ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow our Twitter account.
The Best of Show recipients for this year’s Business EXPO were named at a Business PM on April 23.Andrew Becker of Becker Communications Inc. an-nounced the winning busi-nesses in the following cat-egories:Best of Show, Eats or Treats: Ed & Sharon’s Restaurant & Cater-ing featured a talking chicken in their booth along with samples.Best of Show, Attention Strategy: Yach’s Body & Custom Inc. part-nered with Northcentral Technical College on a pair of virtual ele-ments.Best of Show, Best Theme: R-Store (Riiser Energy) with Las Vegas themed games.Best of Show, Overall: Office Enterprises Inc. set up a multi-faceted office environment.
Vegas theme, talking chicken among EXPO Best of Show
Pete Valiska, right, presented Henry Yach III with a Best of Show Award at the 2015 Business EXPO.
