SPRING 2016 | VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 1

fox cities chamber

Energizing & Empowering Enterprise

SPRING 2016 Volume 17, Issue 1

In Business for GOOD Companies That Care About Community

Brian Gottlieb Tundraland

Lisa Kogan-Praska Catalpa Health

InThis

ISSUE 2 President’s Perspective

Views from Chamber

President/CEO Shannon Full

4 Cover Story

Tundraland & Catalpa Health: Both in Business for GOOD

7 Q&A With The Professionals 8 Talent Academic & Career Planning Spotlight on Success

11 Events 12 Pulse

Future 15 Recipients

14 Community Spotlight Cell Phones For Soldiers

16 Wellness in the Workplace Help employees take control of their health

18 Happenings 20 Your Voice

Policy Offering Professional Development & Opportunities 21 Guest Column

Getting Serious About

Recruiting Good People

22 Member Spotlights 25 New Members & Diamond Members 26 Fox Cities Regional Partnership

2016 Economic Outlook Survey Results

Photography by: BConnected, LLC Image Studios

On The Cover

Brian Gottlieb, Founder of Tundraland and Lisa Kogan-Praska, President and CEO of Catalpa Health.

Fox Cites Chamber Business (v259180).

Published quarterly by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 125 N. Superior Street, Appleton, WI 54911. PH 920-734-7101. WEB www.foxcitieschamber. com. Periodical postage paid at Appleton, WI. Annual subscription fee to members for Fox Cities Chamber Business is $9 and is included in dues.

Postmaster: Send address changes to: Fox Cities Chamber Business, 125 N. Superior Street, Appleton, WI 54911.

Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

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President’s

PERSPECTIVE “This is a very promising year and the outlook on our local economy in 2016 is perceived to be strong and will continue growing.”

Dear Members, In January, we held our first ever Report to the Community to share how we are inspiring community, investing in people and strengthening business. We had several guest speakers share their stories on how their partnership with the Chamber has impacted their relationships and resources throughout the Fox Cities. Topics included: Leadership Fox Cities, Octoberfest, Your Future Fox Cities, Talent Upload, Business Retention and Expansion and Small Business.

As we progress into the year, we’ll continue to share our stories with you.

Inspiring Community For our first issue of 2016, we focused on two organizations that care about our community and are in business for good. Both Tundraland and Catalpa Health are donating their time, money and resources to help grow and strengthen our area. We hope their stories inspire you, as they did us.

Investing in People One thing we commonly hear in our area is the need for qualified, skilled talent. On page 8, you’ll find information regarding Academic and Career Planning and why this is critical to the business community and future workforce. In the near future, students will have much more direct interaction and exposure to business and industry.

Strengthening Business This is a very promising year and the outlook on our local economy in 2016 is perceived to be strong and will continue growing. On page 26, you’ll find insights from our annual Economic Outlook Survey conducted by the Fox Cities Regional Partnership, a division of the Chamber. This year, 202 local employers participated in the survey.

We’re optimistic about the future here at the Chamber as well as in our community. We’re in a great position to keep the momentum moving and businesses thriving. I encourage you to take a look at our upcoming events on page 11 and participate in the ones you can. We have many exciting events and programs coming up this summer; don’t miss out! Thank you for your continued investment in our local businesses and the chamber. We are working hard to promote growth and prosperity in our region.

Shannon Full, President/CEO

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Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

Chairman of the Board Daniel P. Ferris SECURA Insurance Companies Chairman-Elect Bruce Zak JPMorgan Chase, N.A. Past Chairman Kip Golden CR Structures Group, Inc. Secretary/Treasurer Kathi Seifert Katapult, LLC Board of Directors Jen Bauer Miron Construction Lisa Cruz Red Shoes PR, Inc. John Dennis Gardan Inc. Kevin Eismann Epiphany Law, LLC James Fenlon Village of Little Chute Travis Froze BMO Harris Bank Robyn Gruner AT&T Eric Higgs Kimberly Clark Corporation Sharon Hulce Employment Resource Group Inc. Dave Jansen ThedaCare Lyssa King OuterEdge Stage Vic Lutz McMahon Chris Matheny Fox Valley Technical College Jen Wagner Mauk Affinity Health System Rick Parks Modern Woodmen of America Todd Romenesko Calumet County Bruce Sasman We Energies Mark Scheffler Appleton Group, LLC Gary Vaughan Guident Business Solutions Monica Vomastic Landmark Staffing Resources Bob Zemple Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP Publisher Shannon Full Editor Rachel Birschbach Design Wild Apple Creative Photography BConnected Image Studios Printing JP Graphics

Get To Know Your Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce Staff The Chamber is a dynamic group of dedicated professionals who provide resources and solutions to businesses of all sizes within the Fox Cities region. The Chamber acts as an access point for solving business challenges, establishing and growing professional and social networks, and providing assistance for business leaders to achieve their goals.

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Save the Date

2016

BUSINESS AWARDS

Operations 1. Shannon Full, President/CEO sfull@foxcitieschamber.com 2. Linda Myers Executive Assistant to the President lmyers@foxcitieschamber.com 3. Amy Flanders Vice President, Member & Community Engagement aflanders@foxcitieschamber.com 4. Rachel Birschbach Marketing & Communications Coordinator rbirschbach@foxcitieschamber.com 5. Caitlyn Quast Signature Events Coordinator cquast@foxcitieschamber.com 6. Connie Barlow Receptionist receptionist@foxcitieschamber.com 7. Pam Schweitzer Receptionist receptionist@foxcitieschambers.com Economic Development 8. Manny Vasquez Vice President, Economic Development manny@foxcitiesregionalpartnership.com 9. Beth Pritzl Director, Research & Technology beth@foxcitiesregionalpartnership.com 10. Rob Peterson Director, Existing Industry Services rob@foxcitiesregionalpartnership.com

Public Policy 11. Mark Rahmlow

Vice President, Public Policy mrahmlow@foxcitieschamber.com Talent 12 Patty Milka

Vice President, Talent & Education pmilka@foxcitieschamber.com 13. Adrienne Palm

Director of Pulse – Young Professionals Network apalm@foxcitieschamber.com 14 Joy Kapheim

Director, Leadership Fox Cities jkapheim@foxcitieschamber.com 15. Emily Feagles

Program Manager, Talent & Education efeagles@foxcitieschamber.com

FOX CITIES 8th GRADE

AREER EXPO presented by

april 18, 2016 • lake park sportzone • menasha 2,600+ students. 50 businesses. Preparing the future workforce today.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

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In Business for Good Many organizations within the Fox Cities have been known to do good for our local community. They’ve donated time, money and resources to help grow and strengthen this area.

The opportunities for doing good are endless and these organizations are not hesitant of supporting the region and the people that live here.

Tundraland, a home improvement company, and Catalpa Health, a mental health and wellness center for kids, are two very different organizations, but both are leaving a positive impact on the Fox Cities region and beyond. Their abundance of time and resources they’ve offered proves just how dedicated they are to our community.

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Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

Tundraland

Positively impacting individuals in our community Brian Gottlieb started Tundraland, a home improvement company that specializes in replacement windows, bath systems and sunrooms, in May 2009. Recognized four years later as one of the largest home improvement companies in the nation, Tundraland is known for American-made products, terrific craftsmanship and skilled people.

Through the course of business, Tundraland team members saw people in need of their products, but sometimes, due to financial hurdles or other challenges, they could not afford to make the necessary improvements.

That’s why they launched Tundraland Cares, a cause-related program dedicated to helping individuals live healthier, safer lives and stay in the comfort of their own homes.

“A company can do well, but it can also do good,” shares Gottlieb. His philosophy, as well as his entire team’s, is believing in the infinite possibility of others and impacting the lives of individuals striving to follow their dreams. They believe that if you can help, you should. Tundraland Cares is their humble effort to positively impact the community, one life at a time.

One of those lives directly impacted by Tundraland is Don Hawley. The team recently met Don, a disabled Korean War veteran, who had been having major problems getting in and out of his bathroom safely. As the group got to know more about Don, they discovered he loved the Green Bay Packers, but more specifically, was a fan of Green Bay’s wide receiver James Jones. Last November, Tundraland held a Half Off Sales event at its Kaukauna showroom and brought in four different Packers players, including Jones. They surprised Don with an autographed football and a phone call from Jones who informed him that Tundraland would be doing a free bathroom remodel to make his bath accessible and safe. “If we can make a positive impact in the life of just one person, we are taking part in changing the world,” adds Gottlieb. Currently, Tundraland does one project for a person in need every month. Since its inception, Tundraland has always been a community-focused business.

Singing in the Shower contestants. Painting Windows for a Cause.

Starting back in the summer of 2013, Tundraland participated in Appleton’s Mile of Music, a four-day-long artisan music festival. Besides being a major sponsor of the event, Tundraland had a “Singing in the Shower” display inside the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel during the festival. Once 250 people sang in their shower displays, Tundraland picked a local student to receive a year’s worth of music lessons. This past year, they exceeded their goal of 250 singers by over 150, so Brian added to the program by offering a free home remodeling project for a community member in need.

It’s not hard for the Tundraland team to find ways of giving back. For them, it’s a great investment in their community, making it a better place to live and work.

A new program launching this spring is Tundraland’s “Windows for a Cause.” As a company that specializes in energy efficient and affordable replacement windows, they’ve collected quite a few older windows from Wisconsin homeowners. Instead of throwing away those old windows, they’ll be painted, displayed and auctioned off; all proceeds will be donated to helping local families in need. This program seeks to bring the talents of local artists, celebrities, community members and education institutions into the spotlight, all while giving back to the community.

“The two most important words on the sign outside our building are ‘we are.’ And what I mean by that is, we believe in ourselves and we believe in each other. We are not just a company, we are part of a community. And part of being a community means we give back. What we do is give back. We remember our roots. We remember the days when a lot of people were really struggling so, we intentionally do free projects for people who are still struggling. The real opportunity we have is to go the extra mile and make this community better by helping people in need,” states Gottlieb.

Brian Gottlieb talks with Singing in the Shower participants including Cory Chisel, Creative Director for Mile of Music.

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Catalpa’s mission is to help kids and families improve their mental health and wellness.

Reflecting on their focus on children, Catalpa Health has been experimenting with an extension of its logo to tell its story even better. Outside creative resources have helped them develop Lily and Leif, two cartoon figures shaped like catalpa leaves. They premiered in a small picture book called “The Story of Lily and Leif” that explained to funders and individual contributors how the collaboration among the three local health providers to create Catalpa has led to improved mental health services for kids.

Catalpa Health

Focusing on children’s mental health and wellness Catalpa Health opened November 1, 2012 after Affinity Health System, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and ThedaCare recognized that they needed to collaborate to find a more effective, innovative and patientfriendly approach to pediatric mental health. The 2011 LIFE Study revealed alarming statistics about the state of children’s mental health in the Fox Cities community. One of those statistics showed that 25 percent of tenth graders in the Fox Valley had experienced depression within the past year and 14 percent had seriously considered suicide. The three leading health systems in our area knew they had to be doing more to care for our children and their families, and that’s how Catalpa was born.

Catalpa Health knows that mental health can be a difficult topic to discuss and that reaching people where they are is necessary. That’s why they’ve engaged in so many partnerships whether it’s schools, employers or other mental health providers. They know that it’s going to take the community coming together and having open conversations around mental health to really solve the problems and remove the barriers that exist.

Catalpa’s mission is to help kids and families improve their mental health and wellness. Their vision is to be the place families choose for their kids, where they inspire hope and provide world-class mental health care, so that every child and family has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

For Catalpa Health, their brand is much more than a name and a logo, it’s really what’s in people’s minds and what they think of when they hear “Catalpa Health.” Part of what makes Catalpa unique is that their brand is only three years old. They’ve had the challenge and the gift of building their brand from scratch, and it continues to evolve as their services grow.

Many of Catalpa’s initiatives revolve around word-of-mouth, by starting a conversation that will help to increase awareness of mental health. Their programs are developed to reach people where they are located. For instance, Catalpa collaborates with external partners like Hortonville Area School District, Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, NAMI Fox Valley and Samaritan Counseling. Together they developed “E3 - engage, educate, empower,” which provides robust school-based services that engage Hortonville students, educate families and empower positive change.

Another great program that Catalpa offers is through area employers.

They offer to visit on-site with employers to have consultations with their workers. They know that people don’t stop being parents when they walk through their office doors, so they’ve found it effective to offer consultations in their workplaces. This way employees have the chance to discuss any concerns they have about their child’s health. Parents find benefit in the opportunity to speak with a mental health professional and employers understand that they’re doing what is best for their employees.

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Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

The catalpa tree is recognized as a symbol of strength, shelter and protection and is known for its heart-shaped leaves. Catalpa Health provides children and adolescents throughout the Fox Valley the strength, courage and support they need to move toward a brighter tomorrow.

with the PROFESSIONALS Attracting millennials to Faith Technologies is similar to how we attract any new talent, but we often seek different ways to spark their interest. Whether it’s through social media, which millennials today rely on heavily to find new employment opportunities, or updating our in-house programs. Appealing to this younger generation has become an important focus.

Faith Technologies’ in-house Apprenticeship Training Program is certainly one of our most attractive employment offerings. Through this program, apprenticeship employees are given the opportunity to “earn while they learn” and obtain their electrician license. The best part? Due to the scholarship opportunities we provide, most are able to graduate with zero debt.

Attracting and retaining millennials at Faith Technologies involves a competitive compensation package, career growth, an award-winning wellness program, multiple learning opportunities and an impeccable safety culture.

We also have a corporate commitment to our local communities and encourage employees to get involved.

Holly Waddle, Vice President – Human Resources, Faith Technologies, Inc.

How does your organization attract millennials and keep them in the Fox Cities?

The long-term success of Neenah Foundry is predicated upon us hiring the best and brightest employees to lead us into the future. Building value for the organization means being on the cutting edge of advancements in technology, manufacturing and operational processes.

For us, attracting and retaining millennials in the Fox Cities region is about relationshipbuilding and understanding the mindset and motivation of our employees. In today’s War for Talent, we have to be involved and partnering with our local high schools and colleges so that we build longterm relationships with students several years before it results in fruition and they can intern or work full-time for us.

Millennials are tired of hearing sales pitches; they judge you by your actions, so you need to back-up what you say with action. Millennials work hard but they also play hard too, so they desire flexible work arrangements and time to have a personal life.

Rich Thomson, SHRM-SCP, MILR, Human Resources & Labor Relations Manager, Neenah Foundry

Our core values are engrained in everything we do, from the way we hire to the way we do business. This is a building block of our culture, which our millennials tell us attracts, and keeps, them here. Not only are millennials looking for an employer whose values align with their own, but also the ability to do meaningful work and where employees and customers matter.

Our environment provides millennials with the opportunity to see how their work directly impacts the success of their customers and Crane.

We communicate and celebrate our wins, recognizing and rewarding team members for their contributions and focus on making Crane a WOW! place to be.

Nancy Ledvina, Human Resources Manager Crane Engineering

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Academic and Career Planning Students are to be exposed to career-based learning opportunities, a component within the ACP process, in order to successfully set future postsecondary goals. It is critical for the business community to get involved in order to provide guidance for expectations and workforce needs.

Career-based learning opportunities, such as youth apprenticeships, job shadows and informational interviews, can provide relevance to students throughout their exploration process.

Strong partnerships and collaboration among students, parents, education and the business community are essential to the success of a student’s ACP and their path to prosperity.

Equipping the Future for College and Career Success The need for qualified, skilled talent continues to be the topic of conversation for business leaders among all industries. Equipping the next generation with the necessary skillset, while exposing them to postsecondary opportunities and pathways, is critical to the success for both education and business.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has mandated that Wisconsin public schools be required to implement Academic and Career Planning (ACP) services to students in grades 6 – 12 by the 2017-2018 school year. ACP is both a process and product that will improve students’ college and career readiness through personalized learning that is monitored and aligned with academic graduation requirements, personal interests and defined career goals.

What does this mean to the business community?

The goal of ACP’s is to ensure that students are more readily prepared to succeed in post-secondary education and career. ACP’s will provide students with further opportunities which connect them to the realities of the workforce.

Ensure that the next generation is readily prepared with the necessary skillset for tomorrow’s workforce by getting involved to bridge the gap between education and industry.

• Connect with schools and open the doors to your organization.

• Provide learning opportunities for educators and expose students to real-world work situations.

• Connect with us at the Fox Cities Chamber to get involved in Your Future Fox Cities, or other talent initiatives, which promote a prosperous future for students and a thriving business community.

It’s never too early to foster connections and provide opportunities for a qualified, thriving future workforce.

ACP is an individualized, student-driven process based on interests and goals in order for students to be college and career ready upon graduation.

Each ACP is developed and monitored with the guidance of parents and school staff as students’ goals change from middle school to high school graduation.

The ACP product will continue to evolve in the form of an online portfolio including career assessments, meaningful work experiences, ongoing goalsetting, as well as academic files (such as transcripts, awards and letters of recommendation).

The mandated ACP process will promote and enhance the current efforts and opportunities that may already be implemented within area schools.

Further components that contribute to the overall process may include: individual goal setting, self-awareness activities, career exploration activities, academic planning and management, career-based learning opportunities, relevant extra-curricular experiences within the community and post-secondary training and education opportunities.

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Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

TALENT

COLLABORATIVE

Understanding Why ACP MATTERS We recently had the opportunity to connect with Robin Kroyer-Kubicek, Career Pathways Education Consultant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to further understand the status and implementation of Academic and Career Planning (ACP) at the state level.

What is the current status of ACP implementation?

As of December 1, 2015, the state has mandated that by the 2017-2018 school year, every school board will be required to offer academic and career planning services to grades 6 – 12.

Currently, there are 25 school districts piloting Academic and Career Planning (ACP) services. A career exploration and planning software has been selected and will be available to all schools, at no cost, once the contract is complete. DPI is working with the pilot schools to provide guidance and professional development to effectively implement ACP’s.

How will ACP’s benefit students?

ACP’s will provide students with an integrated, coordinated approach that reaches EVERY student.

Through engaging, age appropriate conversations with educators and parents and activities during middle school and high school, students will begin to think about their interests, set goals, connect classroom learning to those goals and explore plans for post-secondary success.

Emerging research shows that Academic and Career Planning services make schools more personalized and improve various student outcomes. As students become more competent in self-exploration and career exploration and planning, they become more motivated to attend school, become confident learners, actively set goals and get better grades.

Kroyer-Kubicek further noted, “Equipping families to be ‘informed consumers’ of education and training will lead to students successfully achieving their goals.”

Why are ACP’s important to the business community?

The understanding of ACP services is critical to the business community since students will have much more direct interaction and exposure to business and industry.

As noted by Kroyer-Kubicek, “By partnering with schools, employers are able to open up their organization to teach students, and their parents, about the current world of work and success in it. Schools can no longer be all to all students. Schools need to help support these additional opportunities.”

From the state level, why do you find the adoption and implementation of ACP’s critical to the success of Wisconsin students?

ACP’s are directly infused within State Superintendent Tony Ever’s Agenda 2017, a culmination of initiatives with the goal that all Wisconsin students are to be equipped and prepared for college and career readiness upon high school graduation.

The DPI team sees ACP as the vehicle that can work to accomplish a vision for college and career readiness for students.

To learn more about ACP, watch the video at: https://youtu.be/tpXQIKzgya0

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Spotlight On SUCCESS A PROGRAM OF

Academic and career planning is not something new or unfamiliar to our area schools. With the upcoming statewide mandate requiring Academic and Career Planning (ACP) services for all students in grades 6 – 12, we caught up with some of our Fox Cities schools to learn about their current best practices and successes.

Appleton Area School District

Appleton was selected as a pilot district and is in the midst of implementing the ACP process in three schools within the district. They have adopted a culture of career-based learning, which will provide students with experiences that prepare students for in-demand careers upon high school graduation. As noted by Rita O’Brien, Dean of Career Based Learning at Appleton Area School District, “Life beyond high school is different than what it used to be. The ACP process will guide students as they explore career, academic and post-secondary opportunities by giving them greater knowledge in order to craft their individual career pathway to success.”

Brillion High School

Brillion continues to do what it has done for years by providing career conversations and activities for all students. Per Jeff Vande Hey, Brillion High School Counselor, “There is a slight cultural shift with more involvement from everyone and built-in ACP instruction during the school day.” Bi-weekly ACP presentations occur throughout homeroom periods with academic goal setting in the opposite weeks. Individual academic plans are electronic in nature and can be accessed by students, counselors or homeroom teachers anytime, anywhere. An ACP committee continues to review and refine activities throughout the year with a focus on identifying and filling any gaps we may have.

Hilbert High School

Hilbert has had conversations with their leadership to introduce the ACP process and is developing a committee to assist in formalizing the ACP implementation plan. They have hosted successful Career Days, which bring in business and industry guest speakers to provide students, in all grade levels, with exposure to careers and various opportunities post high school. Dawn Grenzer, School Counselor at Hilbert School District, said, “The ACP process creates the opportunity for schools and businesses to build stronger partnerships that will help our students be successful.”

Little Chute High School

Little Chute has established a leadership team to effectively meet the mandated standards for the ACP process. They are reviewing inventory of current course options to ensure students are exposed to necessary education and career pathways. The team has reviewed successes from their career-focused Career Pathways Academy charter school as well as shared best practices with pilot schools in the state. Dan Valentyn, Little Chute High School Principal, stated, “The overall ACP process emphasizes the need for further career exploration and without a doubt, Little Chute students will have more focus and career exploration when they graduate.”

Menasha High School

Menasha High School has developed a Life Options course which meets twice weekly, across all grade levels, to provide students with practical life skills for high school and beyond. Menasha continues to bring in businesses and professionals for career presentations, mock interviews, and more, as they find it critical to provide students with exposure to all post-secondary options. Jason Hurley, School-to-Work Coordinator, added, “We value input from businesses because they are our link to the ‘real world’. Our business partnerships allow us to learn from each other to make sure our students are getting the skills needed to be successful in life.”

Neenah High School

Neenah High School has diverse curriculum offerings to provide students with a range of opportunities for career exploration. Education and Career Planning Conferences are offered to sophomores and their parents to discuss educational experiences for life beyond high school. Neenah is extremely proud of their academy structure, which is currently in place, for the opportunities and benefits available to their students. The ACP process will enhance the relevance of learning experiences to the world of work for their students. Neenah High Associate Principal Bill Richardson stated, “We are excited about opening new opportunities to work with area businesses to expose our students to careers and enhance real world learning.”

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Upcoming Events APRIL The Forum: Investing In People Date: April 12, 2016 Location: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel

333 W College Ave., Appleton Time: 7:00am – 12:15pm Description: Where business, education and community leaders gather to discuss solutions to develop, attract and retain a thriving workforce. Join us for dynamic presentations by industry leaders and education partners as well as interactive breakout sessions to share best practices.

Register Online.

8th Grade Career Expo Date: April 18, 2016 Location: Lake Park Sportzone, N8770 Lake Park Road, Menasha Time: 8:00am – 3:00pm Description: The 10th Annual “Your Future” 8th Grade Career Expo provides approximately 3,000 local students with an experiential trade show-like event to explore the variety of careers available in the Fox Cities and beyond.

Your Voice Lunch ‘n Learn with Andrew LaCombe

Date: April 20, 2016 Location: Liberty Hall, 800 Eisenhower Drive, Kimberly Time: 11:30am – 1:00pm Description: Social media has made it easier for businesses to find customers and has made the 24/7 news cycle move even faster. As a result, the media’s approach to covering politics and policy has changed dramatically over the last few years. Join Fox 11 Political/Investigative Reporter, Andrew LaCombe, as he shares his experiences.

Chamber Members: $20 General Admission: $25 Register Online.

Bubbler Awards Date: April 23, 2016 Location: Platinum Flight Center, N259 Ares Drive, Appleton Time: Evening Description: Kicking off YP Week, The Bubbler Awards shine a light on the companies who have made great strides to accommodate the interests of a shifting workforce. The awards recognize businesses in Wisconsin that support young professionals through great culture and benefits.

YP Week Date: April 23 – April 30, 2016 Location: Fox Cities Description: The Fox Cities Young Professionals Network will host YPWeek and the 2016 Bubbler Awards. Now in its 4th year, this weeklong event is a platform for discovery, adventure and meaningful conversations about the issues that matter among young professionals in Wisconsin. www.ypweek.com

Calendar of Events – All of the Fox Cities Chamber events can be found online at foxcitieschamber.com. Click on “Calendar” from the top menu.

The Artery Date: April 30, 2016 Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: The River Room at the Paper Discovery Center, 425 W Water Street, Appleton Description: Wrapping up YP Week, the Artery is the Fox Cities urban market. Local Wisconsin artists are given a platform to sell their work and meet fellow creatives in the community.

MAY Business Connection Date: May 3, 2016 Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm Location: Bridgewood Resort Hotel, 1000 Cameron Way, Neenah Description: Bring your business cards and get ready to mingle during this informal after-hours event.

Business Awards Luncheon

Date: May 12, 2016 Time: 11:30am – 1:30pm Location: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel

333 College Avenue, Appleton Description: Each year the Chamber recognizes businesses and organizations in the Fox Cities that help make it a vibrant, innovative and dynamic community. The awards are given based on leadership, dedication and achievement.

Overtime Happy Hour with Pulse Date: May 12, 2016 Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm Location: TBD Description: Join Pulse for a casual happy hour in the Fox Cities!

JUNE Business Expo Date: June 1, 2016 Time: 11:00am – through Business Connection Location: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel

333 College Avenue, Appleton Description: The Business Expo is an annual trade show providing for a day of business growth and relationship building. It is a business-to-business marketing opportunity allowing participants to showcase their products and services.

Business Connection

Cultivate

Date: June 7, 2016 Time: TBD Location: Warch Campus Center (Lawrence University), 711 E Boldt Way, Appleton Description: Cultivate is an annual event that captivates, inspires and connects entrepreneurs, non-profits, business leaders and up-and-comers.

Your Voice Lunch ‘n Learn

Healthy Workers, Healthy Bottom-Line Date: June 8, 2016 Time: 11:30am – 1:00pm Location: Pullmans, 619 S Olde Oneida Street, Appleton Description: Workplace wellness is becoming a higher priority for many employers in the area. Join Stephanie Pereira da Silva, Kimberly Clark Corporation, for a presentation on the importance of offering wellness programs within the workplace and the benefits and challenges that also come with that endeavor. Audience participation will be encouraged.

Chamber Members: $20 General Admission: $25 Register Online.

Overtime Happy Hour with Pulse Date: June 9, 2016 Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm Location: TBD Description: Join Pulse for a casual happy hour in the Fox Cities!

US Chamber Small Business Summit

Date: June 13 – 15, 2016 Location: Washington, D.C. Description: The Small Business Summit is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual small business event that empowers you to become a voice for small business. The theme this year is Your Business, Your Voice. Join small business owners, Chamber executives, and government officials from across the country to Learn, Network, and Engage on the issues facing small business in America.

Chamber Golf Outing #1 Date: June 27, 2016 Time: 10:30am – 5:00pm Location: Butte des Morts Country Club 3600 W. Prospect Avenue, Appleton Description: Individual: $225; 4-Some: $900; Sponsorship Opportunities are available. Email Caitlyn at cquast@ foxcitieschamber.com

Date: June 1, 2016 Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm Location: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel

333 College Avenue, Appleton Description: Bring your business cards and get ready to mingle during this informal after-hours event.

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John Adams, Filmaker Feather and Bone and The Draw Building curator

Jamie Cartwright Weidert Group Marketing manager

Carolyn Desrosiers Goodwill NCW Steward of annual giving

Jennifer Dieter Homeless Connections Community relations director

Josh Dukelow, Fox Valley Technical College Key account manager

Laura Gruender Thrivent Financial Community engagement leader

Heidi Hietpas Innovative Services Inc. District manager

Angela Horn, Community First Credit Union Marketing director

Amanda Krueger American National Bank Fox Cities Director of marketing

Seth Lenz Seth’s Coffee Owner

Amy Loritz Appleton East High School, Teacher

Will McKinley Menn Law Firm Attorney

Jenny Vanden Heuvel Affinity Health System Graphic designer

Yee Vue, Appleton Public Library, Hmong family outreach specialist

Tom Wendt, YMCA of the Fox Cities - Appleton Associate executive director

Thank you to our table sponsors Affinity Health System American National Bank Appleton Area School District Appleton Public Library Community First Credit Union Goodwill Industries Innovative Services

Refresh Appleton Baird/Zuleger Seth’s Coffee Thrivent Financial Weidert Group YMCA - Fox Cities Lawrence University Menn Law Firm

Thank You To Our Sponsors

Title Sponsor

Multi-Media Sponsors

In-Kind Sponsors

Community Spotlight

Phone Drive Connects Military Members With Their Loved Ones For nearly 100 years, AT&T has remained dedicated to supporting active military personnel, veterans and their families. A long-standing mission of AT&T is to connect military members with their loved ones back home. Initiated in 2004, and expanded through financial support from AT&T, Cell Phones For Soldiers is a non-profit that uses funds from recycled cell phones to buy prepaid phone cards for service men and women, helping them connect with their families.

This past November, AT&T and Hooper Law Office, LLC honored the Fox Valley Veterans Council (FVVC) during a special celebration including a ribbon cutting dedicated to the FVVC’s new office space, which was donated by Hooper Law Office. AT&T presented a $5,000 AT&T Innovation & Investment Award to support the FVVC’s efforts to end veteran homelessness. “We are very proud to support the mission of the Fox Valley Veterans Council to provide a helping hand to our homeless veterans,” stated Robyn Gruner, Director of External Affairs for AT&T Wisconsin.

In addition, AT&T, the FVVC and Hooper Law Office teamed up to launch a community-wide Cell Phones For Soldiers month-long drive.

Donations of newer or gently-used cell phones from all wireless carriers and brands were accepted. Cell Phones For Soldiers assigns a $5 value per device donated. The $5 value allows the charity to purchase 2.5 hours of pre-paid air time to service members overseas. The collection drive took place in November with six collection points in Appleton including American National Bank, two AT&T retail locations, Hooper

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Law Office, Fox Valley Technical College and the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce. One hundred and twenty phones were collected, equaling 300 hours of free calling time for military members to their families.

Since 2007, AT&T, the AT&T Foundation and AT&T’s customers have donated more than $4.6 million and distributed more than 600,000 AT&T prepaid calling cards to those serving overseas. AT&T also provides donations in Wisconsin to local organizations that give back to their communities through the AT&T Wisconsin Innovation & Investment Award program.

Cell Phones For Soldiers accepts phones, smartphones or tablets, in addition to monetary gifts of any size.

For additional information, visit cellphonesforsoldiers.com.

A New Kind of Mall With the help of FVTC’s Venture Center, a wide range of services are under one roof in Wisconsin’s first manufacturing mall.

Longtime business associates Chuck Duginski, owner of Grassroots Machining, and Nick Vander Heyden, owner of Industrial Machine Services and apprenticeship completer of Fox Valley Technical College, both needed to expand their businesses. “We knew that if we housed our services together, we could buy the right facility,” Duginski states. “With this big space we invited others, including Jason Harold of J.W. Welding.”

Today, 1351 Kimberly Drive in Neenah is home to a variety of manufacturing services, including welding, machining, industrial maintenance, engineering and more. Duginski and Harold, both E-seed TM training completers through the Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center, give credit to the program for their success and for a cooperative venture known as the Manufacturing Mall.

Duginski had been a successful machinist for 30 years before going on his own. “I was working nights and weekends in my garage making custom parts, and starting my own business seemed like a logical next step,” says the 54-year-old Menasha native.

First, Duginski’s wife, Mary Beth, insisted that he enroll in the Venture Center’s E-seed program. “E-Seed really got me started in the right direction,” he says.

“I learned what to expect as a business owner, the regulations involved and all the financial aspects.”

The Manufacturing Mall business owners sometimes share work on the same products for clients, providing customized services in a convenient, one-stop shop setting for manufacturers, saving companies time and often money. The Manufacturing Mall is designed to optimize the real time needs of manufacturers through shared resources and services.

A formal dedication was held at the Manufacturing Mall last November to commemorate the facility in conjunction with National Manufacturing Month.

Attendees included dignitaries, industrial maintenance professionals, and supervisory personnel from regional manufacturers, and FVTC officials.

Officials from a company in the greater Milwaukee area that look to the Manufacturing Mall for specialized components for inspection systems attended the dedication. This is an example of the broad scope of businesses that use the Manufacturing Mall to produce parts for their global clientele. Members of one firm who attended the event showcased a product that is used for national security purposes, reaffirming the success and impact of the businesses housed in the Manufacturing Mall.

Learn more: www.fvtc.edu/VentureCenter and www.grassrootsmachining.com

Caffeinate Your Entrepreneurial Spirit Last October, the FVTC Venture Center led the designation of Appleton, Wisconsin in becoming a 1 Million Cups entrepreneur site. The 1 Million Cups initiative is sponsored nationally by the Kauffman Foundation. It’s a free, weekly program designed to educate and connect entrepreneurs over a million cups of coffee nationwide. The growing networking opportunity features a different small business owner each week sharing his or her insights on entrepreneurship.

1 Million Cups Free Networking Sessions Each Wednesday, 9-10 a.m.

FVTC’s Venture Center, 5 Systems Drive, Appleton

No registration required

Chuck Duginski (left) of Grassroots Machining examines a part for industry with Jason Harold of J.W. Welding at the Manufacturing Mall in Neenah.

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WELLNESS in the Workplace

Help employees take control of their health

Contributed by David Flotten, JD, SPHR, VP, Sr. HR Consultant, Associated Financial Group

The toll that an unhealthy employee takes increases every year. Data from the 2014 employer survey “Purchasing Value in Healthcare” by the National Business Group on Health showed that on average each employee costs the employer $11,176 in a single year. This is an 8% increase from 2013.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that $3 of every $4 dollars employers spend on health costs are used to treat conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, asthma and depression. A Gallup study suggests that these same conditions create workforce absenteeism costing U.S. employers $153 billion annually in lost productivity.

Many employers consider wellness and disease management programs essential to the success of their organizations. Here are three components of a wellness program that can help create a workforce of healthy employees.

• Health Risk Assessments (HRAs): These screenings are important for collecting baseline health risk data. The assessments screen for crucial health factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, cholesterol, glucose and triglycerides. HRAs raise an employee’s awareness of potential health risks so they can take action to avoid costly medical expenses in the future.

• Incentives: Incentives are a great way to drive participation and can be offered for health risk assessments, wellness challenges, activity point-based programs, wellness classes and tobacco/non-tobacco use.

• Promote Preventative Care: Your health plan is required to provide free preventative care benefits for members, spouses and dependents, such as cancer screenings, pap smears, PSA tests, mammograms, annual physicals and routine immunizations. These benefits do not cost employees anything and can help catch conditions early and prevent future costly claims.

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It’s important to communicate all of the components of your wellness program and health plan to employees effectively so they take advantage of them. With a solid strategy, employees’ health and morale will improve, and you will save on healthcare costs.

Associated Financial Group is a premier employee benefits, business insurance and HR consulting agency based in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois with over 370 colleagues supporting their clients.

Associatedfinancialgroup.com

BELIEVE. BUY IN. BUILD. Keys to a Successful Employee Wellness Plan Contributed by Cypress Benefit Administrators

Cypress Benefit Administrators walks the walk when it comes to employee wellness plans. They’ve realized a 15 percent decrease in employee health care costs since launching their own initiative, something they figured they needed to have in place if they were going to pitch the concept to clients.

They believed such a plan would show dividends, perhaps not hard numbers at first, but improvements in employee health and wellbeing, certainly.

They bought into the ideas their employees brought to the table. They worked through failures and times when their efforts lost steam. They challenged themselves to enter state and national initiatives and competitions and did very well. As a result, they have earned credibility that helps them sell the concept to other employers, regardless of the size of their businesses.

President Tom Doney and Marsha Phillips, COO, and their team, which includes members of Cypress’ Appleton wellness committee Chris Mayer and Beth Bub, insist the concept is achievable for any size firm. In fact, Phillips says, it may be easier for smaller companies because there are fewer employees to engage and outcomes measured in terms of percentages appear higher and thus offer encouragement for employees to continue. “It’s not predicated on size,” Doney states.

Having committed to the concept in 2008, Doney’s team quickly learned three truths about employee wellness plans: the commitment starts at the top; you have to walk the walk; and every employee is “on their own journey” to healthy living.

That’s how Cypress arrived at the 3 B’s of employee wellness plans: Believe. Buy In. Build.

“It doesn’t cost much to have veggie days instead of donut days,” Doney says. Early on, the company evicted its soda and snack vending machine, installing

Cypress team at 2013 Heart Walk

a new HUMAN (Helping Unite Man And Nutrition) machine dispensing healthy snacks and beverages.

Initially, Cypress offered biometric screening, measuring key indicators of basic health to identify individuals’ risk factors. As they implemented more components, Cypress saw improved results, like a 600-pound aggregate weight loss for its Appleton staff, lower blood pressure readings and decreases in cholesterol levels.

They joined the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA), which Phillips advises other companies to do to take advantage of the many resources WELCOA provides, many at no charge. Cypress took part in a 12-week, statewide activity challenge organized by WELCOA last April, and finished near the top of the leaderboard in third place among Wisconsin firms.

Known as WELCOA’s Top 100 Active Companies, it is a corporate fitness challenge intended to spur employees to keep moving during the workday.

The Cypress team rotates new employees onto its wellness committee, bringing fresh ideas and energy to the effort. They enhance the program with new activities like joining the KrowdFit national effort, creating a Wellness Buck Program (Cypress Bucks earned may be redeemed for personal time off), and participating in walking challenges, an online diabetes alert survey, and Lunch and Learn sessions.

Mostly, Doney says, it’s about building a culture of healthy lifestyle choices and getting people moving.

“Doing the right thing sends a message to employees that you care about them and want them to be healthy.

It is about them and not the company’s bottom line.”

Cypress Benefit Administrators is a privately held company headquartered in Appleton, WI. Cypress has been pioneering the way toward cost containment in self-funded health benefits since 2000.

Cypressbenefit.com

Tom Doney, President

Marsha Phillips, COO

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1. Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Appleton held their ribbon cutting and grand opening back in January, complete with former Packers player LeRoy Butler.

2. This year’s Economic Outlook Breakfast was held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. Opening the event was Fox Cities Regional Partnership’s Vice President, Manny Vasquez.

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3. The January Business Connection was held at Butte des Morts Country Club.

4. Shari Steeno from Thrivent Financial spoke at the Report to the Community on the success of Talent Upload.

5. Xperience Fitness recently completed a beautiful remodel within their facility and held a ribbon cutting.

6. Freedom High School provided the Chamber with a tour of their Tech Ed programs to celebrate Career and Technical Education month in February.

7. Oak Park Place held their grand opening in December for their new location in Menasha.

8. Chamber President/CEO Shannon Full received the 2016 Young Professional Award from the Wisconsin Economic Development Association presented by Governor Scott Walker.

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9. Dr. Anthony Chan, Chief Economist with JPMorgan Chase, and one of the most interviewed people on CNBC, was the keynote speaker during this year’s Economic Outlook Breakfast.

10. During their Human Services Day, the Leadership Fox Cities class participated in a mental illness activity at Friendship Place located in Neenah.

11. Student Alex Mootz from Neenah High School spoke at the Chamber’s Report to the Community about Your Future Fox Cities.

12. Appleton East DECA students attended the annual NEWCC Legislative Dialogue Breakfast with guest speakers State Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke and Congressman Glenn Grothman.

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Save The Date

Fox Cities Chamber

GOLF OUTING

Golf Outing #1 June 27, 2016 Butte des Morts Country Club Golf Outing #2 July 25, 2016 High Cliff Golf Course Registration & Sponsorships available. Email Caitlyn at: cquast@foxcitieschamber.com

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YOURVOICE Advocating for pro-business policy in the Fox Cities

Policy Offers Professional Development Opportunities

For You – And Your Employees By: Mark Rahmlow

When I approached a primary employer recently for a meeting, I expected the meeting to focus on potential areas of concern ranging from changes in tax policy to pending Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic trade agreements.

Instead, I was surprised that the manager sitting across the table wanted to know how to connect their employees with professional development opportunities through the Public Policy arm of the Fox Cities Chamber.

That specific question had never been posed to me, but it was one I was more than happy to answer. At the same time, it’s important to answer two other questions directly connected to professional development. First, why is it important for businesses to engage in public policy? Second, why is it important for businesses to engage their employees in public policy?

Let me offer some possible responses to those questions prior to sharing specific ways members can get more involved in the Public Policy program of the Fox Cities Chamber. While some businesses and individuals may not want to engage on the public policy front for a variety of reasons, the simple truth is that the actions of the government– for better or worse – affect everyone. Legislation coming out of Washington D.C., Madison, WI and municipal government impacts Chamber members across the board.

Tax policy, for example, affects whether a business wants to form as an S-Corp, C-Corp or LLC. Education policies impact everything from curriculum to school safety measures. Economic development policies impact a community’s ability to attract or retain businesses. Public policy impacts our highways, our telecommunications infrastructure, financial and insurance services, health care industry and a wide array of other industries.

On occasion a business owner will say, “I remember when that regulation (or policy) was passed. We told our lawmakers it would have unintended consequences.” As the Baby Boom leaders are getting ready to retire, they are transitioning their companies to the next generation. They are likely promoting from within their own ranks. As future managers and leaders, the next generation will hopefully be leading their respective businesses to bigger and brighter futures. The sooner current management provides these up-and-coming leaders with opportunities to engage on the public policy front, the better they will understand the rules and regulations they may need to follow.

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The Public Policy program of the Fox Cities Chamber offers three key ways business owners and young professionals can get involved and start making an impact.

Public Policy Council: This group consists of a wide variety of businesses in the Fox Cities and meets regularly at the Chamber building. In addition to networking, attendees will hear from top-notch speakers (ranging from lawmakers to leaders from other associations) and help shape the legislative agenda of the Fox Cities Chamber.

Task Forces: These are small groups that also meet and dig into policy matters by identifying issues that may be impacting small business, manufacturers, hospitals, financial institutions and other industries, and they recommend legislative solutions to the larger Public Policy Council. Each Task Force is led by a volunteer Chair, which offers a leadership development opportunity for the person in that role as they lead meetings, help set the agenda and report out to their peers at the council meetings.

Lawmaker Visits: Throughout the year, the Public Policy programs offer several opportunities for businesses and their employees to communicate directly with lawmakers (whether the Fox Cities has a legislative position on a particular issue or not). Business Day in Madison, the U.S. Chamber Summit and other Fox Cities Chamber forums offer a chance to meet local, state and federal lawmakers for an open discussion on the issues directly impacting the business community.

If you are interested in learning more about these programs, or if I can be a resource to any of our members, I am happy to make myself available to you.

Please feel free to contact me anytime at mrahmlow@foxcitieschamber.com or 920-734-7101 x103.

Mark Rahmlow is currently the Vice President of Public Policy for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce.

Getting Serious About Recruiting

GOOD People

Contributed by Jon Goodman President Security-Luebke Roofing, Inc.

Goodman talks to state lawmakers about workforce issues in the Fox Valley The dreams of young children are not often populated with the heroic exploits of plumbers or painters. You will not find Ralph or Rhonda the Roofer action figures stocking toy store shelves. Certainly, early in life most children have been asked many times, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Roofer, plumber, painter and other trades typically get no airplay. My son’s answer to this question years ago was a Ninja Turtle. His backup plan was simply “to work on the 99th floor and have a clipboard”.

He was spot on. For my partners and me we took that challenge to find quality employees and turned it into our charge for 2015 and beyond. We would pursue talent and trainees with the same vigor as we do sales.

Perhaps the trades will never achieve Buzz Lightyear status, but I posit that the trades represent people with the unique combination of sharp minds, skilled hands and strong bodies. They are those who build, maintain and repair just about every significant element of infrastructure in the land. With such great demand, it is no wonder these highly talented people are in short supply.

Hence, the single greatest need cited by most trade contractors is good people.

We speak to career classes about the great jobs and careers available through the trades and we participate in high school career days.

Riccardo González, founder and CEO of Bilingual America, spoke to a small group of about 200 roofers in an early morning seminar at the International Roofing Exposition in New Orleans last February 2015, on breaking through this veil of ignorance and snobbery about careers in the trades. He posed several questions to us.

First, we made sure that we were pursuing the best employees in our trade so we immediately carved out a budget as a percent of revenue. We may not be able to offer flex hours, personalized work cubicles or baristas in the atrium, but we commit to offer the best in-hire rates, insurance benefits and retirement plans.

We are now providing material support and skilled trainers to local high school construction programs. We take our message to sites and places where our prospective employees go.

Some may question the affordability of this commitment to seeking good people. This is the same question always asked of any recruitment budget. If it works, it pays for itself. It works. Our proof is in our productivity, our revenue and our profit margin. Choosing to invest in good people is the best decision we’ve ever made. www.securityluebkeroofing.com

After a couple of easy questions, the final one stumped us. González asked how many of us knew the size of our employee recruitment budget. He knew the answer: we had none. So he pounced on us. Allow me to paraphrase his rapid-fire response.

You say you need good people. You say you turn away work without them. You continue to spend money on advertising. Yet, you neither allocate nor spend to recruit, train or retain the very people you say are most important and scarce. Something is wrong. Perhaps it is the size of the hole in your head!

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MEMBERSpotlight

ERC specializes in short-term mental health services and organizational/leadership consulting. Our solution-based model, known as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), enables companies to provide a benefit that truly makes a difference. At ERC our face-to-face counseling with our Master Level Clinicians achieves true issue resolution (85%+ in our 8-session model). ERC customers are local organizations and our clients are the employees and family members of those organizations.

In addition to counseling, ERC provides critical incident response for when tragic events happen in the workplace. ERC is the one you call when the worst in life happens; the “what if?” scenarios which can devastate a work environment. Our trained clinicians are able to work with your organization to process a tragic event and create a plan to restore order to your environment and your workforce. We also offer Personal Growth Programming to bring Mental Health awareness, promotion and training into your workplace.

ERC is locally owned and based in Northeast Wisconsin with locations in Appleton, Green Bay, Stevens Point and Marshfield.

ERCincorp.com

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Fleet Feet Sports is more than just a running store; we’re a starting point. In our six years in business we have created a community of walkers, runners and injury-free employees that understand our desire to educate, empower and motivate our community towards better health. Through in-store individual fits and guidance on proper tools, wellness and info sessions in your workplace, or our coached training programs and support of community organizations, you always receive a customized and exceptional experience when Fleet Feet Sports is involved.

When you think about it, the foot is complicated. It has 28 bones, 33 joints, 112 ligaments, and tendons, nerves and blood vessels working in unison to support, balance and propel your body. When that foundation is not properly aligned, bad things happen. And we know how much you demand from your feet. Our team is trained in biomechanics, common overuse injuries—whether from running, walking, or the long hours in steeltoe boots—and we work closely with our medical community to understand the patient needs coming into their offices. No two feet are exactly the same. No two bodies need the same fitness tools.

We get it.

We also have the ability to be mobile. Whether you need an introduction to our favorite workplace injury reduction tool, want an on-site pop-up store for employees, clients or customers to have easy, convenient access to ideal products/programs, or you’re looking for motivation and incentives for your new walking group/corporate training team at work, call us! We want to support your individual and company fitness goals. fleetfeetfoxvalley.com

Keller Williams Fox Cities is a real estate company focused on providing agents with the best training, technology and resources so that agents may provide the highest level of service to their clients. We consider ourselves more than “just a real estate company,” by offering training and consulting, franchise systems, products, and services that lead to productivity and profitability. We work with residential, new construction, investment and commercial real estate.

Rated as the number one training company across all industries by Training magazine, we make it our focus to educate our real estate agents. In everything that we do we implement our belief system, referred to as the WI4C2TS: WinWin: or no deal; Integrity: do the right thing; Customers: always come first; Commitment: in all things; Communication: seek first to understand; Creativity: ideas before results; Teamwork: together everyone achieves more; Trust: starts with honesty; Success: results through people.

Looking to build your wealth through investments? Buying your first home? Buying your vacation home? Moving up, downsizing or building? Our real estate agents are here to give you the best experience.

We currently have a 65+ agent real estate office in Appleton and in January 2016 opened an office in Oshkosh. Our long-term goal is to have business centers across Northeast Wisconsin. We opened our Keller Williams University in Appleton this past year and hold live training for those thinking about getting into real estate or to those that have been in real estate for 20+ years. We are here to create lives worth living, businesses worth owning and careers worth having. foxcitieskellerwilliams.com

McMAHON has provided fullservice professional engineering and architectural services to our customers for over 100 years.

Our in-house disciplines include Architecture; BIM; Municipal Engineering; Environmental/ Ecological; Stormwater; Transportation; GIS Development; Parks & Recreation; Land Surveying & Site Development; Wastewater, Waste-to Energy and Water Systems; HVAC/Plumbing; Electrical/Controls; Structural; Industrial Engineering; Funding Strategies, Solutions & Grant Assistance; Construction Services; Design/Build; Operations Services and Public/Private Partnerships.

We believe clients deserve “valueadded” service. This deep-rooted philosophy, combined with our diverse spectrum of capabilities, contributes to a strong history.

We describe this philosophy as “The McMAHON Way”. The McMAHON Way is a serviceoriented philosophy, with the goal of building long-term client relationships by combining strong core values with a culture for success.

We are happy to announce the 2016 expansion of our corporate headquarters. We have also expanded our service offerings. We have added an affiliate company, IPR, to offer clients public/private partnership opportunities to help build their projects. We have added a mechanical HVAC sector to offer a full mechanical, electrical and plumbing design services package.

We have teamed up with Theta UAV to utilize their state-of-the-art data acquisition capabilities to provide data integration services utilizing BIM and GIS software programs. All of these to better serve our clients. mcmgrp.com

Sadoff Iron & Metal Company has been buying and recycling scrap metals in the Fox Valley since 1947. With six Wisconsin locations, Sadoff Iron & Metal Company purchases scrap metals from local manufacturers and industry, commercial businesses, scrap dealers and local residents.

Sadoff is also a registered collector of electronics, providing economic value for scrap and used electronics and ensuring that they are handled and recycled appropriately, preventing them from ending up in our landfills or being dumped overseas. Sadoff Iron & Metal Company can assess individual needs for the recycling of scrap metals and electronics and develop comprehensive custom environmental-friendly programs that create value from the materials we buy.

Sadoff Iron & Metal is quite unique in that they have a number of different customer sectors that are basically split into two categories: suppliers and consumers.

Suppliers include: manufacturing companies, commercial businesses, other scrap dealers, peddlers and auto dismantlers and the general public.

Consumers include: foundries, smelters, steel mills, as well as other scrap companies.

Sadoff Iron & Metal is a 3rd generation family owned and operated local business that supports the communities they operate in through donation and volunteering. They have over 220 hard-working associates and strive to be the preferred choice in recycling. More information can be found by visiting their website.

Customers can also register to receive monthly valuable recycling incentives by registering at: winwithsadoff.com

Touchmark offers maintenance-free retirement living in a caring and enriching community. Our staff and programs are dedicated to helping residents find personal wellness and happiness, plus provide any additional care they may need.

Our comfortable homes come with the support, amenities and social benefits of a community.

From independent single-level homes and apartments to assisted living, memory care and CBRF-level assisted living, Touchmark offers a wide range of lifestyle options and a continuum of care. Those looking to leave the worries of home maintenance behind and experience support and social activities find joy living here.

Touchmark is now a certified provider of the Music and Memory program. In conjunction with our Best Friends™ approach to memory care, this program helps produce positive emotional and cognitive responses from residents living with dementia through their favorite songs. Research shows that music can reach people in late stages of dementia.

Touchmark focuses on the needs and desires of each individual to provide a personalized experience.

Our award-winning Full Life Wellness & Life Enrichment Program™ offers a wide assortment of activities and events to bring each resident’s vision for wholeperson wellness to life. touchmarkappleton.com

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MEMBERSpotlight

Continued

Windward Wealth Strategies is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) that provides multigenerational family office financial and investment services to high net worth families, individuals, foundations and endowments. We are located in Oshkosh and serve clients throughout the Midwest and the country. Our focus is on reviewing all aspects of our clients’ financial lives.

With a focus on understanding and addressing all aspects of our clients’ financial lives, we serve as a trusted advisor. We strive to be in the first position to work with our clients and their other advisors to address their legal, accounting, insurance and any other financial issues.

From an investment perspective, we are able to offer clients traditional investments but also offer investments that are not available in the public markets (where appropriate) based on each client’s qualifications and risk tolerance.

We are committing significant resources to enhancing our technology to reflect the desires of our clients. Our value to our clients is our collective knowledge base, but clients are also looking for cutting edge technology from our website, including: addressing cyber security, video conferencing and concierge services to make their lives easier. We are also partnering with other firms outside the Fox Valley to serve clients in metro areas to take advantage of our collective resources.

(We spun off from Reinhart Partners, Inc. (RPI) in Mequon, WI on April 1, 2015 and continue to provide the same high level of services we did at the time we were part of RPI.) windwardwealthstrategies.com Our vision at World of Beer is to create a welcoming place where friends can gather to discover craft beer, enjoy our delicious tavern fare and swap stories while taking in a game or enjoying live music. Affectionately known as WOB by our customers, stepping into WOB is a change for customers to step out of their everyday life and into our world--a neighborhood tavern filled with over 500 of the finest craft beers from all over the globe.

Complementing our amazing beer selection is our delicious “tavern fare” menu, craft spirits and live entertainment all served up by a passionate, insanely knowledgeable staff. Customers have the opportunity to earn “loyalty points” and are rewarded with merchandise, discounts and other incentives to encourage their beer-tasting bravado.

WOB is planning several beer-centric events in 2016. Plan your next party or Happy Hour at WOB! For more info about what’s happening at WOB, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. WOB is conveniently located at 149 N. Mall Drive just south of the Fox River Mall and open for lunch daily at 11:00 AM. Please call or visit www.worldofbeer.com to learn about our daily Happy Hour and weekly live music lineup. worldofbeer.com

June 1, 2016 Radisson Paper Valley Hotel 333 W. College Ave. Appleton 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM Business Connection to follow.

5:00 - 7:00 PM

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DIAMOND MEMBER

Honor Roll January - March

Diamond Members are companies that have supported the Chamber and community for more than 40 years.

We’d like to express our gratitude to the following Diamond Member businesses for their membership and support to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce.

Company Member since Amusement Devices, Inc 3/1/1948 Appleton Area School District 2/1/1961 AT&T 3/1/1929 Bassett Mechanical 2/1/1947 Bemis/Curwood 2/1/1969 BMO Harris Bank 1/1/1963 BMO Harris Support Services Corporation 3/1/1967 Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group, Inc. 3/1/1960 Crane Engineering Sales, Inc. 3/1/1956 Fox Cities Insurance Agency, Inc. 2/1/1972 Funset Boulevard 1/1/1970 Harris & Associates, Inc. 3/1/1970 Hollywood Cinema 1/1/1970 Mechanical Contractors Association of North Central WI 3/1/1969 Memorial Florists & Greenhouses, Inc. 3/1/1971 Miron Construction Co., Inc. 3/1/1956 OMNNI Associates 3/1/1969 Pierce Manufacturing, Inc. 3/1/1948 Radiology Associates of Appleton, S.C. 3/1/1973 Schroeder Moving Systems, Inc. 3/1/1966 The Boldt Group, Inc. 3/1/1956 The News-Record 3/1/1929 The Post-Crescent 3/1/1929 Thiel Insurance Group, LLC 3/1/1973 Time Warner Cable 1/1/1973 Water-Right, Inc. 3/1/1956 Woodward Radio Group 1/1/1940

Welcome NEW MEMBERS

The Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce relies on its members to continue its work in promoting business interests in the Fox Cities region. Without these committed members, the Chamber would not be able to provide the high quality services it is known for.

ASP, Inc. 2511 E. Capitol Drive Appleton, WI 54956-9425 54911-8736 www.asp-usa.com WELDING SUPPLIES/EQUIPMENT Care Patrol of the Fox Cities 1835 E. Edgewood Drive, Suite 10520 Appleton, WI 54913-9407 (920) 968-7504 www.carepatrol.com SENIOR SERVICES CertaPro Painters of East Central Wisconsin 691 S Green Bay Rd #149 Neenah, WI 54956 (920) 892-2438 www.ecwi.certapro.com PAINT CONTRACTORS Children’s Dental Health Center, SC W3132 Van Roy Road Appleton, WI 54915-3982 (920) 731-5562 www.childrensdentalhealthcenter.com DENTISTS ERC, Inc. 2565 E. Calumet Street, Suite 6 Appleton, WI 54915-4748 54911-4602 (800) 222-8590 www.ercincorp.com BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT First Bank Financial Centre 3601 Commerce Ct Ste 1 Appleton, WI 54911-8441 www.fbfcwi.com BANKS Girls on the Run of Northeast Wisconsin 2616 S. Oneida Street Appleton, WI 54915-2101 (920) 968-7504 www.girlsontherunnew.org NON-PROFIT AGENCY JG Home Improvements 1720 N. Silverspring Drive Appleton, WI 54913-5409 (920) 428-4200 www.jghomeimprovements.com BUILDING CONTRACTORS Joe Porter Agency American Family Insurance 2423 N. Richmond Street Appleton, WI 54911-1951 (920) 830-4080 www.joeporteragency.com INSURANCE

Lakeland Care District N6654 Rolling Meadows Drive Fond du Lac, WI 54956-9425 54937-9471 www.lakelandcaredistrict.org HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATION Marine Credit Union 854 Fox Point Plaza Neenah, WI 54956-3781 (920) - 486- 4658 www.marinecu.com FINANCIAL SERVICES Reid Golf Course 1100 East Fremont Street Appleton, WI 54915-2340 920-832-5926 www.reidgolfcourse.org GOLF COURSE - PUBLIC ServiceMaster Restoration Services 220 E. Fernau Avenue Oshkosh, WI 54901-1240 (920) 233-6699 www.smrestores.com CONSTRUCTION SYNERGY HomeCare 717 Eisenhower Drive, Suite B Kimberly, WI 54136-2155 (844) 942-8100 www.synergyhomecare.com SENIOR SERVICES The Bridges of Appleton 2915 N. Meade Street Appleton, WI 54911-1509 (920) 993-6800 www.thebridgesofappleton.com NURSING HOMES Think Hallmark Real Estate 2324 W. Spencer Street Appleton, WI 54914-4633 (920) 702-0123 www.thinkhallmark.com REAL ESTATE - RESIDENTIAL Tundraland Home Improvement 2277 W. 41 Frontage Road Kaukauna, WI 54130 www. /tundraland.com/contact-us CONSTRUCTION SERVICES Wordsmithing by Foster LLC W2499 Valleywood Lane Appleton, WI 54915-8719 (920) 540-3551 www.wordsmithingbyfoster.com MARKETING Winncrest Banquet Hall (Headliners Bar & Grill) 2788 Towne Court Neenah, WI 54956-9425 920-832-5926 www.headlinersbar.com BAR/BANQUET FACILITIES Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

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Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

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3001 East Venture Drive Appleton, WI 54911 Phone 920-733-4483 Fax 920-733-1700 www.jpinc.com

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Fox Cities Business Spring 2016

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Working Thoughts What are your ideas for achieving a work/life balance?

With technology allowing us to work from anywhere, Americans are finding it more challenging to keep their personal life separate from work. Many of us tend to work nights, weekends and even while on vacation. So how can we achieve a balance?

Our readers weigh-in.

“Prioritize. For example, if you want to make it to every single sports game that your kids play in, put that on your schedule before work meetings or trips can take their place.”

-Laura Thompson “My family has set boundaries. No jobs scheduled for Sundays, no answering customer calls after 7pm.

It has allowed my family to know for sure when I am available and when I am working.”

-Kent Zaretzke “Time blocking is a very effective tool for planning your day, week or month. Put the most important activities or meetings on your calendar first, then fill in the next most important events, etc. This includes family activities and events too. That way you can prioritize family first when possible.”

-Ann Thielman “Take time to UNPLUG!” -Thomas Duffy “I try and focus on being completely present in the moment, whether at work or outside the office, with a client or with my family. A simple habit I’ve formed when meeting with a client in a conference room is to leave my cell phone in my office.

Likewise, when I get home at dinnertime I silence my phone and throw it in a dish with my keys and wallet until after we get the kids in bed. This way, no phone call, text message or email can take away from my time with my clients and family.”

-Preston Kendall “Be patient with yourself. I try to end each day with all emails read, a list of top three tasks for the next day and sending off a thank-you to someone.”

-Heidi Schmidt

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fox Cities Chamber Business C/o Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. 125 N. Superior Street Appleton, WI 54911

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