Success by Gannett Wisconsin Media

October 2012

Success a measure of

A salute to people who make a difference in the Dodge and Fond du Lac areaâ&#x20AC;Ś and beyond!

Inspiring your potential.

Start your Marian education and learn from professors who mentor, advise and challenge you to achieve your goals and realize your ambitions. Success starts with an education here in your local community. Traditional degree programs Arts and Sciences � Business and Public Safety � Education � Nursing and Health Professions

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General Manager/ Executive Editor Richard Roesgen Features Editor Katie Larson Contributing Writers Katie Larson, Michael Rogers, Dorothy Bliskey, Monica Walk, Taima Kern Photographers Aileen Andrews, Patrick Flood Graphic Artist Kristy Gnadt Advertising Director Lisa O’Halloran Advertising Sales Manager Jen Memmel Circulation Director Greg Fyvie

are a reflection of the people within

There is no doubt that the Fond du Lac and Dodge County communities have greatly benefited from the driven and generous people who live and work within it. It is because of these individuals that positive change and inspiration can take place and mold a promising future. The reason for The Reporter’s Success publication is to celebrate the many individuals who, through their own determination and will, have achieved much, not only for themselves but also for their community and its residents. Throughout the year, we have received nominations for those whose accomplishments should be honored and applauded and published so others may find inspiration. After seven years, Success has become a muchanticipated publication and a positive beacon of light in a strong and tight-knit community. Barb Sullivan, Tony Sabel and Paul Osterholm are fine examples of people who have the zeal and heart to achieve great things while helping others along the way. While many of the nominees are humble about their success, their work has not gone unnoticed and will resonate in the community long after the stories have been published.

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Success is also seen as a testament to how our area communities pull together to show support. A good support system, whether from a small group of friends and family or from an entire city, can move mountains, and in turn allow individuals, like Tony Sabel, to reach lofty goals. Tony’s story illustrates that sometimes the smallest of victories lead to greater triumphs. This publication also points out that success is often linked to one’s own mindset and outlook on life. Paul Osterholm lives out each day with the foundation of “gratitude and attitude” which has helped him build many relationships and new ideas. Many times we overlook the fact that relationships act as bridges to success as Barb Sullivan demonstrated with the many people she has cared for over the years as a nurse and assisted living director. Barb, along with those she has cared for will treasure their time spent together and the things accomplished as a result. While success comes in many shapes and forms, at different times in our lives and for different reasons, one thing remains true: without the successes of people like those in this publication, our communities would not be so fortunate a place to live, work and play.

The main photo on the cover highlights Jeff Kahlow, of Fond du Lac, who owns and operates Big Guy Hats. Kahlow’s hat creations have made their way to thousands of clients including well known NFL announcers and players, as well as celebrities like Harrison Ford and KISS. Also featured on the cover, top to bottom, are Derek Toshner, owner of TNT Fitness Results; Joan Andrew, stylist for 60 years; Karen Kelley, owner of Kelley Country Creamery in Eden; Matt Immel, Fond du Lac County Fair Manager and Treasurer; and Barb Sullivan, a nurse for over 50 years and founder of Tower View Villa Assisted Living.

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on the cover... P.O. Box 1955, Fond du Lac, WI 54936-1955 Phone: 920.922.4600 | 1.800.261.7323 FAX: 920.922.8640

Success | 2012

Success staff

great communities

Success | 2012

table of

contents

Karen Kelley pages 36-39 Community and beyond can’t get enough of Karen Kelley’s ice cream

Nicole Solis.................................. pages 30-31 Barbara Sullivan.......................... pages 5-8 50-year nursing career continues on for this retiree

Lisa Freiberg................................ pages 17-19 FDL County votes, thanks to work of County Clerk Lisa Freiberg

Tony Sabel................................... pages 20-21 Paralyzing injury doesn’t stop Tony from accomplishing, reaching his goals

Toshner helps community reach goals through unique fitness facility

Joan Andrew................................ pages 40-42 Local hair stylist still working after 60 years in the business

Chad Pierce................................. pages 43-45

Paul Osterholm Sr........................ pages 22-24

Greg Giles ................................... pages 46-47

Jeff Kahlow.................................. pages 26-29

Mary Narges................................ pages 48-50

Local happy hatter makes friends and photo-ops with creations

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Derek Toshner ............................ pages 32-35

Fondy grad blows away batters for T-Rats

Paul finds his niche in lending a hand

Nicole takes the stage to bring back unique music scene

Trent Baalke pages 14-16

Giles strengthens community and those in it

Mary Narges celebrates 25 years helping others through Free SPIRIT Riders

Matt Immel pages 10-12

Fond du Lac County Fair a passion of Matt’s since childhood

Rosendale native running NFL franchise

Success is published by The Reporter, Fond du Lac. Contents of this section are published for The Reporter. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of The Reporter. For more information, contact Katie Larson, Features Editor, at 920-907-7849 or e-mail klarson@gannett.com.

Name: Barbara Sullivan Age: 68

once a nurse, always a nurse 50-year nursing career continues on for this retiree

Occupation: Registered Nurse and Owner of Tower View Villa Assisted Living in Rosendale Home community: Rosendale Number of years in the community: 40

To what do you owe your measure of success? “To God because he’s always there for me, guiding me.”

Dorothy Bliskey

Special to The Reporter Barb Sullivan, a 68-year-old registered nurse who officially retired this past summer from Agnesian HealthCare, has been involved in nursing for 50 years. In 1962 at age 18, she enrolled at the St. Agnes School of Nursing in Fond du Lac. As she began her studies, Barb also began working as a nurse’s aide at St. Agnes Hospital. Barb’s career in the nursing field with Agnesian HealthCare has spanned five decades. And she isn’t done yet. She continues to operate Tower View Villa – an assisted living facility she built in Rosendale 10 years ago. She also continues to conduct Bible study sessions with prisoners in Waupun, accompanied by her husband.

She has done all of this while raising six sons on a Rosendale area farm. Sandwiched in-between she found time to be a Cub Scout leader, haul pigs to market, feed the calves, help run 4-H bake sales and more. “I don’t know how I did it all back then,” says Barb, noting her sons are now in their 30s and 40s. Remarried after the death of her first husband, Tim Sullivan, Barb has a combined family with her second husband, Ray Keck, who also had six children. In total, they have 28 grandchildren and five great grandchildren. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 >>>

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What is your reaction to being nominated for Success? “I was very happy, and thank whoever nominated me. It’s a wonderful way to end my career.”

Success | 2012

Founder of Tower View Villa Assisted Living in Rosendale, Barb Sullivan, chats with a resident after breakfast in the common room. Patrick Flood/ The Reporter.

Success | 2012

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 With a love for life and a passion for nursing, Barb is the ultimate caregiver. Her first brush with taking care of people occurred when, as a child, growing up in Sheboygan Falls, she helped care for her bedridden grandmother who lived upstairs. “I remember sitting on the couch and talking to my grandma,” Barb said. “All of us kids had to take turns taking food up to her and bringing her tray and commode downstairs. It was just something we did as a family. It was expected. You learned that you took care of your loved ones.” Barb’s mother, who had always wanted to be a nurse, was a nurse’s aide for newborns at the nearby hospital. “That really left an impression on me,” Barb said. Barb’s first role as a nurse after finishing the three-year RN program at St. Agnes School of Nursing was in the medical surgical area of St. Agnes Hospital – followed by orthopedics, pediatrics, obstetrics, the mobile unit, Hospice and parish nursing. “I worked just about every floor of the hospital throughout those years,” Barb said. In the mobile unit, I’d find out where I’d be working after arriving at work. That was the bridge to me getting into hospice work the last 20 years of my career with Agnesian. “The hospice program was fairly new back then and they needed a lot of help,” Barb said. “Sister Michaeleen Frahm was my hospice mentor. She was so wonderful, and she had developed hospice programs in other communities before arriving here. We developed a long and close relationship.” “Barb was a very compassionate person and went the extra mile for our hospice patients,” said Sister Michaeleen, a registered nurse who worked with Barb in hospice starting in 1990. “The patients were well cared for when Barb was there.”

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The most gratifying role during her career with Agnesian HealthCare was that of a hospice nurse, Barb says. “You really got to know the patient and their family – how they interacted and how they lived.”

“Hospice helped me understand death better,” Barb said. “Hospice was a very spiritual experience for me. The patients really taught me how to live while they were dying.” Prior to getting into hospice work, Barb says she worked every shift at the hospital -- first, second and third. She also claims to be the first to work a newly created shift back in the 1970s or ‘80s known as the 24-40 weekend shift.

“I was the very first employee to start in it. We got paid for 40 hours but worked 24 hours on the weekend to earn CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 >>>

Rosendale assisted living facility celebrates 10 years Dorothy Bliskey

Special to The Reporter When Barb Sullivan, a longtime registered nurse, decided to build an assisted living home in Rosendale 10 years ago, it was with the idea her own parents would have a place to go when they could no longer live on their own. She also knew others in the area could use such a facility. Just prior to opening her dream home for the care of the elderly, her mother died. However, Barb’s father became one of the first residents to move in after Barb officially opened Tower View Villa in July of 2002. As Barb retires from a career at Agnesian HealthCare that started 50 years ago, she’s not quite ready to hang up the nursing hat. While celebrating a fulfilling career as a nurse, she is also excited about 10 successful years of operating her assisted living facility. Since it opened, Tower View Villa has operated at capacity. “It’s brought the community of

Rosendale and the residents who live at Tower View Villa together,” Barb says. “At times our assisted living home looks almost like a community center. We get so much help from community members – and they really seem to enjoy coming here to connect with our residents. From senior citizens coming to play cards to school kids coming to practice forensics or to sing to residents, it’s always bustling here.” With room for up to 16 residents, Tower View Villa has two registered nurses, a licensed practical nurse, manager, assistant manager, and 16 others who are either certified nursing assistants or caregivers. Five are students in the nursing field – with one on her way to becoming a physician’s assistant. An activity director, PR manager and more round out the staff. “Our cook is amazing,” says Barb. And so is the food, according to one resident, Fern Wittchow, 94. “I love all the meals so very much.

Success | 2012

Founder of Tower View Villa Assisted Living in Rosendale, Barb Sullivan, helps Kay Abel with her breakfast so Kay can be finished to listen to the live entertainment that is playing in the common room. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

Everything is homemade and so tasty,” Fern said. In fact, the cook, Sue Dahlke, grows a garden on the premises. Produce is harvested and brought into the kitchen where it’s prepared as part of the meals. “Our residents have had a lot of fresh tomatoes and muskmelon this summer,” Sue said, noting she starts vegetable seeds at her home in March for the garden. Her husband Dennis helps her plant the heftysize garden on the grounds of Tower View Villa which backs up to a farmer’s cornfield. “Sue makes a lot of healthy foods like muffins with almonds, raisins and carrots,” Barb said. “Our residents have the advantage of eating vegetables picked the very same day from our garden.” Barb makes sure the community has many chances to interact with Tower View Villa staff and residents. Senior citizens from the area play cards at the Villa monthly, and community members come for a coffee clutch every Wednesday. “The local Lions Club is great at helping out,” Barb said. “They recently donated hand-held Kindles to the residents so they can read easier. Laconia High School students will be coming to teach the residents how to use them.”

Volunteers help in many ways. For example, two college students are working with a young man who has autism. “They bring him here to clear tables and interact with the residents,” Barb said. “It’s really helping him to become more outgoing.”

Rosendale residents appreciate that the assisted living home is in their back yard. “My wife’s parents were the first residents to live at Tower View Villa,” says Bob Quast. “They both just loved it there. In fact, my father-in-law had spent time at another home first and liked it OK, but when he moved into Tower View, it just wowed him.” Bob’s wife Rennae agrees her parents’ care was topnotch. “They both enjoyed the warm and friendly familylike feel to living here,” Rennae said. “Barb and her staff have just been wonderful.” “The Villa is a great place for older residents to live and still be close to their families,” said frequent visitor and Rosendale native Enie Halfman. “When I visit I develop a connection to those who I might not otherwise have seen much when they were living in their own homes – people who I knew through the years but who I’m getting to know even better now.” As Barb continues in her role of nurse and caregiver, she says she is grateful to those who have helped make Tower View Villa a reality. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of my siblings, my kids, my husband, the community and so many others,” Barb said. “I’ve been blessed.” ❍

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Other activities taking place for the residents and visitors are toe-nail cutting, flu shots, and guitar sing-alongs by an area pastor, to name a few.

A contract Barb has with hospice allows residents to use that service if and when they need it. “We also send residents to any program that will benefit them and help improve their quality of life,” Barb said. She cites one program called Big and Loud. “It helps those who have Parkinson’s disease or other neurological disorders.”

Success | 2012 Founder of Tower View Villa Assisted Living in Rosendale, Barb Sullivan, chats with a resident in one of their rooms at the facility. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 it,” Barb said, noting it consisted of working two 12-hour shifts every Saturday and Sunday. “It was through the mobile unit, and you had to work that shift with a partner. One weekend you worked days and the next weekend you’d work nights.” Working the weekend 24-40 shift in the 1970-80s allowed Barb to add some midweek “moonlighting” jobs to her work agenda – not only at St. Agnes Hospital but also at other medical facilities nearby. She took side jobs at Oshkosh and Ripon hospitals as well as Upjohn Home Care, to name a few.

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During the past 13 years with Agnesian HealthCare she was a parish nurse as well – a role that took

her to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Waupun. Her retirement this summer brought that chapter of her nursing career to an end. “I phased out of Agnesian gradually over the past three years,” Barb explained, noting she had retired from the hospice portion of her job in 2009. “I’ve met so many wonderful people throughout my career as a nurse,” Barb said. “And I continue to do so in my role as a nurse at Tower View Villa.”

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Success | 2012

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Success | 2012

Matt Immel, of Rural Mutual Insurance, is also the manager and treasurer of the Fond du Lac County Fair. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

Taima Kern The Reporter

Matt Immel, executive manager and treasurer of the board for the Fond du Lac County Fair, is a man with a lot of faith in his community, as well as a drive to see it grow. For being only in his early thirties, Matt has already achieved a great deal through his work with the fair, and he is far from done. To have faith in your community is to trust that those around you are working just as hard as you are for the betterment of the world that we all share. It is planning for tomorrow, helping those around us, and keeping track of our history. The fair is one place, where, for one week each year, people from the community and surrounding areas come together in great numbers.

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The grand local event has put a dozen responsibilities on Matt’s plate. You name it, he’s responsible for it: contracting vendors, entertainment, tent rental, food and beverage, sponsorship, public relations, advertising, and the list goes on. He’s the go-to guy for all things fair related.

love affair with the fair

Fond du Lac County Fair a passion of Matt’s since childhood

“When I was 23, a position opened on the board of directors, and I jumped at the chance,” remembers Matt. He sat on the board for several years. “I’ve always been good at working with finances so when the position of treasurer opened, I tried for it,” says Matt, and he got the job. He was a manager for three years when his present position was created after the consolidation of the other managers. This position was also once held by his grandfather, George Stanchfield. “It seemed fitting for me to apply,” remarks Matt. “My [day] job [financial specialist] is to help people plan for the future, five, ten years. At the fair, I want to make sure it continues into the future. I want to see us coming together as a county, creating camaraderie.”

Education and goals As a child, Matt always wanted to better his community. He wanted to be a teacher, and to help other people. In a round-about way, he has achieved this goal, though not through the methods he originally planned.

Spanish minor which has come in handy more than once. Matt has always been active in extracurricular activities as well: in high school he participated in 4-H, sports, student council and theater. In college he was student senate treasurer, in honors society, business club, and now he’s involved with the Young Professionals of Fond du Lac.

“I grew up at the fair, looked forward to showing animals and projects each year, had friends that I had met at the fair the year before,” recalls Matt. “It’s a great way to be able to see kids have some exposure. It’s not just about shows and food, it’s about youth and their chance to exhibit, get positive reinforcement and community involvement.” After finishing high school in Campbellsport, Matt went on to Marian College (now University) to acquire a degree in business administration with an emphasis on finance and a

Success | 2012

Matt Immel transports guests around at the fair to help ensure the event runs smoothly./Submitted Photo

“We are at a pivotal point in the fair industry, where we are trying to balance entertainment and education in a changing world.” In 2013 the Fond du Lac County Fair will celebrate its 162nd year. It is one of the oldest fairs in the state, sharing a birthday with the Wisconsin State Fair. For the long term, Matt wants to increase the exposure of youth organizations, not just 4-H and FFA, but the Boys & Girls Club. All kids can participate in the fair, not just those who are heavily involved in agriculture. He also wants to increase publicity and draw more businesses to set up at the fair. This county-wide event is one of the larger attractions in the area. The amount of traffic at the fair is unmatched by any other event. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 >>>

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Success | 2012

Name: Matt Immel Age: 33 Number of years in the community: whole life Hometown: Dotyville Community: Fond du Lac area Occupation: Financial Specialist at Immel Insurance, Executive Manager & Treasurer of the Board for the Fond du Lac County Fair Reaction to being selected as a Success story: “I’m honored and humbled, this wasn’t something expected. My duties are my everyday routine, and I try to do my best at my job and give back to the community.” Matt Immel from Rural Mutual insurance company. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 “No one realizes the business opportunities,” Matt remarks. “The fair is about more than just the main stage show and the entertainment part. For five to six days you are surrounded by happy, excited people who are more open to new ideas than usual.” It’s great for business, sales, and product recognition. The same can also be said for non-profits, which can set up networking, raise awareness, and gain recognition as an organization.

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Many hands make light work

Family The light of Matt’s life can be found in his twin five-year-old sons, Sawyer and Spencer. Matt is also very close with his sisters, parents and grandparents.

“Recognition is not something I look for or expect. You can’t recognize me without recognizing the support staff, and the seven-person board of directors, one of the smallest fair boards,” says Matt. “I’m still a work in progress, still taking classes, a fair executive certification course, and I’m always meeting with people from other fairs, some as far away as New York.” One thing that Matt does take credit for is the addition of the 5k run/walk to the fair. Matt likes to run, and this brings in a different crowd of people, athletes who might not attend the fair otherwise. Registration for the run/walk includes a ticket to the show at night,

To what do you attribute your success? “My education at Marian University. I had great professors and internships that prepared me for the business world. My parents and grandparents also had a huge role.”

so competitors have a reason to stick around all day and enjoy the fair. This is just one of the partnerships between the Fair and clubs and organizations throughout Fond du Lac and the surrounding area that Matt hopes to see crop up, and flourish in the years to come. “The fair’s been around for 162 years, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be here for another 162,” adds Matt. “Our community has a great potential for future generations, with where we are geographically located, but small enough to still have that feel of community,” finishes Matt. “People should take pride in what we have here.” ❍

Success | 2012

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Success | 2012

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Rosendale native running NFL franchise Michael Rogers The Reporter

San Francisco 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke (left) talks with Head Coach Jim Harbaugh (right) before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Candlestick Park. Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Following the 2010 National Football League season, the San Francisco 49ers top executives had to make a choice as it looked for a new general manager. The team, run by John York and his son Jed, could make the choice a lot of fans wanted and would seem normal to most by hiring from outside of the organization. Or it could make a less popular choice and remove the interim tag from General Manager Trent Baalke, a club employee since 2005. At the end of the day, the Yorks decided that Trent, a native of Rosendale, was the right man, and he has so far proven them correct in a season and a half on the job. “When I interviewed for the general manager situation it was for an organization I had been at for the past six years, and felt that we were close and that we didn’t need to make major changes,” Trent said. “Ownership just had to make a decision on which direction they wanted to go.

“I was very fortunate in that they chose to stay within the building rather than go outside the organization to find the next general manager,” says Trent. “I owe a lot to the York family for having that type of confidence in me at that time.” The irony is that in getting from Rosendale to one of the most important jobs in the most popular sport in America, is that it was usually Trent who had to make the tough decisions.

Winding road

Name: Trent Baalke Age: 48 Home community: Rosendale Occupation: General manager of the San Francisco 49ers To what do you owe your measure of success: “I think hard work and passion. I believe I’m a hard worker and certainly have a tremendous passion for the game of football and respect the game, and have been fortunate enough along the way to have mentors that impressed that upon me the work ethic, the passion and the integrity for the game.”

After an impressive football career at Laconia High School, Trent attended Bemidji State. After college he worked in construction then became an assistant coach at North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Then he was a high school athletic director before getting his foot in the NFL door as a regional scout with the New York Jets — a position that he took only after turning down a six-figure job in the financial sector.

In Rosendale ahead of the 49ers game against the Green Bay Packers in September, Trent emphasized the importance of those decisions. “You make your own breaks in life. Every decision you make ultimately has an impact on where you end up,” he said. “And you don’t do any of this alone. I’ve been so fortunate to have so many quality people in my life over the years. Friends, mentors, people who have taken genuine interest in helping me get to this level. And you don’t get there by yourself, and anyone who thinks they do is mistaken.”

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Turnaround season For all the tough choices Trent and his family have made, it was a fairly easy decision for Trent that helped turn the 49ers around after missing the playoffs for eight straight seasons. Then University of Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh was a hot CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 >>>

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And nobody has meant as much to his success as his wife Beth. She encouraged him in all of his career moves, even the NFL scouting job that came with a $70,000 pay cut. And even now, Beth and the Baalke’s daughters Katy and Cassie don’t live in San Francisco because the girls wanted to finish high school where they started.

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Success | 2012

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Success | 2012

to simply focus on the future and never look back. But that never been the case. Throughout his climb through the NFL ranks anytime he was in Wisconsin he found his way to Rosendale. “One of the things I really enjoyed about Trent was he really remembers his roots,” said Dick Propson, a former teacher and coach. He added that Trent speaking to the students at Laconia, “just shows the Rosendale community is important to him.” In talking to the students at Laconia in September, he had great things to say about the people he grew up around. And in talking after the presentation he smiled as he recollected memories of throwing snowballs at cars on Main Street, and playing basketball with his friends at a nearby farmer’s barn. San Francisco 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke speaks to the Rosendale/Brandon School District as he stops in at his hometown high school. Baalke is a 1982 Alumni of Laconia High School. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 commodity after his team’s 2010 season, and just three days after Trent was given his position, the 49ers named Harbaugh as its new head coach. “That was the decision of the general manager, whoever that was going to be,” Trent said of selecting the head coach. “Whoever stepped into that general manager role was going to be able to select the person to move forward with. And it was an easy decision from my standpoint. I can’t speak for Jim, but he obviously felt very good about the opportunity as well.” After the team went 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship game, Harbaugh was the run-away choice to be NFL coach of the year, while Trent was selected as executive of the year by Pro Football Weekly. But for all of the team’s

unexpected success under Trent and Harbaugh so far, the overtime NFC Championship loss to the Giants still sticks in Trent’s craw. “There’s the high of being in it and the low of losing it. It’ll eat at us for a long time,” Trent said. “Those are hard to get over, because they’re so hard to get to. We’re still not over it. I don’t know that day will ever be forgotten.

Trent said his father worked for UPS, and his mother was a bartender when he was a kid. Propson remembered Trent’s mom being a hard worker, and that was not lost on Trent. “I thought he’d be successful at whatever he did as long as found his niche,” Propson said. “Certain students have that passion. He had that type of personality that if he found his passion in life he’d be successful in whatever he did.”

From the beginning

Propson talked about Trent being good at whatever he put his mind to and that included playing football. He was an all-conference defensive back his junior and senior seasons, a second-team all-Flyway receiver his junior year, and after accounting for more than 2,000 yards his senior year, he was a first-team tailback.

Coming from humble beginnings in a small town in Wisconsin, it would be easy for Trent

But that was just a hint of the success that was to come. ❍

“It’s motivating to want to get back, but I think if we can win five of them, that one will still eat at us.”

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Success | 2012

Sam Tobias, left, director of planning and parks for Fond du Lac County, goes over notes on an upcoming project with Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter

serving the people

FDL County votes, thanks to work of County Clerk Lisa Freiberg Monica M. Walk

Special to The Reporter Lisa Freiberg has clear childhood memories of accompanying her parents when they would vote. She recalls standing in line, talking with neighbors, waiting their turn.

Since 2009, Lisa has been Fond du Lac County’s chief election official, which means she provides all materials and training for voting to run smoothly in 33 county municipalities. With information provided by the Govern-

Recall elections were top Wisconsin headlines this year and, like county clerks around the state, Lisa worked in the thick of the news events, aware of the scrutiny on her office. “All the elections made it a trying year,” she

said, noting that she dealt with more special elections in three years than her predecessor and former boss, Joyce Buechel, had in more than 30 years in office. “With everyone watching us so closely, trust has gone away and that concerns me. We do so much training, and so much time and effort goes into it. It’s all so transparent, I feel bad that people don’t trust us. I test everything before it goes out of our office, and the municipal clerks publically test…it’s posted in the newspaper and gives the public an opportunity to see how the equipment works...I make up sample ballots for the papers, so people can understand. There is transparency throughout the process.”

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Those memories burnish her voluntary classroom visits to area schools, where she enjoys explaining the election process and showing students how voting machines work through her own elected role as Fond du Lac County Clerk.

ment Accountability Board (GAB), Lisa creates and tests the ballots for each election in each municipality. And she is one of only five county clerks in the state with the computer skills to program election machines. She estimates her ability to program 63 reporting units on site rather than out-source it to a Minnesota company saved the county $20,000 during recent recall elections that had already strained the budget.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 >>>

Success | 2012

Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg stands in front of the American Flag. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Open Door Invitation Lisa stresses her open door policy and invites citizens to come in and ask questions about any of the services provided by the County Clerk’s office. “I make myself available to the public because they put me in this position and they deserve it,” she said. “Customers and the counter always come first.” Counter services includes a variety of licensing options focusing on animals and people. Department of Natural Resources fishing and hunting licenses of all types, as well as registration for ATVs, snowmobiles and boats, are available at the County Clerk’s first-floor counter. “People say we are the best-kept secret for special hunting licenses,” Lisa said.

Name: Lisa Freiberg Age: 46 Years in Community: 23-year resident of Town of Friendship in Van Dyne. Raised in Allenton. Occupation: Fond du Lac County Clerk, elected 2008 and serving since January 2009. Location: City County Building, 160 S. Macy St., first floor. www.fdlco.wi.gov Hours of Operation: 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

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Website recommendation: myvote.wi.gov for sample ballots, wards and polling place information.

Reaction to nomination to Success issue: “Shocked. Humbled. I’m just doing what I told people I would do four years ago. I hope I make a difference in people’s lives. I hope I get information to people that they need for elections.” To what do you owe your measure of success? “To my family—who share me with this job, sometimes more than they want—including my parents, who instilled working hard and the customer comes first. My parents ran three businesses out of their home—farm, trucking and feed mill—and worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Dog licenses and tags are supplied to county municipalities for local distribution to pet owners. The Fond du Lac County office then keeps records of tags sold in municipalities, which can play a key role in identifying hometown locations for stray dogs. And the Fond du Lac County Clerk’s counter is the only place for county residents to apply for a marriage license.

session last summer. “Our relationship with the County Board is another good thing,” said Lisa, who serves as board secretary in her clerk role. “We work closely with them. We collect agenda items and set up meetings. Minutes are typed and posted here. Their pay comes through our office. Everybody who runs for office on a county level fills out paperwork in our office.” Lisa has a deep understanding of the County Clerk’s role, having worked in a support position in the office for 10 years prior to her election to lead the unit. Former County Clerk Joyce Buechel focused Lisa on the office’s election work, which is serving Lisa well in her current position. That doesn’t mean there aren’t occasional glitches. A higher than anticipated turn-out for the April 2011 election led to a ballot shortage in Fond du Lac. “I heard it from the news, and then got a call from the Government Accountability Office,” Lisa said. “Fortunately the printer is local—and it won’t happen again.” Lisa said she does regularly call town and village municipal clerks to check on ballot numbers during the election process. “Most municipal clerks have fulltime jobs,” she said. “I will do whatever I can to make things easier for them. I want our elections to run smoothly.”

“We had well over 500 marriages licenses this year. That’s a high number,” Lisa said. She added that those applying for licenses need to be aware of the fiveday waiting period between license application and marriage date, and that the license must be completed in black ink. The County Clerk office also has supplied domestic partnership forms since 2009.

In line with her goal of easing others’ workloads, Lisa voluntarily chose to earn certification in chief inspector and municipal clerk training, so that election inspectors and municipal clerks would not have to drive to Madison or Little Chute for training.

The office of four employees compiles and prints a county directory of public officials, and all county contracts are kept in the office. Lisa also supervises the central mail and photocopy department.

“I’m proud of our voter turnout in Fond du Lac County,” she said. “It’s not just me, it’s the municipal clerks and election officials…it takes a lot to do these jobs and these people get little pay to do it. It’s a service for residents on Election Day.”

County History “My vault is full of history,” Lisa said. County records date back to 1835, and these beautifully hand-written documents enabled the current Fond du Lac County Board to reenact the board’s first 1839

“Our counts are great,” she said of ballot tallies. “Recounts come out.”

November Preparation In late September, Lisa already was programming voting machines for the No-

Success | 2012

BUILDING STRENGTH & ACHIEVING SUCCESS

Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg, left, works with Terri Moyle and Barb Wirkus, program assistants for the county, on ballots recently. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

vember election, some of which take a day and a half to program and another two days to test. Of the 63 reporting units in the county, 14 units serve the City of Fond du Lac and must be programmed to handle ballots from multiple wards. “It’s a presidential year. I truly believe we will have a huge turnout,” she said. “Presidential elections bring out the most interesting situations at the polls.” She urges people to seek information on candidates, using online search tools like Google. Although people often call her, Lisa is not allowed to provide information about candidates.

In conjunction with those long hours, she’ll continue to be an attentive parent, along with hus-

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“I want them to have good childhood memories,” she said, noting that her job became more demanding during her children’s prime teen years. “I’m the mom who took them to tournaments. That’s why I volunteer as needed at Winnebago Lutheran Academy.” Lisa serves on the East Fond du Lac County Thrivent Board and graduated from Leadership Fond du Lac in 2011. In her professional role, she was elected to the Wisconsin Counties Constitutional Officers Board in March 2012, and serves on ad hoc committees with the Government Accountability Board and on the Wisconsin Counties Association County Organization and Personnel Committee. Her first term ends in January 2013 and Lisa, herself, is on the Nov. 6 ballot she has been preparing. “I can optimistically say I’ll win in November,” she said. “No one else is running. I will continue as long as the voters want me to be in this position.” ❍

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Lisa will put in long evenings and weekends to complete the ballots for all 33 municipalities. She’ll ensure that clerks have their Election Day manuals and are updated with the most current law changes—including the latest status on voter I.D. laws— and have ballots and needed forms and envelopes. She’ll be on standby to call the Government Accountability Office to sort out unusual situations, if necessary.

band, Craig, to daughter Kodi, 20, son Ryan, 17, and daughter Meg, 16. Lisa volunteers in Winnebago-Lutheran Academy’s lunchroom and supports the school’s Booster Teams.

Success | 2012

determined to succeed

Paralyzing injury doesn’t stop Tony from accomplishing, reaching his goals

Katie Larson The Reporter

In 2007, Tony Sabel, a 21-year-old Eden Native, was involved in a snow tubing accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. At the time, Tony was heading into his junior year at UW-Whitewater. Now 27, Tony has a great deal to look back on as well as some amazing goals to look forward to. Most people who know Tony Sabel can describe him fairly easily: giving, positive, ambitious, determined, accepting, talented, hardworking, inspiring, and one of the most laid back people you will ever meet. He’s embodied these qualities all his life. The injury, however, that Tony received has helped grow his best qualities, making him an entirely new person, one who, although paralyzed, is stronger that ever. Tony was just like any other college student when he and a few friends traveled to Tripp Lake, near Whitewater, to go snow tubing in the winter of 2007. Tony was heading down the hill when his tube flipped over, causing him to land on his neck. “My doctor at the time told me it takes about 10,000 pounds of pressure per square inch to burst the fifth vertebrae and mine burst into five pieces,” recalled Tony. The accident left Tony paralyzed from chest down, and without any finger function. He spent 3-1/2 weeks in intensive care at UW-Madison Hospital until he was in the clear. For some, this would be the point to give up, as recovery and rehabilitation would be a long and challenging road. Giving up, though, was the last thing Tony had in mind. His main concern was getting better, getting back to school and getting on with his life, albeit different than anything he previously knew.

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Adapting to the new normal

Tony didn’t just get “back to school,” he missed only one semester before going back full time in the fall of 2007 to finish a bachelor’s degree. Along with his studies, Tony had to keep up a rigorous physical therapy schedule to help him gain back many things we take for granted. “Before my injury, I was training for marathons,” said Tony. “I had to relearn a lot of things, like how to brush my teeth and how to write. I started over writing the alphabet like you do in first grade using big tablet letters.”

Tony’s love of sports led him to wheelchair rugby. He currently plays for the Milwaukee Iron rugby team./Submitted Photo

Age: 27 Number of years in community: Lifelong

In June of 2012, Tony received his master’s degree from George Williams College near Lake Geneva./Submitted Photo

Hometown: Eden Occupations: Coordinator at NAMI/Friendship Corner in Fond du Lac Education: University of Wisconsin Whitewater, George Williams College

With no finger function, Tony needed to learn how to write by moving his entire arm. “It’s easy to quickly adapt if you want to keep going and move on with life. This is what I needed to accept,” said Tony. “It’s very interesting how we have so many baby pictures in life trying to capture every first. A spinal cord [injury] is a new birth and a chance to recapture firsts. I hope to encourage all to take time and celebrate the small accomplishments.” Tony did a lot of celebrating as he moved through each challenge. The little things that he needed to get by he can now go without.

Reaction to being selected for a Success Section story: “I am always happy to help inspire.”

and positive and able to set even more goals.

Almost all of Tony’s adaptive equipment has been eliminated including special silverware. Tony returned to school after one semester off in a manual wheelchair, which for Tony, his family and his doctors, was a monumental step.

“Last year we were just shy of nationals so that is what we are shooting for this year,” said Tony.

“My doctor at the time of the accident said I would never be able to push a manual wheelchair. Now two to three miles in my manual chair is nothing.”

In the Spring of 2010 Tony graduated from UWWhitewater with a degree in social work. His injury caused him to change his original major in art. In June of this year, Tony went even further, graduating with his masters in social work from George Williams College near Lake Geneva, WI. A small school of 1,000 to 1,500 students started by the founder of the YMCA, Tony was the first person to attend the college in a wheelchair.

Although Tony had basically gone back to toddler functionality due to his injury, he still pushed himself to continue in the hobbies he has always loved – sports. In 2008/2009, Tony was introduced to wheelchair rugby and was soon playing on the Milwaukee Iron rugby team. The support system keeps him active

Success | 2012

Name: Tony Sabel

Crossing the stage

“There were some steep hills but the campus worked with me so I could feel as comfortable as I could.”

Following graduation, Tony participated in an internship program through NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) at its local branch Friendship Corner, in Fond du Lac. There he worked with developmentally disabled individuals to be working members of the community. Tony was hired on as an employee in June signifying the first time he has been employed since his life-changing accident occurred. Through Friendship Corner and NAMI Tony worked with Horicon Bank and the Fond du Lac Running Club to put on the first annual 5k Run/Walk for Wellness, which was held September 15 at UW-Fond du Lac. All proceeds from the race went to NAMI of Fond du Lac to help with programs, community education, speakers, and group outings. “Before my injury, I would take on one task after another without taking a moment to enjoy the accomplishment. My injury forced me to slow down and celebrate the small accomplishments such as itching my own head, closing a door, or pushing up a steep hill,” says Tony. “The only limitations are the ones we give ourselves.” Tony continues to inspire others, showing that despite a life-changing injury such as his, life still goes on and can be better than ever. ❍

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Tony, at left, participates in wheelchair rugby, a sport he was introduced to in 2008/2009. /Submitted Photo

To what do you owe your measure of success: “I have a core group of friends and family for support. My mom gets me to where I need to be and I would not have accomplished half of what I have without her.”

Success | 2012

Paul Osterholm, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

Name: Paul Osterholm Sr. Age: 52 Number of years in community: 13 Hometown: Waukon, in Northeast Iowa

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Occupations: Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, Officiant and Celebrant

Reaction to being selected for a Success Section story: “I am very curious to know who nominated me, and so honored and humbled by the fact that someone would think so much of me when I’ve only been in the job for a short time and there’s still so much left to do.” To what do you owe your measure of success: “To my wife, my kids, they keep me grounded, and to my in-laws, my mom, my family members, friends and the community.”

theforman the job Paul finds his niche in

lending a hand

Taima Kern The Reporter

It was a mere seven months ago when Paul Osterholm Sr. applied for and was accepted to the position of Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County, and in that time, the organization has flourished. Just talking to Paul for a moment, anyone can see that this is a man who believes whole-heartedly in strong values, community service and everyone pitching in and helping. He is a man who has invested himself so fully in the ideals and values that he holds as undeniable truths that he is completely unshakable. There are 42 Habitat for Humanity divisions in Wisconsin. Fond du Lac County’s is one of the 21 that also has a ReStore facility. It is also the only ReStore that offers disposal for Freon-containing appliances and E-Waste in an effort to keep those types of hazardous materials out of landfills. This is just one of the many initiatives that have been implemented in the last few months under Paul and the present board of directors. Well, that and making coffee. Lots of coffee. In reference to the 30 disaster kits recently distributed to senior citizens during a joint action between Habitat for Humanity and the Aging and Disability Resource Center, Paul asks “Who knew that there was a place in [the state of] Georgia that would be offering support so that the elderly in

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and everywhere else could get disaster kits.” You never know what opportunities there are out there unless you’ve got someone willing to chase them down, and this is just one of many area nonfor-profits and volunteer organizations that Habitat has paired up with since Paul has taken the reigns. In the last seven months, Habitat has worked alongside Big Brothers Big Sisters, Blandine House, Galloway House, Gratitude Club, Solutions Center, St. Vincent de Paul, the YMCA, the Young Professionals, the Volunteer Center, the Homebuilders Association, the City of Fond du Lac, Prairie Fest, and even landscaped Judine Schicker’s front yard. All of this on top of their 2012 house build, the 22nd house to be added to this community by Habitat, and increased hours for the ReStore, which now operates six days a week. Paul, of course, shifts all of this success off onto those around him, crediting the Board of Directors and the volunteers, chiefly. “I love my job; going to work in the morning is the best part of the day,” smiles Paul. Paul’s main duties include looking after ReStore, organizing and working alongside the community volunteers, teams, groups, businesses, and organizations on house builds, and making coffee. Did we mention Paul loves coffee? As for Habitat for Humanity build sites, well, they may know better than to give Paul power tools or a megaphone, but he loves to pull his weight doing any old odd job. His favorite part of the job is serving

Success | 2012

Paul poses with the volunteers after the completion of the 357 Fourth Street build during the summer of 2012./Submitted Photo

food and refreshments to the volunteers who are combining their unique talents to pitch in to create a better today as well as a better tomorrow. And the future? Paul is practically bouncing off the walls in excitement for next build season’s two houses. Also, a piece of land was recently donated in Ripon as a 2014 build site, and Paul can’t wait to break ground on it.

On being a Minister A previous job allowed the forming of new friendships, and blessings of all kinds for Paul. It was through these connections that led a pair of young friends to ask if Paul would marry them. He was shocked, honored, unsure of how to proceed, but willing. He became ordained as an officiant and celebrant, and since then, about a dozen other couples have requested his services. “It’s about celebrating love, life, and the journey,” says Paul. “Sometimes I don’t know who’s gonna cry first, me or the bride!” Paul also takes pride in keeping the ceremonies all-denominational: “Very much like Habitat for Humanity, [it’s about] bringing all faiths together to celebrate life, love, and hope for the future.” However, he gets to know the couples as much as he can ahead of time so that he can make sure to tailor the ceremonies to them, since it is their special day.

It’s all about gratitude and attitude. I am grateful for the blessings and opportunities I have been given.” - Paul Osterholm Sr.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 >>>

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Success | 2012

At left, Paul poses with the tour hours sign at the Galloway House and Village where painting was to be done as part of the Brush with Kindness program. At right, Paul approves the pizza delivery as he gets ready to serve the hungry volunteers who came to paint a building in the Galloway House village./Submitted Photo

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

For the future

next year there will be two houses put up, so twice the help will be needed.

Paul wants to continue to serve, build, and cherish life and love. “Servant leadership is my life. I am honored to be the Executive Director at Habitat. I would like to expand the ReStore to a bigger location and perhaps open a ReStore in Ripon and build more houses. The more that we can share our message with others and do good ‘deeds’ the better and stronger our community will be.” He also hopes to grow old with his wife and kids, enjoy their lake home, and await the day he and his friends and fellow Marian alumni all have grandkids that they can spoil.

Being involved and becoming a rock star

As a child growing up in Iowa, Paul wanted to be one of two things, either a baseball player for the Minnesota Twins, or a linebacker for the Iowa Hawkeyes. His idol was the Twins’ #3, Harmon Killebrew. Since then, his goals haven’t been any less lofty. As Paul grew up, he wanted to be a rock star. Paul is the kind of person who loves to celebrate and bring people together in any way possible. He may not have any singles out, or any platinum albums hanging on his wall, but there

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Paul attributes this to the mid-western values of hospitality that he has been raised with, things that are just as true in Iowa as they are here in Wisconsin: being invested in your community, celebrating life, and lending a hand-up to those in need.

Family and education Paul lives with his wife of 25 years, Janet, and they have two children. Paul Jr., 25, is a graduate of Marian University, and Maggie, 22, is presently a “super senior” in her fifth year at Marian. Paul, too, holds an undergraduate degree from Marian in business, as well as a masters in leadership. Paul also attended the leadership class held by the Fond du Lac Association of Commerce in 2000. Janet was born and raised here in Fond du Lac, and they actually met in La Crosse while she was attending Viterbo University, and he was working third shift at the Kwik Trip near the campus. They moved to her hometown, the “small-large city of Fond du Lac,” in the summer of 1999. ❍

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Paul would like to encourage the community to volunteer, to give back, and to share in his success. Last year’s build season for Habitat for Humanity saw 1,200 volunteers kicking in and lending a hand for the 2012 house, and

“Last year we had a young boy who needed to put in confirmation hours and wanted to help. He spent some time on the job site with his grandmother just picking up nails,” remembers Paul.

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Success | 2012

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Success | 2012

Jeff Kahlow owner of Big Guy Hats stands in the room with many photos of the hats made and worn by his family and many well known people. Aileen Andrews/ The Reporter.

hold on to your hat www.fdlreporter.com

Local happy hatter makes friends and photo-ops with creations

Monica M. Walk

Special to The Reporter A hat tip seems the most appropriate acknowledgement for one of Jeff Kahlow’s hand-crafted creations. But, applause, mouth-agape pointing, and requests for photos are the more common responses—because even when it’s on a head, a Big Guy Hat is far from an ordinary topper. Jeff has re-envisioned the concept of “hat” to include renditions of near-life-sized deer heads chomping wedges of cheese, clearly recognizable caricatures of sports stars and celebrities, and scale-models of

Lambeau Field. He has developed more than 2,000 patterns in categories that include outdoor sports, competitive sports teams, celebrities, events, and other miscellaneous brainstorms. Despite their impressive and eye-catching size, the hats are nearly weightless and easy to wear: Jeff carves each design from a block of polyurethane foam and airbrushes the often intricate details. He has been honing his artistry for 18 years.

Success | 2012

Name: Jeff Kahlow Age: 51 Years in Community: Mayville until age 10; Fond du Lac since 1970. Occupation: Owner and Artist, Big Guy Hats. Location: W6475 Rogersville Road, Fond du Lac. www.bigguyhats.com Hours of Operation: Phone (920) 923-0004 for an appointment. Reaction to nomination to Success issue: “I was thrilled. I’m honored to be nominated as being successful. I thought it was very nice to get the call.” To what do you owe your measure of success? “MY WIFE ! MY FAMILY ! MY FRIENDS !”

Above, Jeff’s wife Sandy at left, his daughter, Jeff, and son pose in Jeff’s G-Force hats. At right, Jeff chats with Troy Aikman in the tundra hat, and at bottom, Larry the Cable Guy sports his Git-R-Done Dallas Cowboys hat./ Submitted Photos

in—that’s part of creating by hand and not mass production.”

Hobby to Business His hobby turned business thanks to the 1995 request of a Fond du Lac resident, who had seen some oversized cowboy hats Jeff made for fun and asked if he could create a mallard hat to be worn for a speech at a Ducks Unlimited meeting. He later told Jeff he could have sold the hat many times over at the event. That was a lightbulb moment. “If they were going nuts over a duck, what would it be like to do a sturgeon?” he mused. “I did four and took them to Wendt’s and sold them before the door closed. I knew I had something going.”

“I really don’t get sick of it,” he said. “Every hat turns out different and I look forward to seeing the finished product.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 >>>

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“I’ve carved close to 17,000 hats by hand,” Jeff said. “I make 900 to a thousand a year with the time I have. I’m backed out about three months, and working on orders for February now. Ten years ago, I’d be done with an order in two-to-three weeks, now it takes two-to-three months. I actually turn down more orders than I take

In fact, as the hat hobby increased in scope, his employers at Interior Systems Inc. (ISI), where Jeff has done upholstery work for 31 years, encouraged him to reduce his hours and pursue his hobby as a business. He branded his hat business from a nick-name that developed through his work at ISI. Between his two lines of employment, Jeff estimates he works approximately 70 hours weekly. But, he says he can’t wait to get into his workshop every day.

Success | 2012

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 Located on an idyllic farmette near the Fond du Lac County Airport, Jeff’s studio door often is open—allowing pets like pigs, donkeys and peacocks to wander in and visit as he carves and paints. Patterns fill drawers and hang from the studio walls, which also are plastered with publication clippings and photos of completed hats, often on their owners. Jeff’s wife, Sandy, is nearby, providing in-home daycare for young children, while the Jeff’s four children, ranging in age from nine to 15, are in school. Jeff credits his wife for making it possible to pursue his hobby business. His tools include a special foam saw, scissors, Exacto knives and an airbrush—as well as a top-secret adhesive for affixing some creations to baseball-style caps. “Of the 17,000 I’ve carved, I can count on one hand the times I’ve messed up,” Jeff said. “I can always carve and recoup.” Hats average 20 minutes to two hours to create, with special hats for celebrities taking as long as seven hours apiece to complete.

Creating Connections While 90 percent of the hats he produces are ordered by clients, Jeff also creates gift hats for many celebrities he admires. These gifts have opened doors and forged relationships with musicians like KISS and Ted Nugent, as well as sports figures like Troy Aikman and the crews of CBS Sports and FOX Sports. He also has a long list of celebrity clients. “When Ted Nugent was on MTV’s Cribs, he showed his house and toys,” Jeff recalled. “He said he had the coolest collection of hats, and put on my hats. So many things like that happen. It’s exciting to see and fun for me.” Jeff’s largest hat creation may have been for his highest-profile client: the Republican Party contacted him to make a hat for then-President George W. Bush. The completed hat was four feet wide and three feet tall, and featured an elephant crushing a donkey in its hand. Some Big Guy Hat clients order hats because they specifically want to be noticed at a sporting event, by other spectators and by the

media. It often works. “That’s the biggest thing for me,” Jeff said. “When people wear the hats and get exposure, it makes them happy. ‘Get big and bold, you’re never too old.’ That’s what I say about Big Guy Hats.” Jeff himself draws media attention when he wears his creations, particularly his showstopping “Frozen Tundra Man” hat, complete with facial “icicles.” He has been featured by numerous media outlets, including USA Today. The Associated Press recently contacted him to put a release on a photo featuring Jeff in a Clay Matthews hat, which would make it available for commercial use and could generate income for him.

Grassroots Marketing Apparently Jeff is in it for the art—for the satisfaction of creation—more than for money. “My motto is to make $20 on every hat I carve,” he said, with prices for his hand-made hats averaging $28 to $65.

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Success | 2012

RIGHT: Jeff Kahlow, owner of Big Guy Hats, holds up a photo taken by an Associated Press photographer at the 49ers vs. Packers wearing the same hat. BELOW: Jeff Kahlow works on a hat by placing a tapper onto the keg while in his shop. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

At left, Jeff poses with Harrison Ford, sporting his Indiana Jones hat, and at right, Gene Simmons of KISS imitates his hat, displaying his famous expression./Submitted Photo

About half of hat orders come from the Midwest, but Jeff fields calls from all over the world—all without traditional advertising. Jeff signs each hat and stamps it with his phone number, and he also has a website, but most clients find him after seeing someone wear a hat and asking about it. These affordable creations are featured in the Packer Hall of Fame, which cites the hats as “a significant part of the Green Bay Packer story.”

“The organization up there appreciates what I do,” Jeff said. Experience may contribute to Jeff’s low-key business approach. An invitation to appear on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2011 concluded with a business deal and 50/50 partnership offer from Mark Cuban and Daymond John. “I would be their prototype hat-maker, while they deal with the marketing and production,” Jeff said. “After I left Hollywood and returned home, I thought my life was about to change! They wanted prototypes A.S.A.P., so I created over two dozen for them and shipped them out priority mail. Four weeks later, all my boxes re-

turned back to me with half of the hats missing. After sending countless emails and phone messages, they never returned any of them. I never heard back from them. End of story.” Still, Jeff currently is looking into possibilities to mass produce one specific hat design. But, even if this pursuit is successful, he won’t stop his hand creations. “It never feels like work,” he said. “I’d do it all the time. You know, you’ll never work a day in your life if you love your work. I get huge enjoyment from doing presentations in schools, sitting in front of a group of kids and telling them no matter how crazy your idea, if you really love something, you can be successful. I can’t wait to create.” ❍

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“Everyone says ‘You’re dirt cheap. You don’t charge enough,’” Jeff acknowledged, noting he raises prices only when foam costs increase. When orders come in from some parts of the county anticipating higher prices, customers will decide to order several hats.

Success | 2012

she’s got rhythm

Nicole takes the stage to BRING back unique music scene Taima Kern The Reporter

What if you could make the worlds of big city music, theater and performance come to you? That’s exactly what Nicole Solis (Pankratz) did, and in only a few short years, she’s become a success by creating the Pankratz Arts Exchange and producing regular shows at Maximillian’s in Mt. Calvary “[When I was little,] I wanted to be a part of show business: an actress or singer,” smiles Nicole. “I religiously watched Julie Andrews movies: Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music were some of my favorites.” Nicole was eager and strong-willed, and one of the four children in the talented Pankratz family.

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Nicole was working as a registered nurse when her parents purchased the local community hall in Mt. Calvary. “They did not want to lose a place where they had many fond memories as high school sweethearts; gathering for a friend’s wedding, a local band gig, a Friday fish fry, a basketball game,” says Nicole.

But they didn’t buy it on just a nostalgic impulse. Prior to the purchase, they had a meeting of the minds with their children. “We could do shows here” and “people would come back for musical-type shows” were the phrases being tossed around. The idea began to grow to what is now Maximillian’s. “I did not know how the community would respond, nor what the audience attendance would be,” says Nicole. “What I did know is that I would give it my best efforts and abilities and that if I invested my time and energy I would have a sense of accomplishment right then and there. And my family has always given support and feedback along the way.” And with that, walls were knocked out, a new bar installed, and the grand hall renovated with a new sound system, dressing rooms, and a

Age: 28

“By 2006, we had a Christmas show ready to go: a few high-school classmates, myself, and my sisters performed (sang and danced), while my mom played the saxophone and my old high-school choral director accompanied us on the piano- one weekend only, a free-will offering at intermission, and about 200 people from the local area came out to see our first show!”

Number of years in the community: Lifetime Hometown: Mount Calvary Community: Fond du Lac area Occupation: Nurse, producer/director at Maximillian’s Reaction to being selected as a success story: “Wow, very flattered and honored.”

Since then through August of 2011, Maximillian’s had produced eight more Christmas and summer musical revues. In August of 2011 Nicole graduated with her second bachelors degree, a degree in dance, from UW-Milwaukee. Her senior capstone project was starting a non-profit arts organization. She chose a project that would incorporate the musical revue shows she had been directing since 2006.

To what do you attribute your success? “My parents have raised me to believe that anything is within reach if you work hard and are willing to do whatever it takes to reach your goals. To find your passion and go get it. Also, I feel God has played a huge role in giving me strength and guidance in what I firmly believe is not only fulfilling my passion, but for a greater purpose He has planned. With that said, faith, my upbringing, and life choices all have given me opportunities to succeed.”

“I knew developing this organization would be something the Fond du Lac area would appreciate and need. The performances thus far were something unique that this area truly enjoyed,” says Nicole. Knowing that there was room for growth and development, she created the Pankratz Arts Exchange (PAE), a place where young area talent could find a stage to perform on, and learn how to audition for, rehearse, and perform regular shows.

Looking ahead

These are lofty goals, but from her success thus far, they are by no means out of her reach. Nicole is an incredibly driven person,

At top, Nicole (left) and her sister Samantha sing in their first musical revue show in 2006. At bottom, Nicole practices her stretches./Submitted Photos

and with community improvement as her main goal, there’s not much that can take the wind out of her sails. Nicole and her husband Joaquin have a three-year-old son, Joaquin Jr., and recently had a brand new baby girl, Elizabeth, who is a little over a month old. Nicole is also very close with her family: sister and fellow performer Samantha, brother Benjamin, elder sister Jessica Schrage and her parents, Lisa and Tom Pankratz. She graduated from Campbellsport High School in 2002. She holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in nursing from Bellin College of Nursing, class of ’06, and the second from UW-Milwaukee for dance, class of ’11. Now that she’s reached a level of success, she plans to continue providing performing arts experiences for the community and for her children’s futures. ❍

I think [to make something that will outlive us] is what we all hope we can do in this lifetime: make a change and be a positive impact on those we leave behind. If Pankratz Arts Exchange, Inc. outgrows what I envision it could become in my lifetime, wow, I will be watchin’, wherever I may be!” - Nicole Solis

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“The PAE hopes to continue to enlighten and enhance the lives of others by providing arts education and performance opportunities year round. More specifically, PAE plans to have one performance per season (four per year) by 2014,” remarks Nicole. “By 2016, PAE hopes to contract high quality performers (singers, dancers, musicians, actors/actresses) for a full year, providing them an opportunity to be leaders at youth arts camps and outreach programs, such as local nursing homes and schools during their off season/in between performances. PAE wants to seek out community areas in most need, for instance, a school with no art programs, a nursing home with little movement therapy for their residents, among others. The PAE hopes to invest in employees of high qualification to organize, direct, and facilitate these educational/performance programs, specifically, one director for each of the four arts: musical director, dance director, theatre director, and visual arts director.”

Success | 2012

Name: Nicole Solis stage.

Success | 2012

a cut above

Toshner helps community reach goals through unique fitness facility Taima Kern The Reporter

Name: Derek Toshner Age: 30 Hometown: Fond du Lac Number of years in the community: 30 years

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Occupation: Owner of TNT Fitness (CTH B, West of Eden) www.tntfitnessresults.com

Derek Toshner, owner of TNT Fitness, located at W5374 Cty Hwy B, Fond du Lac, stands inside the 32TNT Fitness gym. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

Reaction to being selected as a success story: “We’re a success? But seriously, I’m excited, I think 30 and running a business, well, I never thought it was a real business, but to be recognized means that we’re established. It legitimizes our presence and place in the community.” To what do you attribute your success? “Being real with people, just having a sincere heart to help people achieve their goals.”

Success | 2012

At only 30 years old, Derek Toshner has proved his strength to Fond du Lac and its surrounding communities. Early on in his athletic career, Derek was a standout in sports like track and field, football and wrestling. He knew that fitness had a lot to do with having a long, healthy and happy life and his endeavors supported that. Though very decorated in the world of track and field (ten-time all-American, five-time National Champion) Derek found his calling helping others reach their goals through TNT Fitness Results, located in Eden. “We totally transform Melissa Schmidt, owner of TNT Adventure Obstacle Course, explans to clients how to use the course during a people’s lives, their exerBoobs & Bells fund-raiser for breast cancer. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter. cise and their habits; you are naturally drawn to be better when you’re in an atmosphere where everyone much is expected,” he quotes. Derek says that he has been given a great is pushing to improve,” says Derek. “It’s all about mind, body and spirit.” chance to help and better his community and he needs to capitalize on Derek’s mind/body approach extends to the philosophy of his gym. that and help as many as he can. He also hates to settle. It is human naYou won’t see rows of treadmills, elliptical or stationary bicycles in front of ture to become comfortable in an area and Derek believes that though it is TVs when you walk into TNT Fitness. Instead you will see Russian kettlehealthy to occasionally sit down and observe the world around you, if you bells and a family or team atmosphere where people come to change aren’t doing something, you aren’t improving yourself or the community. their lives, not just drop a few pounds to fit into a pair of jeans. A kettlebell Melissa believes if you’re comfortable, you’re not growing, and uses is a type of weight that resembles a tea kettle. The kettlebell comes in a the slogan “Finding your confidence,” because that’s what TNT Fitness variety of weights. did for her, and now it’s her goal to help others find that same level. If the “My life has totally changed,” says Melissa Schmidt as Derek smiles world were easy, you wouldn’t be growing. That being said, Derek jokin agreement. ingly admits that Melissa’s much nicer than he is when it comes to pushing people to be their best. “She’s the perfect success story,” Derek added. “She’s stronger, more confident, impressive…she was a member and in three years became one of the top kettlebell trainers in Wisconsin.”

Derek’s numbers at TNT can tell the story as thousands of people have walked through his doors, from high school students to senior citizens, all with varying skill and fitness levels. All are welcome.

Philosophy Derek’s philosophy is to lead by example. “To whom much is given,

Accomplishments

One of the greatest accomplishments that Derek has to his name is the creation of Kettlebells from Home. For $8 a month, those who can’t make it in to the facility can view video workouts from home, 36 brand new workouts with new ones added all of the time. “The worst part about home workouts are when you’ve done them so many times that you memorize what the trainer says, when you know when they’re going to give praise or tell you push harder,” remarks Derek. “With our Kettlebells from Home series, no two workouts are the same.” Derek also works to add a hometown community touch to these videos, by occasionally shouting out names of people who have subscribed CONTINUED ON PAGE 34 >>>

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“TNT Fitness changed my mindset and it is important that we can help others the same way,” says Melissa, who produced and now runs the outdoor obstacle course at TNT Fitness. The course has become wildly popular for groups, organizations, events and regular members.

Success | 2012

Derek Toshner

Melissa Schmidt Credentials/Athletics

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

• RKC Level II certified instructor (Top In Wisconsin with brother Ryan Toshner of TNT Performance Training--Waukesha)

• RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) certified – June 2010

and signed up for the service, and addressing them directly with encouragement. “I’ll say something like ‘Hey Mary, I know you’re getting tired, but there’s only ten more’ or something like that, and then later Mary stops by and she’ll say ‘Oh my gosh, Derek, you startled me when you started talking to me.’ People love the kind of relationship they can feel with their trainer, even when we aren’t meeting regularly in person. It makes them feel like they’re part of a club.”

Credentials

• CK-FMS certified instructor • CSCS - National Strength and Conditioning Association • B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science (Fitness Emphasis) Strength and Conditioning Con-

centration

Athletics Professional: • Secret Service Snatch Test Record Holder, present

• Division I Athlete – UW Madison Crew (Rowing) Team, 1992-1995 • ‘W’ Letter Winner – UW Madison Crew Team, 1994, 1995 • Academic All-Big Ten, 1994, UW Madison • U.S. Olympic Development Camp for rowing, 1995 • Kettlebell Fitness Feats • Military press a 24kg kettlebell, and do a Turkish Get-up with a 32kg

• Upper Mid-West CrossFit Challenge Champion, 2010, 2011 • World Trials competitor 400m hurdles, 2003 & 2005

• Ultimate Secret Services Snatch Test (USST) Board – 208 snatches in 10 minutes with a 16kg kettlebell (fitnessyoucanuse.com)

• Olympic Trials competitor 400m hurdles, 2004

• SSST Board – 275 snatches in 10 minutes with a 12kg kettlebell

• UW-Oshkosh 400-meter and hurdles Coach, 2005-2006

Tactical Strength Challenge, September 2010:

• Experience training hundreds of athletes and non-athletes to AllAmerican/National Champion status and overall improved fitness.

College: • Five-time National Champion Track and Field • Ten-time All-American Track and Field • Performer of the Meet in running events, 2004 NCAA Track Championships

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• M.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology from UW-Madison, 1996

• International Tactical Strength Challenge Elite Division Champion Fall 2010

• Strength and Conditioning Coach, Viterbo University, 2004

• RKC II Registered – July 2011 – COMING SOON!

• NSCA Challenge Scholarship Recipient (One of only 14 in the USA) • Verizon Wireless Scholar Athlete

Derek Toshner, left, owner of TNT Fitness located at W5374 Cty Hwy B, Fond du Lac, and Melissa Schmidt, owner of TNT Adventure Obstacle Course, share fitness passions for a healthier life style. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

• Dead lift: 300# • Snatch Test: 148x in 5 minutes with a 16kg kettlebell

It’s pretty easy to identify Melissa’s greatest accomplishment at TNT Fitness, since her baby is the obstacle course. The course has permanent and portable obstacles including (but not limited to): monkey bars (two 28 foot monkey bar systems with an elevation change), balance beams (elevated slightly off the ground), traverse wall, tire flips, tire runs, steeple Hurdles (six of varying heights), belly crawl, sled push/pull, wheelbarrow runs, wall ball shots, Olympic bar lifting, kettlebells, logs to hoist and carry and plenty of good ‘ol fashioned running. The course opened this summer for the first time and has already seen a great deal of traffic and excitement.

The road ahead Derek dreams of being able to move out of the house that stands right beside TNT Fitness, because though he loves all of his customers, thousands of cars use his driveway on a regular basis, and he misses the privacy of having a house away from his work. He hopes to turn the large house into part of the TNT compound and make it more of a ranch retreat type of location, and provide services similar to those offered on the Biggest Loser Ranch, where he could work closely with people, and teach them better eating and living habits that can aid in weight loss for those who really need it.

Derek attended UW-LaCrosse and holds a B.S. in Exercise Science. Outside of running TNT Fitness, he loves to rockclimb and compete in CrossFit competitions. He lives right beside the TNT Fitness facility with his wife, Shannon and their children, Lydia, 6, and Seamus, 3. Shannon’s role in TNT Fitness is as the customer service specialist, and she maintains the TNT Child Care facility that lives next to the gym so parents can work out without worrying about their children. “I think the idea of our success really struck me

when people started wanting T-shirts with TNT Fitness on them,” remarks Derek. The idea of someone wanting a shirt with his gym on the front of it was so alien to him that it took a while for him to oblige. Melissa was a member of the UWMadison Crew rowing team, and jokes that she only stayed at UW-Madison so she could keep on rowing. She works as an academic advisor for adult students at UW-Oshkosh alongside the hours she puts in at TNT, and has two kids, Sam, 12, and Sophie, 8. Her husband, Joe, is also involved with TNT Fitness, operating as their favorite tech repair/installation guy and handyman. Melissa loves to travel, and though she hasn’t been able to do that much recently, she has been to Australia, London, Canada, and most of the U.S. ❍

Success | 2012

Melissa hopes to make sure that people see the obstacle course for what it is: not a scary place, but a blast to run. She already provides team-building events for businesses or groups that want to come out and spend some time on the course, but she’d like to have it booked more often, and host more team building retreats.

Derek has plans of expanding TNT Fitness into something similar to the Biggest Loser Ranch, where members can stay and have a total fitness experience./Submitted Photo

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Success | 2012 www.fdlreporter.com

Karen Kelley, owner of Kelley Creamery on County Highway B South of Fond du Lac, stan ds in the doorway of a storage locker that is kept at freezing temperatures next to the room where they make the ice cream. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

i scream, you scream Community and beyond can’t get enough of Karen Kelley’s ice cream

Success | 2012 LEFT: Karen Kelley, owner of Kelley Creamery on County Highway B South of Fond du Lac, pours ingredients into a mixer to start the ice cream making process. RIGHT: Karen Kelley hands a cone of cranberry walnut ice cream to customer Bruce Henry. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

Taima Kern The Reporter

A happy, passionate person who loves faith, family and farm, Karen Kelley and her business are a force to be reckoned with. USA Today’s best ice cream in Wisconsin, 2010, is just one of the many awards that her home-grown ice cream has acquired, and they’ve only been on the map for a few years. Started on May 13 of 2010, Kelley Country Creamery, nestled right off of 41 on CTH B, served 80,000 people in its first seven months.

Passion and desire to do something big drove Karen to open the creamery. Since her family farm already produced milk, creating something dairy was a given, and ice cream is the perfect comfort food. “It’s loved by all ages, so it brings everyone together,” remarks Karen. The ice cream produced by the creamery is always changing, but it remains hard-dipped, as opposed to the soft serve people are accustomed to at Culvers or A&W. CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 >>>

“If they aren’t happy when they come in, they are when they leave.” - Karen Kelley www.fdlreporter.com

Karen’s personal philosophy of treating people as you want to be treated has made her a huge success. “Everyone who comes through that door has a story, and it’s possible that you may be the first smile they’ve seen all day,”

says Karen. She takes pride in making sure that she and her staff are always smiling and in pleasant moods. “If they aren’t happy when they come in, they are when they leave.” Of course, it helps that they are selling a happy food.

Success | 2012

Name: Karen Kelley Age: 51 Hometown: West Bend Community: Eden/Byron/Fond du Lac. “It’s interesting, they sort of fight over us,” smiles Karen. Number of years in the community: 28 Occupation: Owner of Kelley Country Creamery Reaction to being selected as a Success story: “I’m very honored.” To what do you attribute your success? “To God, and to family.” LEFT: Product in a display refrigerator at Kelley Country Creamery on County Highway B South of Fond du Lac. RIGHT: Karen Kelley, owner of Kelley Country Creamery. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

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Karen also loves producing ice cream for the creativity she is able to put into it.

The creamery presently has over 205 flavors at its disposal, and they rotate them based on season and popularity. As the owner and operator, Karen is also the one who makes all of the ice cream, and she is always creating new flavors; she loves sharing samples, getting the customers’ input, and growing and shaping the sweet world she lives in. The milk for all of the items produced at the creamery comes from the Kelley family farm, which has been around for 151 years, with Karen and her husband, Tim, being the fifth generation to run the farm, and her son, Clark, who wants to take it over, being the sixth.

Growing up, family Karen grew up in a very family-oriented world. She would often visit her grandparents, and her aunt and uncle, who had their own dairy farm,

as well. Even from a young age, Karen always wanted to marry a farmer and be a wife and mother. As she grew, she added to that dream. She wanted to educate people and bring back the aspects of family that we are slowly losing. Part of the appeal of Kelley Country Creamery is that there is no radio, no TV, nothing hightech to distract people from enjoying each other’s company and the atmosphere. “I’ve had people come for ice cream, sit down in the rocking chairs outside and end up staying there for hours.” Karen went to high school in West Bend, then went on to obtain a two-year degree in marketing from Moraine Park Technical College (Institute), class of 1981. Beyond that, all of the research and development that went into creating the creamery was a family effort. Five children, four girls and a boy, make up the Kelley Family alongside Karen and Tim. Karen and Tim didn’t want to force their children to

work at the family business, but some of them chose to stick around anyway. Their daughter Betsy works at the creamery full-time, with a business and marketing degree from Carroll College. Amie helps with a great deal of the baking at the creamery, but also works as a teacher. Heidi is a CPA/business administration major at Winona State University in Minnesota. Molly is a student at MPTC. Clark, the youngest, is graduating from high school soon and plans to stick around the family farm.

The big picture Through UW-Oshkosh and a professor from Tanzania, people from a number of different countries have contacted Kelley Country Creamery about their processes and their story. Students and individuals from China, Japan, Russia, and even Estonia are just a few of the cultural influences that have walked through the doors of the creamery. Individuals from Estonia

Success | 2012

The Kelley family includes, from left: daughter Amie and her husband Joe, proprietress Karen, husband Tim, daughters Heidi, Molly, Betsy and son Clark kneeling in front./Submitted Photo

are even presently involved in efforts to make their own creamery back at home so that they can add another product to what their home village produces. For the future, the creamery has recently added fresh cheese curds to its menu, and more cheese products can be expected in the future as Karen explores her Irish heritage. “Because the Kelleys are of a strong Irish heritage, we felt that exploring the Irish cheeses would be the best fit for the Kelley Country Creamery and our family.” Karen also wants to break into the wedding business a little more. Presently, the creamery offers catering services for weddings, with either ½ cake, ½ ice cream cakes or full-ice cream cakes, as well as “diamond drops,” a personal-sized ice cream dessert. Over a hundred flavors are on the table for these commissioned works, as well as devil’s food, white, yellow, marble, spice, banana, carrot, and red velvet cake. Karen also has some “elegant flavors” for wedding desserts, including white chocolate raspberry, grasshopper, key lime, Oreo cheesecake, tiramisu and death by chocolate.

Karen wants to get the word out about her creamery; she continues to get first-time customers who say that they’ve never heard about her place, that they stumbled across it by accident, or were dragged there by someone else. She would also like to bring someone in to help with the making of the ice cream, because the volume that they have to put out is getting to be too big a job for one person, though her exact methods are a family secret at the moment. ❍

Mozzarella, Provolone, Aged Provolone, Romano, Parmesan, Ricotta, Fresh Mozzarella and other Fine Italian cheeses

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JOHN CANDELA, CHAIRMAN

DAIRY ROAD, BROWNSVILLE, WISCONSIN 53006-0067 • TELEPHONE 800-678-3122

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“Making fine cheese, like making fine wine, is indeed an artsteeped in tradition and pride. We here at Grande are proud of our company, each other, and the cheese we make. And, we’re committed to continuing the art of making fine Italian cheeses passed down by our founder Filippo Candela.”

Success | 2012 www.fdlreporter.com

just a trim Local hair stylist still working after 60 years in the business Dorothy Bliskey

Special to The Reporter

Owner of Classic Cut Salon in North Fond du Lac, Katie Hornung, left, with employee Joan Andrew. Joan has been a beautician for 60 years. Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

Joan Andrew knows how to stand on her own two feet – literally. She’s been doing it for 60 years as a hair stylist. Remarkably, at age 77, she continues to work in the profession at Classic Cut Day Spa in North Fond du Lac. She has a client whose hair she’s been styling for 56 years, and recently Joan celebrated her 60th year in the business. Joan’s story begins in 1952, when at 17 she decided to drop out of school and enter a field her mother chose for her. “I didn’t like high school – I wasn’t a good student,” Joan said.

Age: 77 Occupation: Hair Stylist Home community: Fond du Lac Years in the community: 77 What is your reaction to being nominated for Success? “I feel so honored. It was a complete surprise.”

Success | 2012

Name: Joan Andrew

To what do you owe your measure of success? “I want to thank my mom for helping me choose this profession. She must have known what I was capable of doing at the time. Little did I know I’d still be doing hair after 60 years.”

“Mother said she’d let me quit if I picked up a profession. But I really had no idea what I wanted to do,” she continued. “She just happened to know someone who worked at Hills Beauty Salon, which was located in the basement of the National Exchange Bank.”

Her mother put her in touch with the woman at Hills the next day. “I had an interview on the spot and was asked if I could start working as an apprentice the next day. I agreed,” Joan said. “I spent the next two years learning from those who did it best.” Katie Hornung, owner of Classic Cut Day Spa where Joan has worked since 1996, says Joan sets a wonderful example for others in the profession. “Joan is the perfect example of good customer service, which is critical in our profession. She will do whatever it takes to make her clients happy,” Katie said. “Customers become like her family,” Katie continues. “If Joan is sick, they call the salon to find out how she is doing. They really care about her.”

“Katie was in the process of building a bigger salon when Studio 79 closed,” Joan said. “I was happy to begin working for her and glad all of us stylists could stay together. I can’t say enough about Katie. She is something special and a wonderful person to work for. She has classes at the salon where we keep up with the latest in the hair industry. It’s important to keep learning

Changes through the years Joan’s early experience is quite a contrast from the techniques and tools used in today’s hair In her chair at Classic Cut salon in North Fond du Lac, long time client Annie Wild, styling business. Not with Joan Andrew, her beautician. Joan has been a beautician for 60 years. Patrick Flood/The Reporter. too much has stayed the same. Her first paycheck was a grand total of $15.85 for a 52-hour work week at the start dent. But there are not many salons that sponsor of her apprenticeship, which was two years of apprenticeships anymore. It’s a large responsion-the-job training combined with a half-day of bility for the salon owner.” coursework at the technical school. Changes in the industry over the six decades “There were three of us who were training at of Joan’s career are mind-boggling. “In the 1950s Hills under the apprenticeship program,” Joan we boarded the train to Milwaukee to attend hair said. “It’s not as common today, but it is still shows,” Joan recalls. And, while permanents are used.” Katie says during her career, which spans still in vogue, methods and prices have changed more than 30 years, she’s overseen just two drastically. women who chose to use the apprenticeship Joan remembers doing machine permanents approach. She says one of the advantages of an that were generated by the client sitting in what apprenticeship is that a clientele is built while the looked like an electric chair. “It had long wires person is in training. that connected to wires on the hood,” Joan ex“Apprenticeship is a decision made by the plains. “We had to wrap the hair on curling rods student and the school,” Katie explains, noting and clamp the wire over it. Then electrical wires, traditional beauty school training is a year-long which hung from the hood about a foot above program and is the most popular method. “With the client’s head, were connected to the curlan apprenticeship, the student, a school and a ers in her hair. If one of the curlers got too hot, salon work closely together to prepare the stuCONTINUED ON PAGE 42 >>>

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Joan and Katie met when they worked as hair stylists together at Hills Beauty Salon. By the late 1970s the salon moved across the street to 79 S. Main Street and was known as Studio 79. It closed in 1996, and Katie, who had left to start her own salon 10 years earlier, hired all eight of the stylists who were working at Studio 79 -- including Joan.

– no matter what field you are in.”

Success | 2012

Patrick Flood/The Reporter.

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 we had to blow cool air on it – because, if we simply took the curler out that strand would be straight.” The heavy and cumbersome system was short-lived. It was replaced by the cold wave permanent in the mid-1950s, according to Joan who adds that a similar machine is on display at the historic Galloway House and Village where she is tour guide. “The cheapest perm we had in the ‘50s was the budget wave which was $4.95,” Joan said. “Haircuts were $1.25. A manicure and a shampoo and set were $1.75.”

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Still, some things stay the same – like dependable, loyal customers who walk through the door time after time. Annie Wilde is one example. She’s had Joan as her hair stylist for 56 years. The Fond du Lac woman, now 70, first went to Joan in 1956 at age 14.

“I don’t have to tell Joan what to do,” Wilde says. “She knows exactly what to do with my hair.” Wilde says she started going to Joan because she admired the hair of another girl in high school. After I learned she went to Joan for her hair, I began going to Joan. I wanted my hair to look just like hers,” Wilde said. “It wasn’t long and I was a dead-ringer for that girl.”

“I had to raise the chair up because Annie was small,” Joan said, noting she also did Annie’s mother’s hair. “Annie comes to me regularly.” Wilde has kept the same hair-do all these years. “If you get a million compliments on your hair, you have to stick with it,” Wilde says. “Joan can’t retire until I die.” Some customers have even asked Joan to do their hair one last time – upon their death. I go to the funeral home to do their hair, as I did for my mother 20 years ago,” Joan said. “I did the hair of one of my closest friends last year -- someone I worked with almost 60 years. It was very hard, but it was a way for me to say my goodbyes.” During Joan’s early years of work, she took a leave of absence after having each of her four children. She is a proud grandmother of 10 and a greatgrandmother of 11 great grandchildren.

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Still, at 77, she has no immediate plans to retire. “I love doing hair. I love creating different styles on my customers. I love the girls I work with. And I love Katie -she is an excellent boss. I’ll stay working as long as she’ll have me and as long as I’m healthy. I take it one day at a time.” ❍

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Success | 2012

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers starting pitcher Chad Pierce, left, celebrates a 4-0 Midwest League playoff game victory Thursday, Sept. 6 at Fox Cities Stadium. Dan Powers/ The Post-Crescent

Name: Chad Pierce Age: 24 Home community: Fond du Lac Occupation: Professional baseball player

Fondy grad blows away batters for T-Rats Michael Rogers The Reporter

To what do you owe your measure of success: “I think it’s hard work and believing in myself. I went about it the right way — I worked hard I believed in myself and had a successful season.”

The key to success often times isn’t getting a chance, but rather what you do with that chance. As the Milwaukee Brewers spring training approached its close, Fond du Lac native Chad Pierce’s destination was still unknown. He could have been sent back to rookie ball in Helena, Mont., or moved up the organizational ladder to the Appleton-based single-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. A teammate’s injury made the decision easy for the Brewers’ brass, and Chad made sure they never regretted it. “Baseball’s all about opportunities and when one opens the door you’ve got to run with it,” Chad said. “Luckily I got the opportunity to start the season [in Appleton] and I made a good impression all year long and had a good season.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 >>>

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making it count

Reaction to being nominated for a Success section story: “It’s an honor. Anytime that people notice that you’ve done something good, be it in sports or in the community it’s a great honor.”

Success | 2012

Chad Pierce pitches for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers as they take on the Burlington Bees at Fox Cities Stadium. Ron Page/The PostCrescent

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43 award while at UW-Milwaukee and a selection in the 38th round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Brewers, but he had a poor season for the Helena Brewers — a rung below the Timber Rattlers — in 2011.

Chad compiled an 8-6 record with two saves and a 3.20 ERA for the Timber Rattlers. The team won the Midwest League championship for the first time since 1984. When the Timber Rattlers won the championship in Fort Wayne, Ind., the minor leaguers celebrated major league style, except with sparkling grape soda in the place of champagne.

Even after starting the year in single-A, Chad needed to regain his confidence on the mound. And he did that right away in April, striking out five in each of his first two outings and giving up just four earned runs in 16 1/3 innings in the month.

“That celebration, just the joy in everybody’s eyes, the whole season wrapping up right there; it was a fun way to end the season,” he said.

“Once you have confidence and you believe you belong there, great things can happen,” Chad said. “Luckily I got that confidence right away.”

“It’s something I’ll definitely remember the rest of my life.”

The season also included a Chad Pierce poster day in late July, pitching to Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy during Lucroy’s rehab stint — ironically that was the one game neither of his parents could attend — and pitching consistently in front of thousands of people.

Year to remember As good as the finish was, it was just a part of a great season for the burly 24-year-old right-hander. While pitching in front of family and friends, which his parents Tim and Nancy estimated were usually about 40 people per game, Chad dominated the competition with a 6-1 record at Fox Cities Stadium.

But his favorite moment came in September, when he threw his first professional complete-game shutout during the Timber Rattlers’ first playoff series.

His decorated baseball career included three all-conference selections in high school, a pitcher of the year

“I think honestly being in the playoffs. Losing our first game, backs

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Family fun Tim agreed that the playoff game was his favorite moment of the summer as well, and evidently that goes for Chad’s Grandpa Pierce as well. “He wouldn’t stop talking about the game the whole ride home,” Tim said of his father. The best part of the whole experience may have been the fact that his grandparents, his parents and so many of his friends and relatives could get to his games. Tim said he was surprisingly calm during the games, while Nancy was moving around the park trying to find a spot to take photos of Chad. “A lot of families, friends, girlfriends they’re unable to watch their son or friend play professional baseball because they’re usually cross-country, so playing so close to home, my parents were ecstatic,” Chad said.

After getting the news that he would start the year in Appleton, Chad said he grabbed his phone headed outside of the clubhouse and called his parents, who were thrilled when they heard the news. “How could we not be proud parents,” Tim said. “He spent his entire life trying to

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Despite his great season in Appleton, there are still three levels of baseball between Chad and the major leagues. He hopes to be pitching next year with the Brevard County (Fla.) Manatees in high-A ball. The odds of one day pitching at Miller Park may not be in Chad’s favor, but he’s going to keep pitching until he’s told to stop. “It’s a great honor to keep on playing,” he said from Arizona, where he was participating in the Brewers’ fall instructional league. “Obviously the organization thinks enough of me to keep giving me this opportunity to keep pitching.” When his baseball career is complete, Chad already has a good idea about what’s next. He has degrees in middle childhood education and early adult education from UW-Milwaukee, and has already had some classroom experience as a student teacher while at UW-Milwaukee. He said the work ethic it takes to succeed in baseball is something he will take into his next profession, whenever that may take place. “Hard work whether it’s division one baseball or professional baseball. Whatever you do you have to put every effort into it,” Chad said. “If I’m going to teach or coach I’ve got to put all my heart into it.” ❍

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The Pierce family used to go to Fox Cities Stadium with the youth baseball association, and Tim said seeing his son on that field was “surreal.”

get to this level. He gave up so much. Back when he was 16, 17 (years old) when kids were having fun every weekend we were traveling to Detroit so he could play baseball.”

Success | 2012

against the wall, and I was able to pitch a complete game shutout,” he said. “I think that summed up the whole year.”

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Success | 2012

Greg Giles, CEO/Executive Director of the Fond du Lac YMCA stands among the four-year-old classroom at the YMCA. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

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leading

the way

Giles strengthens community and those in it Taima Kern The Reporter

Name: Greg Giles Age: 44 Number of years in the community: Fond du Lac until 5th grade, then returned in 2003 Occupation: CEO & Executive Director of the YMCA for the last nine years. Reaction to being selected as a Success story: “Quite an honor, I’ve read all the articles over the years, it’s great that I’m able to impart such positive feelings for all the things that I’ve done with the community.” To what do you attribute your success? “[My success is] based on an incredibly kind, generous community with a lot of vision.”

du Lac to study and to see how the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club work together, and Greg has also gone to other locations and given speeches on the topic, as well. The idea was born between Greg and Stan Kocos, the thendirector of the Boys and Girls Club. Both organizations were low on financial resources, but a partnership was exactly what the doctor ordered to help all involved. And so, collaboration ensued. Now both organizations operate out of the facility that was built in 2009.

“Growing up in a single-parent atmosphere made me appreciate the family dynamic. Most people have a better home life, I know that my priorities are to invest in the people and in improving the lives of those around me,” says Greg, “looking back I truly appreciate all the hard work mom put in, [to put] food on the table, but sports gave me another sense of family, positive reinforcement, great friends.” Using that at a springboard, after finishing high school in Port Washington, Greg attended UW-Oshkosh for physical education because he wanted to give back to the community, educate and inform those around him on the need for sports and family dynamics. In 2003, he was brought back to Fond du Lac by the YMCA, when he was hired as their Executive Director and CEO. The YMCA seemed like the perfect fit for Greg, a place that embodied all of the objectives that he held near and dear. The YMCA mission statement said it all for Greg: “by upholding our core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and caring, the Y is committed to strengthening our community through programs that promote youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.”

Running the YMCA It took seven years of hard work for Greg to get the YMCA turned around. “The old YMCA was like that old car that you’ve had for years that doesn’t run perfect, but you take care of it and it did chug along, but they weren’t proud of it. The new YMCA is like that new, shiny car that you can’t help but brag about it,” remarks Greg. Today, the Fond du Lac YMCA has 11,000 members, up from the mere 4,500 members that used to attend the Y at the old facility. Nowadays, Greg and the staff provide services for 750-1000 kids a day.

Greg has been wildly successful in his roll, which also included overseeing the construction of the new state-of-the-art YMCA community and family facility, in 2009. The facility includes: two swimming pools (a family recreation pool featuring a water slide, play structure, two lap lanes, current channel and water exercise area, plus a cooler-water four-lane lap pool); whirlpool and steam room; life management center for cardio and strength training, offering treadmills, cross-trainers, free weight center and a stretching area; two full-size gymnasium courts; two racquetball courts; three workout studios for group exercise classes; multi-purpose space for programs and seminars; five locker rooms for adults, youth, and a family/ special needs area; Family Adventure Center and Child Watch areas; and Licensed Child Care and Early Learning Center, including 4K and ADVOCAP Head Start programs.

Possibly the greatest accomplishment of Greg’s time as director is the collaboration between the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club, which has become a model of volunteer cooperation that is being envied and implemented by other YMCAs across the United States. Thirteen different YMCAs from across the U.S. have sent observers to Fond

For the next five to ten years, Greg plans to guide the YMCA to add a focus on developing programs in collaboration with partners in the community on topics like pre-diabetes, youth obesity, and inactive youth, one of the major issues gripping America as a whole.

Home Life Outside of being the CEO and Executive Director of the YMCA, Greg is also the President of Loaves and Fishes, serves with the Redevelopment Authority, is involved in the Association and Commerce and the Noon Rotary, and volunteers at the Children’s Ministry at the Community Church

At home, he and his wife have four kids: The oldest, Ben, is 18 and a freshman at New York University. The middle two, Josh, 14 and Jordan, 12, both attend SMSA, and the baby girl of the family, Ansleigh, is 4, and attends the Fond du Lac Public School/YMCA’s 4K program at the Y. “She is super excited to be able to go to school where daddy works,” smiles Greg. When he isn’t spending time with his family, Greg loves to practice public speaking around the Midwest on a regular basis, and he loves to wield the power of humor to make a difference in the lives of those who listen to him speak. ❍

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On a regular basis, Greg does everything from board development to folding towels. He enjoys setting the vision for the future of the YMCA, setting up events, collaborating with other groups and making the big decisions, but sometimes nothing beats the day to day duties that most executive directors would never get their hands dirty with.

Success | 2012

Growing up in single parent homes can give you a different outlook on life than that of someone who spent their time in a full traditional family. Greg Giles spent his youth in just such a home in Fond du Lac, and he has chosen to take what he learned about the world and use it to help those around him and the community as a whole.

Success | 2012

changing lives Mary Narges celebrates 25 years helping others through Free SPIRIT Riders Taima Kern The Reporter

Name: Mary Narges Age: 65 Number of years in community: Lifetime Hometown: Campbellsport

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Occupations: Executive Director of the Free SPIRIT Riders, retired from everything else.

Reaction to being selected for a Success Section story: “I am truly honored, grateful to be recognized for what I do.”

Free SPIRIT Riders, Inc. founder Mary Narges talks about the facility and riders. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

To what do you owe your measure of success: “To a lot of great people who have helped me along the way. I have a philosophy: involve yourself with smart and friendly people and listen to what they say. That leads to success.”

Now, with the Free SPIRIT (Special People In Riding Therapy) Riders having surpassed their 25-year mark on the Fond du Lac scene, and after having published a book about her time and work with the non-for-profit, Mary is accustomed to her four-legged, long-nosed coworkers. “I still don’t like horses,” says Mary. “But I love what they can do for the people I introduce them to. I may not need to ride or groom a horse to feel good, but I like to make it happen for others. And, besides, someone’s got to do all the fundraising and grant writing.”

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25 years of success It takes many people to lift an idea from the ground and set it on its way, but without the idea’s original founder to shout “heaveto,” people will rarely lift alone. Mary has no problem organizing the people she knows, and reaching out to the next degrees of separation to expand her network. It was with the help of Amelia “Emmy” Butzen and Sheila Flucke that the Free SPIRIT Riders was established. Emmy offered the assistance of her family-owned farm, and Sheila offered her education in equestrian science and business administration. Mary’s philosophy about surrounding yourself with smart, kind people held true, and through a lot of negotiating, fund-raising, matching of donations by numerous generous individuals including the Brett Favre Fourward Foundation, they were able to come out ahead of the game and survive for the last twenty-five years. Mary worked for 26 years for the Fond du Lac County Department of Social Services as a Child Protection Social Worker for children with developmental disabilities, something that she had wanted to be ever since she was a child. She holds a master’s degree in social welfare from UW-Milwaukee, and her undergrad was a degree in social work from Marian University, class of ’85, on top of an associate’s in science from UW-Fond du Lac, class of ’83. It was through her schooling and her time working with people that she fell in love with the services.

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As the Free SPIRIT Riders’ executive director and founder, Mary spends her days scheduling participants’ appointments, recruiting and scheduling volunteers, assisting in training, all of the administrative duties, making arrangements with the Master Gardeners, cooking, dreaming, filing, answering the phone, e-mailing, and tracking down anything else that needs to be done to keep everything running smoothly. “And, for the most part, I enjoy it!” Mary says.

Having a facility built solely for FSR was an accomplishment in and of itself, but the biggest accomplishment was paying off the

Success | 2012

Growing up on a farm east of Eden, Mary Narges was a 4-H kid, showing cows and pigs at the fair. “I was the Wisconsin’s Durock Queen in 1967, and the 1966 Fond du Lac Pork Princess,” laughs Mary, remembering her younger years. “Those titles don’t even exist anymore!” But for all her love of other animals, she wasn’t particularly fond of horses. “I didn’t have any involvement with horses, but I did ride a pig once,” Mary adds. “I never thought that horses would be the future for me.”

Success | 2012

<<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49 mortgage on the facility. “It means we’re here, we’re truly here,” Mary smiles. “Most places like us don’t have their own location, they have to keep their horses boarded, they have to rent riding areas.” Free SPIRIT Riders having their own facility all to themselves and paid for means that all of the funds raised can go straight back into the program. Staff can focus 100 percent on the services they provide. Mary would like to thank the community for their quarter-century of support. She would also like to thank her supportive husband, Chuck Narges, who walked

into her life when she was least expecting him: while she was completely committed to creating the Free SPIRIT Riders. Mary also accomplished a feat not many people tend to take on: writing a book. “The year was 1987, and the month was February. Reader’s Digest published a story that month called, ‘The Boy Who Climbed a Marigold’ by Anthony Jones. It told of a young boy with Down’s syndrome who learned to ride a horse at a therapeutic riding center that was accredited through the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA).” The above quote is the first few lines of “The Chronicles of Free S.P.I.R.I.T. Riders: A Quarter Century of Therapeutic Horsemanship” by Mary Narges, co-authored by Elaine Pirsig, published in honor of their 25th year of service. The book is an assemblage of the mission, inspiration and creation of the Free SPIRIT Riders and 25 years worth of monthly newsletters that cover their horses, the riders that they have helped over the years, and many of the disabilities they have encountered. “I’m proud to be a paperback writer,” laughs Mary, “[writing a book] seemed like an insurmountable plan when

One of the many horses at Free SPIRIT Riders, Inc. founded by Mary Narges. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

[Elaine Pirsig] used to bring it up, but some of it was written already, the newsletters from past years are a unique way to tell our story, and truly [make the book] a chronicle.”

Hobbies In her spare time, Mary enjoys spending time with her family and her grandchildren, and getting involved with her fourth grandchild’s school, like she did for the first three. Family is one of the most important parts of Mary’s life. ❍

Free SPIRIT Riders, Inc. founder Mary Narges talks about the past 25 years with the Free SPIRIT Riders in her book. Aileen Andrews/The Reporter.

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