Milwaukee Magazine | Legacy Profiles

A Tradition of Quality

How Bartelt went from a two-person operation to one of Milwaukee’s most in-demand remodeling firms

Rick Bartelt’s father started teaching him carpentry when he was only 12 years old. He spent his adolescence and early adulthood working with his father on projects across Milwaukee.

“I always pushed my dad,” Rick says. “I would say, ‘Hey, we’re working for all these general contractors. We could do what they do. We could build a business. And he always said, ‘Well, someday, if that’s what you want to do, you should.’”

So in 1984, at age 22, Rick took the leap and started Bartelt Remodeling with his wife, Chris. That first year, they ran the operation out of their West Milwaukee house, with Rick doing the remodeling jobs and Chris handling the books.

The business started out mostly remodeling garages, but the quality of the work quickly led customers to request other projects from Rick, and within a year he was hiring a team of contractors and designers. By 1989, Bartelt had grown large enough to necessitate a new office in West Allis. The firm became a full-service remodeling business, designing kitchens, baths and entire homes, and even building custom houses from the ground up.

In 2009, Rick moved the business to its current Delafield location, and in 2012 his daughter Amanda joined the growing team. Today, Bartelt remains a leading remodeling firm in Wisconsin. It’s well-known for crafting classic looks that stand the test of time. Bartelt has a team of designers and experts, as well as a wide network of trade partners who help ensure every project is timely and exceptional.

RICK BARTELT

“The majority of our customers now are repeat and referral,” Rick says. “That’s because we take good care of them – it’s how we’ve developed the reputation we have. It’s a wonderful thing to look back and see that.”

528 Wells St., Suite B, Delafield 262-646-8020 barteltremodel.com

“I'm very proud of the legacy we’ve built.”

Bartelt

The Remodeling Resource

A Family Operation

BILTRITE Furniture-Leather-Mattresses has been a staple in southeastern Wisconsin for nearly a century.

In 1928, Irwin K erns opened what was then called BILTRITE Upholstery, manufacturing and selling custom made sofas out of a small storefront on Third Street and Garfield. Over 20 years, the business grew enough that Kerns moved into a five-story building on Mitchell Street in 1948. That same year, he renamed the shop BILTRITE Furniture to reflect its growing inventory.

Irwin’s daughter, Claire, married Mort Komisar, who took over the business in 1964. He was succeeded by his son, Marty, who started as a part-time employee as a teenager and took over leadership in 1970, while Mort continued working at the store into his 80s.

Marty married his wife, Gail, in 1977, and she soon joined the staff at BILTRITE. Their children, Randi Komisar Schachter and Brad Komisar, have both been involved in the family business since they were children. “We all work hard,” Randi says. “We have passion, commitment and love for the business.”

In 2006, BILTRITE once again outgrew its location and the family moved from Mitchell Street to Layton Avenue in Greenfield, where it now has a 45,000-squarefoot showroom. The retailer once again changed its name to reflect its expanding purview: BILTRITE Furni -

ture-Leather-Mattresses. BILTRITE keeps thousands of items in stock, including affordable Amish furniture, other American-made furniture, flippable mattresses and much more.

a Milwaukee born-and-raised business.”

RANDI K., FOURTH-GENERATION FAMILY MEMBER

Marty remains fully active as BILTRITE’s president and CEO. He, Gail, Brad and Randi continue to work at the store, and Brad’s wife, Sarah, has also joined the staff. This year, they’re celebrating 95 years in business.

“We’re excited, appreciative and humbled by the fact that we’re still going strong,” Randi says. “We’re four generations of the family in this business, and we celebrate our whole team because it’s taken all of us together to hit this milestone.”

“We’re

2022

Building a Legacy Together

IAG Wealth Partners has been helping Milwaukeeans plan their futures for over 35 years.

Within a year of founding IAG Wealth Partners in 1985, Lori Watt gave birth to her son. “Juggling to start a business while being a new mom was crazy,” Watt says, “I couldn’t afford an assistant, so I had to do everything myself – manually, since affordable computers were just entering the scene.”

Watt started her own firm after five years working at a different financial services company. She found that what she most enjoyed about her role there was working directly with clients to craft a financial plan for their future. While building IAG, she made that personal touch the core service that IAG provides.

One year later, Susan Kuhlenbeck joined Lori, became a co-owner, and together they gradually began to build the IAG team. Over three decades, IAG has grown to 30 employees and is now one of the premier wealth management firms in Southeastern Wisconsin. “I

love seeing the value we provide for our clients – planning for their financial goals and preparing them for the unexpected.”

The IAG team provides personalized wealth management plans for clients, working with professionals, families, business owners and more. Watt is now focused on the future, with a plan to help the younger advisors on the team grow and keep IAG going for decades into the future.

“We’ve never been focused on rapid growth at the expense of our culture and client experience, “Watt says. “Our focus has always been on maintaining our legacy for generations to come.”

IAG Wealth Partners N19 W24200 Riverwood Dr., Waukesha 262-446-8150 iagwealthpartners.com

“I’m proud to have built this phenomenal team.”

LORI WATT

Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through IAG Wealth Partners, LLC, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.

A Community-Based Plan

For four decades, Network Health has taken a different, local approach to health insurance.

Forty years ago, 42 doctors who worked at the Nicolet Clinic north of Milwaukee had an idea – they wanted to form a new kind of health insurance plan, one that was local, provider-owned and personalized for its members. “The physicians knew their community, and they saw that they could care for it with this new plan in a more comprehensive manner,” says Coreen Dicus-Johnson, Network Health’s president and CEO.

The insurance group was initially called Nicolet Health Plan and started with the Nicolet Clinic. But quickly the small, localized approach proved popular, and the plan began to expand to other clients, providing insurance for businesses and moving beyond the borders of Nicolet into the Fox Valley and

then further. The name was changed to Network Health Plan in May of 1996.

“We’ve gone through many changes since the inception, but one of the many things that has remained the same is that we continue to be provider-owned and community-focused,” Dicus-Johnson says.

Network Health now offers over 100 customizable health insurance plans and serves 115,000 members across 24 Wisconsin counties, with 20,000 physicians participating in its network. Currently owned by Ascension Wisconsin and Froedtert Health, Network Health offers Medicare, Medicaid, employer, individual, family and state employee plans. And Network Health is the only Medicare plan in Wisconsin with an overall 5 Star rating and a 5 Star rating for its customer service and prescription drug plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“The first thing that I hear from our members is, ‘I love your customer service,’” Dicus-Johnson says. “What’s different about us is that our employees are living and working in the communities they serve. We know our community, so we are really able to provide that personalized care.”

Network Health

1570 Midway Pl., Menasha; 16960 W. Greenfield Ave., Brookfield 800-983-7587 networkhealth.com

“We put our members at the center of everything we do.”

COREEN DICUS-JOHNSON

Over Two Decades of Signature Style

Dynamic Events by David Caruso produces unmatched, perfectly choreographed experiences across the city and beyond.

Dynamic Events was the culmination of passions for David Caruso. He grew up performing in theater, studied television broadcasting at Marquette, and spent years working in the restaurant, hospitality and marketing business in Milwaukee and Chicago.

“Live events have everything that I love,” Caruso says. “They have elements of theater, storytelling, hospitality and branding.”

In 2002, Caruso moved back to his hometown of Milwaukee and founded Dynamic Events. He started small, operating out of a 200-square foot rented storage space his first year. After planning his first wedding for a Chicago couple, he started to gain attention for his lavish and thoughtfully planned occasions. The business began to grow, and he developed the signature

flair that has made his name a recognizable brand.

“My work is really about discovering the story of each and every event, the heart and soul, and turning that into an experience,” he says. “It’s so much more than making a place look pretty. It’s about infusing the experience in every way with the spirit of hospitality. That really is what makes my events different from so many others.”

While he started out planning mostly weddings, Caruso since expanded his business and now plans charitable galas, private parties, corporate gatherings and more both in Milwaukee and across the globe. Dynamic Events now

plans around 25 events per year. He works with his clients from conception to execution to create a signature, unique, unforgettable experience for the guests.

“The events that really stand out to me are where we transform spaces,” Caruso says. “It might have been The Pfister Hotel or the Milwaukee Art Museum, but you would never know because of the transformation. Watching the guests experience that is extremely rewarding.”

Dynamic Events by David Caruso 414-526-4911 eventsbydc.com @eventsbydc

“There really is nothing else quite like a Dynamic Events by David Caruso experience.”

DAVID CARUSO