Chamber Connection, May 2015

In this issue . . .

MAY 2015

New Leadership Excellence class completes program WAUSAU — A group has completed their nine-month leadership course and was recognized at a ceremony held at The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company in Wausau on Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Leadership Excellence is a program led by Ray Mickevicius and includes 12 sessions totaling almost 100 hours.

Cory Heckendorf, branch manager at Wisconsin Kenworth and a Leadership Excellence graduate, spoke at the ceremony.

These graduates were recognized at the ceremony: Amber Anderson, Ben Bliven, Andrew Brueggeman, Duane Churkey, John Formella, Corey Fredericks, Becky Frisch, Peter Fuchs, Maggie Hemauer, Ray Mickevicius, right, shakes hands with Jen Kowalski as Sara Holtz, Jen Kowalski, Renae her completion of Leadership Excellence is recognized.

Krings, Megan Lawrence, Amy Libertoski, Russell Michalski, Jake Miller, Michael Morse, Ashley Placek, Ron Pomasl, Dan Powers, John Raczek, Becky Schemenauer, Jon Shirck, Sean Spromberg, Philip Suckow, Phil Summers, Kristin Swanson, Kevin Terry, John Tracy, John Treweek, Kirk Van Den Heuvel, Michael Van Order, Scott Wright, Jenifer Zurfluh.

Leadership Excellence improves the ability of those enrolled to manage change, create synergistic teams and uncover positive solutions. The program designed to develop the enrollee’s professional and personal self, based on their strengths.

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Member News Social Media Update Ambassador of the Month New Members

Register for the 2015-2016 Leadership Excellence session: Registration is open for the 2015-2016 program. The first in the series of monthly sessions will be held on Sept. 1, 2015.

For more information on the program, contact Nick O’Brien at 715848-5965 or nobrien@ wausauchamber.com.

To register, visit wausauchamber.com.

Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce members can participate in Leadership Excellence at a reduced rate.

Member News

How to Submit Member News • Visit WausauChamber.com and log into the Member Information Center • In the navigation on the left, select ‘News Releases’ • On that page, choose the ‘Start a New Release’ button in the upper right-hand corner • Enter your information and press ‘Submit’ Submissions must be reviewed before they are posted on the website, so please allow one to two business days for it to appear on the Member News Page.

If you haven’t joined the online Members-Only Information Center, now is the time. Visit the registration page and start using your benefits immediately!

Help us Welcome the Newest Chamber Members!

Support the regional economy do business with members.

Avis/Budget

Mountain View Estates

Gander Mountain

Rodan + Fields

Harter’s Fox Valley Disposal

Wausau 525 Group LLC Wausome Foods

Technical details

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• Secure.chambermaster.com • Secure2.chambermaster.com • Chambermaster.com Contact the computer support technician at your company for assistance in understanding and locating your potential pop-up blockers.

ONLINE:

View Chamber Member News

This week’s calendar: Business PM Wisconsin Woodchucks Baseball Thursday, May 28 , 5 to 7 p.m.

Athletic Park, Wausau

Register here

Connect with people who will either become or help you meet your next customer. Quality networking time with food, drinks and door prizes.

2015-16 Business PMs: Applications accepted on June 1!

www.wausauchamber.com

Make Great Connections at the

Chamber Golf Outing

Monday, June 22, 2015 Wausau Country Club 11 am shotgun start, 18 holes SPONSORED BY:

ALSO JOIN US FOR THE

Chamber Women’s Golf Outing WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015

Make more connections at Greenwood Hills Country Club 10 am shotgun start, 9 holes

Visit wausauchamber.com for details and registration or call 715-848-5953 www.wausauchamber.com

Social Media

Members invited to post Mashup and #TBT photos

A new, fun way to share member news and images

The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and Twitter account include some regular new features. For our Member Mashup feature, post photos related to collaboration between Chamber members to our social media accounts or email them to botten@wausauchamber.com.

For #TBT (Throwback Thursday) we want to share vintage photos of your business.

Again, post historical photos to our social media accounts or email them to botten@wausauchamber.com.

Young professionals group celebrates first anniversary Members of E3YP met to celebrate the organization’s first year on Thursday, May 14, 2015. The event also marked the opening of a new addition at Jalapeno’s Mexican Restaurante & Bar.

For more event information visit:

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Ribbon Cuttings

ONLINE:

View Recent Ribbon Cuttings and Groundbreakings

Six ribbon cuttings have been held recently. Events were held at The UPS Store on April 29, (clockwise from upper left), Krautkramer & Block LLC Law Firm on May 19, Wauskin Medical Aesthetics on May 20, North Central Health Care’s Community Corner Clubhouse on May 21, Wausau Financial Systems on May 12 and Community Soul Yoga on May 6.

To view more photos and video from ribbon cuttings and other Chamber events, ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow our Twitter account.

www.wausauchamber.com

Ambassador of the Month

Congratulations Connie Frieders

Connie Frieders, wireless consultant with Northway Frieders explained at Communications Inc in Wausau, has been a Chamber a recent Ambassador Ambassador for five years. meeting what she enjoyed about the role, but she Frieders has been with Northway Communications Inc, forgot to include the item an Agent of Cellcom, for two years. Prior to entering the she appreciates the most. technology sales industry, Frieders worked in banking Frieders looks up to her where she made valuable long lasting relationships. fellow Ambassadors with Frieders has met many people along the way and enjoys gratitude and appreciation. catching up with them.

The group offers her great leadership examples and Connie Frieders With her career transition, she continues to cater to she takes pride in being in her clients the only way she knows how, with integrity, the company of her fellow Ambassadors. compassion, focus and plenty of communication. Frieders has always loved technology and made the career change When Frieders dons her red jacket, she feels the value of the to stay passionate about her work. extra time she has invested in being an Ambassador. Frieders wrote, “The Chamber lets me be creative and connect people Frieders lives in Marathon City where she is married to to other people, to other businesses, to training, to jobs, etc.

Dale. The couple has two daughters, Olivia, 16, and Alexis, The Chamber has so many different avenues to take at 14. The girls motivate Frieders and give her purpose and any given time. I love sharing my voice, as the Wausau and direction.

Marathon County are an exceptional area to live and work.”

Video series highlights UW programs The University of Wisconsin Colleges and UW-Extension have launched a series of brief videos aimed to help business leaders, community leaders, government officials and other stakeholders learn about their work on campus.

In this month’s video, Chancellor Cathy Sandeen talks about the UW Flexible Option, a program designed to let busy adults start work on a degree or certificate when they want, advance at their own pace, test when they’re ready and earn credit for what they already know.

An earlier video in the series explains the role UW Colleges plays in the higher education landscape and the partnership with counties and cities that allows UW Colleges to carry out their access mission.

For more information, visit this YouTube channel.

www.wausauchamber.com

Small Business Week

Small Business of the Year Award Recipients Named WAUSAU — The friends Eliot Butler 2015 Wausau Region and Rob Lobreglio.

SMALL Chamber of Commerce The pair dreamed of USINES named the three 2015 starting a brewpub OF THE YEAR Small Businesses of the that offered a variety Year Award recipients of house-brewed ales at a ceremony on the and lagers and hearty, morning of Tuesday, April made-from-scratch pub 21 at Stoney Creek Hotel fare. The success of the & Conference Center in Rothschild. first Great Dane led to the decision to open more pubs in the Madison area.

The Small Business of the Year Award In May 2009 the first Great Dane recognizesbusinessgrowth,community location outside of the Madison area involvement, and innovative efforts in debuted in Wausau. the Wausau Region. Recipients were named in three categories: Charitable Non-Profit category: United Way of Marathon County Business-to-Business category: Inc. brings our community together Mutual of Wausau Insurance to care for one another. This Corporation, the result of Wausau and non-profit invests in identified Stettin mutual merging in 1998, has education, income and health provided fire and business insurance priorities that lead to improved youth since 1875. Ten product lines are success, family financial stability and offered to 20,000 policyholders the reduction of risk behaviors. This in 38 counties. A 2011 merger in organization connects people to addition to a 2014 affiliation led to get help through 2-1-1; encourages the creation of the Mutual of Wausau volunteerism through Volunteer Group. This new industry paradigm Connection, RSVP and affinity positions them to become a leader groups; and uses coalitions to focus among mutuals across the country. on a common agenda that leads to This business is one of the Chamber’s improved lives. oldest members.

A Small Business of the Year Awards Business-to-Consumer category: Recognition Ceremony was also held The Great Dane Pub and Brewing on Friday, April 24 at the Jefferson Company was established by college Street Inn.

B

Mark Splinter, President and CEO of Mutual Of Wausau Insurance Corporation, accepts the Small Business of the Year Award in the Business-to-Business category.

Tim Grebe of Grebe’s presents Corey Young, General Manager of The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company, with the 2015 Small Business of the Year award in the Business-toConsumer category.

Joanne Kelly, Executive Director of United Way of Marathon County, accepts her Small Business of the Year award in the Charitable Non-Profit category.

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S

Chamber News

Wausau Named a National Finalist to Become America’s Best Community WAUSAU — Wausau is one of only 50 communities in the nation to advance to the quarterfinals of the “America’s Best Communities” competition sponsored by Frontier Communications, DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel across the country. This three-year competition lasts until April of 2017 and involves three more levels of elimination, with the final winner receiving $3 million for a community revitalization project and the title of America’s Best Community.

As one of only two Wisconsin communities to advance out of almost 140 applications, Wausau will receive $50,000 and a corporate sponsor partner to help further develop the strategic community and economic revitalization plans outlined in the initial application. These plans, which focus on reviving the Wausau region economy and improving the quality of life in the community, were developed over a period of six months by a group of individuals representing multiple aspects of the Wausau Region, including tourism, business, government, education and young professionals.

The terms of the competition

Sara Guild, government affairs director with the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Jones, general manager for Frontier Communications, present a banner to the City of Wausau at a City Council meeting on May 26. Photo by Raymond Neupert of WSAU.

required the group to be led by a non-profit physically located within the community that it represented.

The Wausau Region Chamber was honored to take on this role and worked closely with representatives from the City of Wausau, including the Mayor, board members and staff from a variety of departments, to complete the application.

“It’s an honor to be selected with 49 other communities across the country as a part of the America’s Best Communities competition.” said Aaron Kapellusch, President and CEO of the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce. “We had many key collaborators involved in the submission process and it’s great to see our collective hard work pay off.

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We look forward to the next round and want the country to know that Wausau is a great place for people of all ages to work, live and play. It really is America’s Best Community” The team now has six months to complete the revitalization plans in order to move to the next level of the competition and become a Top 15 semifinalist. In early 2016, these 15 semifinalists will attend the America’s Best Communities summit to present their strategies to a panel of judges. Eight finalists will then be selected and awarded an additional $100,000 to begin the implementation of their plans over the next 11 months, with the top three winners being awarded $1 million, $2 million and $3 million in

Member News

America’s Best Communities Continued

prize money in April 2017.

Wausau will partner with American Century Investment for guidance and support throughout the next stage of the competition. The America’s Best Communities Adopt-a-Community Program has brought together 50 distinguished companies from across the U.S. to support the quarterfinalist communities. American Century Investment will serve as Wausau’s strategic mentor, while also contributing $15,000 of the $50,000 in prize money. This corporate partner will forge relationships with local leaders and focus their efforts on successful implementation of the innovative

business plans.

“We’ve said it before, and now we have proof: Wausau is one of America’s Best Communities,” said Steve Jones, Frontier general manager for the Wausau market. “With this major victory in the first round of the America’s Best Communities competition, Wausau has taken an important step forward in its work to revitalize our local economy and enhance quality of life.”

For more information on the America’s Best Community Prize Competition, please visit AmericasBestCommunities. com or contact the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce at 715-8456231.

Pete Valiska, right, presented Henry Yach III with a Best of Show Award at the 2015 Business EXPO.

Vegas theme, talking chicken among EXPO Best of Show The Best of Show recipients for this year’s Business EXPO were named at a Business PM on April 23.

Andrew Becker of Becker Communications Inc. announced the winning businesses in the following categories:

ICYMI:

(In Case You Missed It) Deb Pagel, director or human resources consulting at Schenck SC answered questions about hiring talent at the WAKE UP Wausau Region program on hiring talent on May 13 at Dale’s Weston Lanes.

Best of Show, Eats or Treats: Ed & Sharon’s Restaurant & Catering featured a talking chicken in their booth along with samples.

Best of Show, Attention Strategy: Yach’s Body & Custom Inc. partnered with Northcentral Technical College on a pair of virtual elements.

Best of Show, Best Theme: R-Store (Riiser Energy) with Las Vegas themed games.

To view more photos and video from Chamber events, ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow our Twitter account.

Best of Show, Overall: Office Enterprises Inc. set up a multi-faceted office environment.

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