Abbott Laboratories
Two Wisconsin companies received a Supplier Excellence Award from Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill. In total, 23 winners were recognized for contributions to Abbott in 2006, and were chosen from over 25,000 worldwide suppliers for their performance and improvement in supplying materials, equipment and services to Abbott. Riley Construction Co. Inc., Kenosha, and DK Contractors Inc., Pleasant Prairie, were the only Wisconsin companies to win.
Moraine Park Technical College
The West Bend campus of Moraine Park Technical College, Fond du Lac, promoted Pete Rettler to interim campus and community partner. Rettler has been with Moraine Park since 1997 and currently serves as executive dean of instructional technologies and curriculum design. He will continue to serve in both capacities through the end of the year, by which time the college plans to have a permanent candidate selected for the position.
Wisconsin Coalition of Asian-Indian Organizations
The Wisconsin Coalition of Asian-Indian Organizations (WCAIO), Milwaukee, is seeking funds to purchase automatic external defibrillator (AED) devices for more than 50 Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) currently operating without this equipment as the focus of its 2007 fundraising campaign. An AED is a computerized medical device that can check a person’s heart rhythm and can advise the rescuer when a shock is needed by using voice prompts, lights and text messages to tell the rescuer the steps to take. Each AED device is estimated to cost $1,600. The WCAIO aims to formally give the AED devices to the schools at its annual celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday in October. The WCAIO’s goal is to have an AED in every MPS school.
KingsHead Hair and Wellness Salon
KingsHead Hair and Wellness Salon, Milwaukee, received a Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Sales and Service from Cyberhair, distributed by International Hairgoods Inc., Chanhassen, Minn. Cyberhair is a patented high tech hair replacement system. KingsHead earned the distinction by generating sales in 2006 that placed it in the top one percent of Cyberhair sales in the U.S. KingsHead serves as an exclusive Cyberhair center in the area and has been selling the product since it was first introduced in the U.S., about 12 years ago.
Dr. Wesley L. Scott Senior Living Center
The Dr. Wesley L. Scott Senior Living Center, located at 2800 W. Wright St. in Milwaukee, recently opened for business, providing 80 senior apartments that benefit from a solar domestic hot water and solar electric system. Gorman & Co., Madison, developed the facility and partnered with Focus on Energy, Madison, to install an 11.65 kilowatt (kW) solar
electric system and 14-panel solar domestic hot water system. The installation will cut the facility’s natural gas consumption by 17 percent and produce an estimated 14,475 kWh per year. The system will also offset 23.3 tons of carbon per year. The completion of renewable energy systems is due in part to technical assistance and a $45,000 Cash-Back Reward from Focus on Energy.
First Realty GMAC Real Estate
First Realty GMAC Real Estate, Waukesha, developed a commercial and investment division in its Greenfield office location at 9505 W. Forest Home Ave. Michael Hashek re-joined First Realty GMAC and will lead the branch as vice president. Hashek previously worked for First Realty GMAC in 1994 and has more than 22 years of real estate experience.
Camp Heartland
Camp Heartland, Milwaukee, was featured on ABC Television’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in May, as the recipient of a renovated facility for its camp near Albany, New York, along with a new home for a Camp Heartland family. Camp Heartland is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children, youth and their families facing HIV/AIDS, poverty, grief and other painful life challenges. Willenson nominated Debbie Oatman-Gaitan, a single mother of four from New York for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition after hearing about her home that was sinking two to three inches per year because of a cracking foundation. Three of Oatman-Gaitan’s children are adopted with multiple disabilities and two are HIV-positive. Three of her children have attended Camp Heartland’s year-round camp in northern Minnesota, but one child is afraid to fly and has been unable to participate. To make Camp Heartland’s program more accessible, Willenson contacted Clearpool Education Center in Albany, New York to rent their facility for the summer. However, the facility was in need of a few renovations in order to adequately host the special needs of the Camp Heartland campers.
Oatman-Gaitan received a new 3,700-square-foot home from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the renovations made to the Clearpool Education Center will enable Camp Heartland to serve more than 250 children and families this summer. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding Inc., L.A.
Plunkett Raysich Architects and Versant
Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, partnered with Versant, Milwaukee, to provide facility branding services to clients contemplating building or renovating their headquarters or other facilities. Facility branding is the practice of extending a company’s brand identity to the building the company is located in. The alliance between Plunkett Raysich Architects and Versant offers clients both architectural design and communications expertise. The goal of facility branding is to create a consistent brand message for employees, clients and customers throughout the facility. Plunkett Raysich first worked with Versant on facility branding in 2003 when Versant was hired to serve as a communications consultant.
DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C.
Douglas Frazer, a tax partner with the Brookfield office of DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., Madison, received a 2007 Burton Award for Legal Achievement from the Burton Foundation, New York. The awards recognize effective legal writing by law firm partners and law students who write in a clear and understandable prose. Frazer was among the 30 individuals selected by the awards committee from hundreds of applications submitted by the largest 1,000 law firms in the nation. Frazer won an award for his article “Absurdist Humor and the Form-Substance Dialectic in Tax Law.” The article appeared in the August 21, 2006 edition of Tax Notes.
Snow and Ice Management Association
The Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) moved its headquarters from Erie, Penn., to Milwaukee with the appointment of Martin Tirado, a Milwaukee-area certified association executive to the position of executive director. Tirado has more than nine years of experience in association management.
First Bank Financial Centre
Mark Mohr joined First Bank Financial Centre, Oconomowoc, as president. Mohr has more than 20 years of experience in banking and finance. He most recently served as chief executive officer of Monona State Bank, Madison, for six years. Prior to Monona State Bank, Mohr worked for First Wisconsin, now US Bank, Minneapolis, for 17 years and served as regional manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Norbert College and a master’s degree in business administration from UW-Madison.
Community Memorial Hospital
The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) department at Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls, was awarded a three-year accreditation renewal from the American College of Radiology, Reston, Va.
Three pictures of Community Memorial Hospital nurses “in action” were chosen to be displayed at the American Journal of Nursing’s 2007 photography exhibit, “Faces of Caring: Nurses at Work” at New York University. The display of 25 photos will be part of a traveling exhibit available to organizations and schools to showcase careers in nursing.
Mercury Communication Partners LLC
Croscill Inc., New York, selected Mercury Communication Partners LLC, Elm Grove, as its marketing communications partner for the redesign and launch of its Web site, www.Croscill.com. Croscill Home Fashions is an international manufacturer of home fashions characterized by creative products and detail.
