Fiserv
Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, recently announced that it was chosen as IBM Cognos “OEM Partner of the Year” for its business optimization and data analytics solutions for financial institutions. IBM selected Fiserv as the top original equipment manufacturer (OEM) from its various partners in all industries. Fiserv received the award for designing and delivering value to its customers by using IBM Cognos software to optimize business practices. The IBM Cognos OEM award recognizes partners who not only meet or exceed revenue targets through the delivery of IBM Cognos based solutions, but also provide innovative solutions for their clients that improve efficiencies and positively impact bottom lines.
Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP
Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, Milwaukee, recently completed the largest public finance transaction in which a minority-owned law firm acted as sole underwriter’s counsel. As one of the largest minority-owned law firms in the nation, Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan served as sole underwriter’s counsel to a syndicate led by Barclay’s Capital, Inc. in the sale of $1.52 billion State of Wisconsin General Fund Annual Appropriation Bonds of 2009, Series A. Proceeds from the bond sale will be used to address the state’s budget deficit. For the first quarter of this year, Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan was ranked as the 7th largest bond underwriter’s counsel in the nation in terms of the dollar value of bonds underwritten. The firm ranked fourth in Illinois and Wisconsin for the same period. The rankings were published by The Bond Buyer newspaper. The firm is expanding its areas of expertise to include Build America Bonds, created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and intended to reduce municipal borrowing costs.
Schroeder Solutions
Schroeder Solutions LLC, New Berlin, recently launched a facilities maintenance program for businesses that need budget-conscious office solutions. Because of the recession many companies are looking for ways to save money by extending the life of their office furniture, while also maintaining an environmentally-friendly platform. Schroeder Solutions’ program offers affordable office solutions that help prevent waste from piling up in a landfill. Schroeder has options at every price point, the facilities maintenance program delivers a “like new” office space at a significant cost savings. The services include: upholstery cleaning, wood repair and touch-up, furniture repair and maintenance, panel and chair re-upholstery, space planning and design, carpet replacement using the hassle-free levitate lift system, and inventory and record storage. This program provides business owners with an alternative to buying new furniture.
Sprecher Brewing Company
Sprecher Brewing Company, Glendale, recently won nine medals at the U.S. Open Beer Championship and the distinction of being named the second best brewery in the competition. This is the first competition to include professional brewers and award winning home brewers. It’s open to more than 1,000 breweries from 30 countries, as well as the 29 National Homebrewing Champions from the United States and Canada. The winning Sprecher Beers included Gold Medal Winners: Winter Brew, Muchner Dunkel/Dark; Oktoberfest, Marzen/Oktoberfest; Black Bavarian, Schwarzbier, Mai Bock, Bock; and Generation Porter, Chocolate/Cocoa Beer. Silver Medal Winners included: Micro-Light, English-Style Summer Ale and Pipers Scotch Ale, Strong Scottish Ales. The Bronze Medal winning beers included: Abbey Triple, Belgian Abbey Ale and IPA2, American IPA. Sprecher was also named the second best brewery in the competition with Deschutes Brewing Company and Boston Beer Company rounding out the top three.
Zizzo Group Advertising and PR
Milwaukee-based Zizzo Group Advertising and PR recently received a Bronze Aster Award in the category of newspaper advertising in a series, on behalf of Park Nicollet Health Services (Park Nicollet) in Minneapolis. The newspaper advertisements were a part of Park Nicollet’s Stay Healthy Minnesota campaign. The Stay Healthy Minnesota campaign is a collaborative health education initiative between Park Nicollet, the Star Tribune and WCCO-TV. The purpose of the program is to educate Minnesota residents on health and wellness topics and to encourage consumers, when appropriate, to seek help. The newspaper advertisements, which are complemented with television ads and a dedicated web site, target health care decision-makers in or around the Twin Cities area. The advertisements, which appeared in the Star Tribune, were beneficial for Park Nicollet. The Parkinson’s disease topic increased awareness of the conditions and Park Nicollet’s specialized facility, resulting in increased phone inquiries and requests for full-day patient assessments. The bariatric surgery topic resulted in many phone calls for additional information. The eating disorders topic resulted in an increase in the number of outpatient programs and an increase in the number of calls that led to initial patient assessments.
Rundle-Spence
Rundle-Spence Mfg. Co., New Berlin, recently formed a Well & Septic Division to provide customers with complete water well and septic systems. With distribution centers in New Berlin and Madison, this division complements Rundle-Spence’s Plumbing, Heating, Industrial & Fabricating Division.
Carroll University
Carroll University, Waukesha, was recently awarded a $1.9 million federal grant to support its Pathways to Success project. The five-year award is the largest federal grant in Carroll history. Carroll’s Pathways to Success project is comprised of three initiatives that aim to improve students’ academic and career success. The grant will support a five-year program to develop, implement and assess a faculty engagement program in interactive teaching methods, a comprehensive development program for academic advisers based on current best practices, and to assess the work of Carroll’s Office of Student Success, which works to increase graduation rates by using a high-tech, high-touch approach to monitoring students’ academic progress. The Pathways project will begin at the university in the fall of 2009 and continue over the next five academic years.
