Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon to feature Fitzgerald
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, a candidate for U.S. Senate, will be the featured guest of the Milwaukee Press Club’s next Newsmaker Luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 23, from 11:45 to 1:30 p.m. at the Newsroom Pub in downtown Milwaukee at 137 E. Wells St.
The Horicon Republican is running for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl in November 2012.
A media panel featuring local professional journalists will interview Fitzgerald at the Newsmaker Luncheon.
The Milwaukee Press Club will present each of the candidates for the Senate seat in a series of Newsmaker Luncheons over the next few months.
The Milwaukee Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon Series is presented to shed light on issues of the day. The public is invited to attend the luncheons. The cost to attend is $15 for MPC members, $20 for non-members and $10 for students. Lunch is included. Seating will be limited. Pre-registration and advance payment is required and may be done online at www.milwaukeepressclub.org.
North Shore Bank hosts retired flag ceremony
North Shore Bank will retire hundreds of worn and tattered flags in an honor ceremony to be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11. The ceremony, held at the Stenz-Griesell-Smith American Legion Post 449 in Brookfield will be open to the public.
“We’re very proud to say this is the tenth year that North Shore Bank has held this event in conjunction with the Exchange Club of Milwaukee,” said Carol Herrmann, assistant vice president-branch manager for North Shore Bank and an Exchange Club member. “A traditional flag retirement ceremony is a moving event that everyone should experience – it’s one way that we can show respect for our flag and remember all the men and women that have fought to protect it.”
The flags were collected during the bank’s flag collection program. Boys Scouts from Troop No. 449 and Cub Scouts from Pack 71 at St. John Vianney will prepare the flags and present them for retirement. Veterans with Post #449 will then conduct the solemn flag-burning ceremony, in accordance with American Legion tradition.
“The Exchange Clubs’ goal is to help educate the general public about the proper way to dispose of a torn or soiled American flag,” said Jim Ebben, president of the Exchange Club. “Our worn flag drive with North Shore Bank was very successful again this year. We are proud to know that there are so many people in our community that want to retire their flags properly.”
7Summits attracts $1 million in funding for new growth
Milwaukee-based 7Summits has received $1 million in new funding to fuel the agency’s next phase of growth, as its business model and comprehensive social business solutions continue to attract clients nationwide.
Led by Holton Investments Limited Partnership (HILP), a family investment partnership founded by Milwaukee area businessman Tom Holton, the funding round further solidifies 7Summits’ position in the emerging social media industry.
7Summits’ social business strategies are being leveraged by Fortune 500 companies to transform customer service, accelerate innovation, deepen customer relationships, better enable the sales organization, super-charge marketing and re-imagine intranets.
“We’ve spent more than two years reviewing and witnessing their organic growth and couldn’t be more impressed with 7Summits’ success,” said Eric Lenzen, a trustee of HILP who is also a corporate transactions attorney with Milwaukee-based firm Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C. “7Summits has fundamental value at its core because of the way it operates its business. The company is already profitable and they have amassed an industry leading team that has enabled them to command a leadership position in a growing market. HILP saw an opportunity to support a rapidly growing business and we are excited to be a part of 7Summits’ future.”
The new investment will be geared toward three key areas: evolving its solutions toward purpose-driven, pre-built communities that more broadly influence the overall enterprise; extending its partnerships with the leading Social Business Software providers to bring the best solutions to its clients; and building out its infrastructure including account services, recruiting, business development and geographic expansion.
“This funding allows us to capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunity in front of us, as we continue to expand the social base for our clients. We are building collaborative dimensions into their organizations internally, externally and throughout their business processes. The result is providing new ways for companies to be more effective, efficient and entrepreneurial,” said 7Summits chief executive officer Paul Stillmank. “We are grateful to HILP and our other investors, and are focused on using this funding as a springboard for our efforts and to advance the industry itself.”
7Summits’ annual revenues have more than quadrupled each year since its inception in 2009. Its team has expanded more than five times during the same period.