Racing legend in Muskego today
Racing legend and Bridgestone Americas spokesperson, Mario Andretti will be at Muskego Tire & Auto, 16610 Janesville Road, today from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Andretti will be in town to help Muskego Tire & Auto celebrate the grand opening of its new store. A private reception will be followed by a meet and greet autograph session for fans at the store.
Andretti was named ‘Driver of the Century’ by the Associated Press and has victories from the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, three Champ Car National Championships and the F1 World Championship. He also helped develop the racing tire that led to many of those achievements.
Lake Express lets motorcycles ride free
The Lake Express high-speed ferry has launched a new fare deal for the fall season. Passengers may take their motorcycle on board the ferry free of charge until the end of the 2010 Lake Express season in October.
The deal provides savings of $62.50 for a one-way trip and $100 for a roundtrip crossing.
Kids under the age of 17 can also ride for $9 with any adult for the remainder of the season.
The high-speed ferry has terminals in both Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich., and it accommodates 250 passengers and 46 vehicles during each trip across Lake Michigan.
A glimpse at Marquette’s new president
The Rev. Scott Pilarz, S.J., president of the University of Scranton, was recently named the 23rd president of Marquette University. Pilarz will assume his duties in summer 2011, succeeding Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., who announced in March that he will retire next year after 15 years as Marquette president.
Marquette bylaws require that a Jesuit lead the university. Pilarz is one of the eight Jesuits who serves on the Marquette Board of Trustees, which he has done since September 2009.
In announcing the selection, board chair Darren Jackson said, “Father Pilarz demonstrates enormous passion for the mission of Catholic, Jesuit education and boasts a record of accomplishment, both as an educator and as a leader, who speaks directly to Marquette’s commitment to excellence. He is the right person to lead our continued growth as one of the nation’s top Catholic universities.”
Pilarz grew up in New Jersey and served as the 24th president of Scranton University after spending six years as a member of the English faculty at Georgetown University. Pilarz’ bulldog is even a former Georgetown mascot. Pilarz is the author of a book, “Robert Southwell, S.J., and the Mission of Literature 1561-1595: Writing Reconciliation,” and has written numerous articles on Southwell, an English poet, John Donne and medieval drama. He is also a Bruce Springsteen fan and would like to see Springsteen’s younger children attend Marquette University in the future.
“Marquette enjoys a national reputation for its pursuit of academic excellence and for the way its students, faculty and alumni live out the principles of Catholic, Jesuit education,” Pilarz said. “I have tremendous respect for Father Wild and the remarkable accomplishments of the entire Marquette community during his presidency. The opportunity to lead this institution at a time of such momentum and promise is both exciting and humbling. As difficult as it will be to leave the community I have grown to love at Scranton, I am honored to have been chosen.”
Check out this video interview with Pilarz from Marquette University.
PDS to host tech conference in Milwaukee
Paragon Development Systems of Oconomowoc will host its 14th annual Technology Conference on Wedneday, Sept. 15 through Thursday, Sept. 16 at the Frontier Airlines Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave., in Milwaukee. The conference will offer more than 40 educational strategy sessions, keynote presentations, networking and an exhibit all featuring major technology manufacturers including Cisco, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NetApp, Novell and VMware.
The conference provides an easy more economical way to educate IT staff in a soft economy. New York Time’s bestselling author of The Traveler’s Gift and The Noticer, Andy Andrews will speak at the event as will representatives from Intel Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft Corporation. The technology conference is open to qualified IT professionals and interested attendees are encouraged to submit a registration form for admittance consideration. The event is free to attend for qualified registrants, and all qualified registrants will be considered based on qualifications and space availability. For more information or to register visit http://blog.pdspc.com/
Annual Art in Garden event to take place
Careers Industries will host its third annual Art in the Garden festival event on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 1 to 4 p.m. at its headquarters, 3502 Douglas Ave., in Racine.
More than 70 local artists will display and sell their work at the event.
Career Industries is an organization that enriches the lives of people with disabilities through work, care and community. The art at the event will include paintings, textiles, ceramics and plantable stationary is done by artists in Careers Industries’ Art and Soul program.
David Insurance Agency, Inc., of Racine recently purchased 40 paintings created by participants in the Career Industries Art & Soul Program. The paintings now adorn the walls of the office.
"David Insurance and individuals here have had a role on a volunteer as well as professional basis with Careers Industries and we’re familiar with the excellent work that they do with adults with disabilities," said Chris Antonneau, president of David Insurance Agency, Inc. "They have a great stock of talent and some of their participants have developed nice artistic abilities. Originally, they asked if we would like to display the art at our place of work because we generally work with the public and have people flowing through our office. We obtained about 40 paintings and found them to be very enjoyable throughout our whole office setting. They’re bright and colorful, and it’s evident the artists enjoy what they’re doing. Instead of looking to be a retail vendor of these items, we instead chose to permanently keep them."
The sale raised about $900 for the artists and the organization.
Proceeds from Art in the Garden will benefit Careers Industries. The public is invited to listen to music, taste wine, enjoy appetizers and bid on silent auction items.
MMSD offers rebate on efficiency toilets
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has announced it will offer residential customers a $100 rebate on select models of Kohler toilets. The toilets use 1.28 gallons of water per flush and can save up to 16,500 gallons of water a year compared to older less efficient toilets. According to MMSD, more than 50 percent of U.S. homes have an old or leaky toilet. Residential customers can purchase the discounted toilets at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery, 2030 S. 116th St. in West Allis.
Depending on the model, toilets can be purchased for $50 or $75 not including tax, the rebate will be issued at the time of sale and is only redeemable on Thursday, Sept. 16 and Friday, Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
