Images Wausau Region, WI: 2009

2009 | IMAGESWAUSAU.COM | VIDEO VIGNETTES TM

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OF THE WAUSAU REGION, WISCONSIN

LEED-ING THE WAY Businesses support many green initiatives

PEEK INTO THE PAST Homes built in the 1800s grace downtown district

Well Seasoned Sports enthusiasts embrace climate year round SPONSORED BY THE WAUSAU REGION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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imageswausau.com THE DEFINITIVE RELOCATION RESOURCE

What’s Onl Online n

OF THE WAUSAU REGION SENIOR EDITOR JESSY YANCEY COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS ASSOCIATE EDITOR LISA BATTLES ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER MATT BIGELOW STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN, KEVIN LITWIN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAMELA COYLE, LAURA HILL, MICHAELA JACKSON, JESSICA MOZO, VALERIE PASCOE DATA MANAGER RANETTA SMITH INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER DESHAUN GOODRICH SALES SUPPORT MANAGER SARA SARTIN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER BRIAN McCORD STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS, TODD BENNETT, ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, J. KYLE KEENER PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT ANNE WHITLOW CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS WEB DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BRIAN SMITH ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGERS MELISSA BRACEWELL, KATIE MIDDENDORF, JILL WYATT SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LAURA GALLAGHER, KRIS SEXTON, CANDICE SWEET, VIKKI WILLIAMS LEAD DESIGNER JANINE MARYLAND GRAPHIC DESIGN ERICA HINES, ALISON HUNTER, JESSICA MANNER, AMY NELSON, MARCUS SNYDER WEB PROJECT MANAGERS ANDY HARTLEY, YAMEL RUIZ WEB DESIGN LEAD FRANCO SCARAMUZZA

YAWKEY HOUSE MUSEUM

WEB DESIGN RYAN DUNLAP, CARL SCHULZ WEB PRODUCTION JENNIFER GRAVES COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN TWILA ALLEN

Take a virtual tour of the historic Yawkey House Museum, a home built at the turn of the century and restored in 2008 to reflect the 1915 time period. Watch our quick video in the Interactive section.

AD TRAFFIC JESSICA CHILDS, MARCIA MILLAR, PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY

CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN

RELOCATION Considering a move to this community? We can help. Use our Relocation Tools to discover tips, including how to make your move green, advice about moving pets and help with booking movers.

SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER V.P./SALES HERB HARPER V.P./SALES TODD POTTER V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER V.P./TRAVEL PUBLISHING SYBIL STEWART V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS MANAGING EDITOR/BUSINESS BILL McMEEKIN MANAGING EDITOR/COMMUNITY KIM MADLOM MANAGING EDITOR/CUSTOM KIM NEWSOM MANAGING EDITOR/TRAVEL SUSAN CHAPPELL PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY, DIANA GUZMAN, MARIA McFARLAND, LISA OWENS

PHOTOS

RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH

We’ve added even more prize-winning photography to our online gallery. To see these spectacular photos, click on Photo Gallery.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR YANCEY TURTURICE NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR JAMES SCOLLARD IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE CUSTOM/TRAVEL SALES SUPPORT RACHAEL GOLDSBERRY SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR RACHEL MATHEIS EXECUTIVE SECRETARY/SALES SUPPORT KRISTY DUNCAN OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM RECEPTIONIST LINDA BISHOP

FACTS & STATS

CU S TO M M AG A Z INE M ED I A

Go online to learn even more about: • Schools • Health care • Utilities • Parks • Taxes

LOCAL FLAVOR Wausau’s diverse dining scene features area bistros’ seared ahi tuna as well as the popular Friday night fish fry. Get a taste of local flavor in our food section.

Images of The Wausau Region is published annually

by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce and its member businesses.

For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at info@jnlcom.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce 200 Washington St., Suite 120 P.O. Box 6190 • Wausau, WI 54403 Phone: (715) 845-6231 • Fax: (715) 845-6235 www.wausauchamber.com VISIT IMAGES OF THE WAUSAU REGION ONLINE AT IMAGESWAUSAU.COM

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE Images gives readers a taste of what makes the Wausau region tick – from business and education to sports, health care and the arts.

“Find the good – and praise it.”

– Alex Haley (1921-1992), Journal Communications co-founder

©Copyright 2009 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved.

No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

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2009 EDITION | VOLUME 7 TM

OF THE WAUSAU REGION, WISCONSIN

CO NTE NT S

WAUSAU REGION BUSINESS F E AT U R E S 8 PEEK INTO THE PAST Carefully preserved 19th-century homes perpetuate Wausau’s historical legacy.

10 EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY Wausau’s nightlife scene includes several palate-pleasing restaurants and bars.

12 EDUCATION COLLABORATION A handful of university partnerships target worker training as well as public policy.

24 LEED-ing the Way Many local businesses know that it’s easy being green.

27 Biz Briefs 28 Chamber Report 29 Economic Profile

D E PA R TM E NT S 6 Almanac: a colorful sampling of Wausau’s culture

19 Portfolio: people, places and

14 WELL SEASONED On land, water or ice, sports enthusiasts embrace the climate year round.

32 A HEART FOR THE ARTS Two arts associations double the region’s viewing pleasure.

events that define Wausau

30 Education 31 Sports & Recreation 35 Health & Wellness 36 Community Profile: facts, stats and important numbers to know

All or part of this magazine is printed with soy ink on recycled paper containing 10% post-consumer waste.

ON THE COVER Photo by J. Kyle Keener Rib Mountain State Park

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PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE

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Almanac

Their World’s a Stage Its name says it all.

The Grand Theater began hosting theatrical performances in 1927, and after a recent renovation, it is now a prominent part of Wausau’s ARTSblock downtown district. The theater seats more than 1,200 spectators for Broadway-scale touring shows, community events, concerts, business conferences and film screenings.

Other social and community events can take place in sections of the theater called the Great Hall, the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Lounge, Caroline S. Mark Gallery and the Loft.

Not Just for Blackboards Get your chalk, kids. And adults, get your chalk, too.

Since 2004, ChalkFest Wausau has occurred each July on the City Square. In fact, artists transform each square of sidewalk at City Square into masterpieces in chalk, and a special area is also designated for children to create a collaborative mural.

Featured artists selected by the ChalkFest committee are given special spaces in the center of the festival grounds, while other artists may register for the additional spaces. Each participant is given a box of 48 pastels, one set of latex gloves and a sponge for blending, and prizes are awarded in various categories.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY McGIVERN

Out of Your Gourds?

If you’re running low on rhubarb, tomatoes, goat cheese or berries, keep the Wausau Farmers’ Market in mind.

The market is open every Wednesday and Saturday from May through October on River Drive near downtown Wausau. The attraction has been in operation for more than 25 years.

Besides the usual fresh fruits and vegetables, the farmers’ market offers bedding plants, dairy products, herbs, flowers, gourds and bakery items. Also available are fresh beef, chicken, pork and turkey, plus specialty items such as honey, homemade soap and bath/body oils.

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Fast Facts Q Several homes in Wausau are on the National Register of Historic Places, and two homes were even designed by the renowned Frank Lloyd Wright.

Q Marathon County is graced with more than 118 miles of hiking trails.

Q Wausau’s Performing Arts Foundation comprises six affiliate arts organizations – the Wausau Community Theatre, the Central Wisconsin Children’s Theater, the Wausau Lyric Choir, the Wausau Symphony & Band, the Allegro Dance Theater and the Wausau Dance Theatre.

World’s Most Famous

Q The small community of Poniatowski is in the exact geographic center of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere, precisely halfway between the North Pole and the equator.

Arguably the world’s most famous train depot is in Wausau.

In fact, there are two identical ones.

The train depot at 720 Grant St. is known to millions of Americans thanks to national ad campaigns of the former Wausau Insurance Co., now part of Liberty Mutual Insurance.

The company’s depot symbol debuted in the Jan. 16, 1954, edition of The Saturday Evening Post in the form of a rendition by artist Everett McNear. It made its first TV appearance in 1968 during a commercial on “60 Minutes.”

The depot still exists, but the insurance company constructed a $1 million replica which was used in later ads.

Q Wausau has an active arts community, complete with an impressive music conservatory.

The Wausau Region At A Glance POPULATION (2008 ESTIMATE) Wausau: 40,360 Marathon County: 135,190 Wausau

LOCATION Wausau is in central Wisconsin, 140 miles north of the state capital of Madison and 95 miles from Green Bay.

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BEGINNINGS Wausau is a Chippewa word meaning “a far away place.” It is a reference to Rib Mountain, which stands 700 feet above the surrounding landscape.

Edgar Rib Mountain Marathon City

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FOR MORE INFORMATION The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce 200 Washington St., Suite 120 P.O. Box 6190 Wausau, WI 54403 Phone: (715) 845-6231 Fax: (715) 845-6235 www.wausauchamber.com

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WATCH MORE ONLINE | Take a virtual tour of the Wausau region at imageswausau.com, courtesy of our award-winning photographers.

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Peek

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CAREFULLY PRESERVED 19TH-CENTURY HOMES PERPETUATE HISTORICAL LEGACY

WATCH MORE ONLINE | Go inside the recently restored Yawkey House Museum in a quick video at imageswausau.com.

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STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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ausau is a city with a story to tell. It’s not a story you hear out loud, though. Rather, you see the city’s history as you stroll downtown, in the shadows of historic homes and businesses that look much as they did in the city’s early days.

In the mid-1800s, the land that’s now downtown Wausau belonged to sawmill owner Andrew Warren. The prominent families who purchased his property over the years built the grand 19th-century homes still standing today.

In 1984, the National Register of Historic Places designated the neighborhood as the Andrew Warren Historic District.

The city’s other national historic district, East Hill, has been on the register since 2004.

“We notice that the homeowners in these two areas are very interested in the fact that they own historic homes and very proud of them, so they maintain them very well,” says Mary Forer, director of the Marathon County Historical Museum. “As you’re walking through downtown, a lot of the buildings have been restored, which is very, very neat. There are larger homes, many of which are bed and breakfasts, spread through the outskirts of downtown.”

A wide variety of architectural styles are on display, all true to the town’s historical roots, while also revealing the varying traditions at play. Italianate architecture is plentiful, with its low eaves and large-framed, arched windows. Many others owe their design to the Prairie House tradition.

The Cyrus and Alice Yawkey House underwent a $3 million renovation completed in 2008. The Classical Revival structure

was restored to the 1915 time period using blueprints from an early 1900s remodeling project. Even the artifacts inside the home, which now serves as a museum, date to the same era.

Across the street, the home of the Yawkeys’ only daughter, Leigh Yawkey Woodson, houses the historical society. This home is just beginning the full restoration process.

Like many families during Wausau’s early days, the Yawkeys were deeply rooted in the lumber business. Even before its 1850 foundation, the town had already established its viability in the wood milling industry. “The Wisconsin River that flows through Wausau brought white pine from up north,” says Gary Gisselman, librarian at the historical museum. “On the banks of the river, sawmills were built to turn this timber into finished lumber. This business led to the eventual growth of Wausau into the economic center of northern Wisconsin.”

The lumber industry brought people from all over the world to Wausau, and their heritage is visible today in both the written history of the city and the architecture. The number of churches, often founded by immigrants, indicates the many cultures and religions that diverged in the logging town.

Aside from creating pleasant walking tours and a healthy sense of legacy, history is important because that’s what defines a community, Forer says. “You drive down the highway now and every community has McDonald’s, Mobil, BP, whatever,” she says. “You don’t have that uniqueness that you used to have in each community. By preserving the history of downtown, you’re actually preserving that part of it and making each community unique.”

The Knox Kreutzer House, left, was built in 1887 on Franklin Street in what is now the Andrew Warren Historic District in downtown. Wausau is filled with these architectural gems, many of which have been restored to their original state.

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Be Merry

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TAKE YOUR PICK OF WAUSAU’S MANY RESTAURANTS AND BARS AFTER SUNSET

STORY BY JESSICA MOZO | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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hen the sun goes down in the Wausau region, the nightlife is just heating up. This city can satisfy an appetite for a night on the town, whether you enjoy dining at a trendy restaurant, sipping martinis or downing a pint at a local pub, or tapping your feet to live music at a nightclub.

Located in the heart of downtown Wausau, City Grill is an ideal place to start off the evening, and it doesn’t matter if you’re going for a fun or formal night out. The three-year-old restaurant and bar defines itself as an American bistro offering a casual, contemporary dining atmosphere.

“If you picked us up and put us in any American city, we’d fit right in,” says Renee Haertle, general manager.

“We have unique, upscale décor with a lot of marble and wood. This is something Wausau hadn’t seen before.”

City Grill’s ambience isn’t the only thing about it that’s sophisticated – the menu is impressive as well.

“Our fresh sea scallops with a balsamic reduction are phenomenal, and our Maryland-style crab cakes are all made fresh in-house,” Haertle says. “We also serve certified Angus beef steaks, and our Maytag Bleu potato chips are excellent. They’re house-cut chips served with our own Maytag sauce and melted pepper jack and buttermilk bleu cheese.”

Weeknight diners can take advantage of City Grill’s happy hour, Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Malarkey’s Pub is another happening place to hit the town. Co-owners Tyler Vogt and Todd Link opened the venue in 2007 “to provide more nightlife options in Wausau,” according to Vogt.

“We’re both bartenders and carpenters, and we built everything inside WAU S AU

the bar, including the 30-foot back bar, the stage and the booths. It was a blank canvas,” Vogt says. “It’s got a European-inspired feel. A lot of bigger downtowns have something like this, but Wausau didn’t.”

Malarkey’s is the only non-smoking bar in Wausau, and the pub features live music five nights a week.

“There’s always something going on here Tuesday through Saturday,” Vogt says. “We’ve had rock, folk, R&B, Americana. We book bands from all over the Midwest and as far as Seattle and North Carolina. The sheer talent that comes in here is amazing.”

Tuesdays are open mike night at Malarkey’s, when local artists can get on stage to play original or cover songs during a 15-minute set. The pub also

serves appetizers and sushi, and its selection of spirits is unparalleled.

A variety of other local establishments provide good eats, drinks and even entertainment after sundown. One Weston hot spot, Buffalo Wings & Rings, garnered nods as the top small chain in the nation. Wish Wisconsin Steakhouse, also in Weston, pairs a posh menu with an impressive wine list, while Wausau Mine Co. offers healthy cuisine in a recreated mine shaft.

“I like the positive impact we’ve had on nightlife in Wausau,” Vogt says of Malarkey’s. “We’ve been amazed at the number of people that have come through our doors. And we’re bringing bands that have never been to Wausau before. Even out-of-towners have made us a destination.”

A taste of the Wausau region’s dining and nightlife includes seared ahi tuna at City Grill, above, and Sloe Gin Fizz amidst music at Malarkey’s Pub, left.

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Education Collaboration UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS TARGET WORKER TRAINING, PUBLIC POLICY

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STORY BY PAMELA COYLE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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he best things always come in pairs – and that saying certainly rings true when it comes to Wausau’s higher education scene. These days, learning here thrives on partnerships, both public and private, two-year and four-year, academia and business.

The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy & Service at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County exemplifies this new mindset, counting the public as its partner in setting the agenda every year.

“It was the vision of several very far-thinking people in the Wausau area who really believed in higher education and linking higher education to solving community problems,” says Eric Giordano, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy & Service. “And we always have a component of involving students.”

Each year, the nonprofit, nonpartisan institute draws on public input to select a broad policy topic for seminars and other public education opportunities. Last year, the theme was wealth and poverty, while in 2009, the topic is building healthy, sustainable communities, Giordano says.

“One thing we are learning is that people want more information,” he adds.

Information and education are key elements in other collaborative efforts among universities, several of which focus on the region’s workforce needs.

Through a partnership with UW-Platteville, students at the smaller UWMC can now obtain four-year degrees in engineering via streaming video classes.

“Students in streaming courses are treated exactly like those in Platteville,” says program coordinator Jennifer Foley.

“The tuition is the same, they have textbook rental, we give them a laptop to use, and they have office hours with faculty by webcam, telephone or e-mail.”

Similarly, UW-Stevens Point offers a collaborative degree program through a joint effort with the Wausau and Marshfield locations. Students with enough hours can complete a business administration major and graduate with a bachelor’s degree by attending evening classes at any participating campus.

Those already in the workforce can also benefit from community-education partnerships. The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce offers a leadership excellence program, which teaches community members how to strengthen their leadership skills.

Also striving to build up the workforce, Northcentral

Technical College and local businesses are working together to get 250 unemployed or underemployed people into the pipeline for manufacturing jobs, thanks to a $1.9 million federal grant. For no cost to accepted students, the program offers training in welding, machine tooling or woodworking.

NTC is also working on a facility in Antigo to teach wood manufacturing technology, at which staff from Zelazoski Wood Products Inc. will help teach the classes.

“The neat part about this is students come in with no skills, and when they leave they have skills and tools,” says Mike Berry, NTC associate dean and project coordinator.

In addition, NTC and UW-Stout have a new agreement to allow students to “ladder into” four-year engineering degrees, and UW-Stout professors may come to NTC to offer engineering technology, says Vicky Pietz, NTC’s dean of technology and trades. “This area is starved for engineers,” Pietz says, “and this is a good way to grow your own.”

Partnerships between Northcentral Technical College and Zelazoski Wood Products, right, and The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce’s leadership excellence program, left, are using education to enrich the local workforce.

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Seasoned ON LAND, WATER OR ICE, RECREATION ABOUNDS YEAR ROUND

STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON

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hen it comes to stretching your legs, there’s no shortage of opportunity in the Wausau region. A true four-season climate ensures a variety of activities around the calendar to suit every recreational taste.

Warm weather in Wausau invites those of the active persuasion to the area’s many parks, which cover more than 3,000 acres in Marathon County. Runners, bikers, strollers and fresh-air breathers all enjoy the many paths and trails that crisscross the area.

The Mountain-Bay Trail runs 83 miles through three counties, all the way from Rib Mountain to Green Bay. Bikers can tackle the entire length in about eight hours, while a more leisurely ride or hike leads to a nearby lake with a beach.

“They call it a hidden gem of Marathon County,” says Helen Pagenkopf, president of the Friends of Mountain-Bay Trail Organization. “Until people ride the whole thing and read the signs, they have no idea what went on there at one time in those little towns.”

For those who prefer to spend time on the water, the Wausau Whitewater Course downtown offers a run for paddlers of all skill levels to get their fix. The 600-yard course on the Wisconsin River has been used by Olympians for training, plays host to national kayaking competitions (for those who’d rather watch than float) and offers a learning ground for paddlers just getting their feet wet, so to speak.

“We want people to understand that it is something they can do themselves,” says Julie Walraven, operations coordinator for Wausau Whitewater.

The river also provides a scenic addition to many area parks, while Lake Wausau offers ample fishing opportunities -in the summer months as well as winter, when ice fishing becomes a popular pastime.

Just because the weather gets cold doesn’t mean a recreation hibernation. In fact, many Wisconsinites stay just as active during the winter months as they do in the summer.

Granite Peak Ski Area’s 74 runs keep snowboarders and skiers busy from around mid-November through the end of

Snowboarders and skiers get a lift to the top of Granite Peak Ski Area at Rib Mountain State Park.

PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER

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March. Part of Rib Mountain State Park, the 410-acre ski area has undergone major renovations in the last decade, putting it among the most modern public slopes in the nation.

For something a little less extreme that still requires skill and energy, check out the Wausau Curling Club, which has roughly 500 members who take to the indoor ice to sweep 42-pound smooth granite stones toward a bull’s-eye.

“For those who are golfers, it’s more like chipping and putting than it is like driving the ball,” explains Cal Tillisch, a head instructor with the club and a 35-year curling veteran.

The sport is played by all ages (the club’s members range from 10 to 80), and everyone from high school teams to families enjoys the 500-year-old sport.

“Although we love brats and cheese curds, we do think that in the winter, you need to do something other than just eat brats and cheese curds,” Tillisch says.

Another popular winter sport in the area is tubing down the slopes at Sylvan Hill Winter Recreation Area. During the rest of the year, spring wildflower walks, summer camping trips and the impressive fall foliage draw residents to other area attractions, such as the Dells of Eau Claire River, a state natural area just east of Wausau.

“The great outdoors, in every sense of the phrase, is right outside our back doors,” says Karyn Powers, superintendent of Marathon County Parks, Recreation and Forestry. “The possibilities are only limited by the imagination.”

Warm weather lures families to Oak Island Park, right, anglers to Lake Wausau’s Bluegill Bay County Park, above, and hikers to the trails at Rib Mountain, opposite.

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Portfolio

He’s a Real Hero FORMER IRAN HOSTAGE DEVOTES HIMSELF TO COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERISM

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ausau financial planner Kevin Hermening is a big advocate of volunteerism. That spirit of self-giving was sparked by events that unfolded in his life 30 years ago.

In 1979, when Hermening was just 20 years old, he was the youngest of 52 Americans held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Iran for 444 days during the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini – an event now known as the Iran Hostage Crisis.

“It’s partly because of that situation that I’ve dedicated a good part of my life to community service and volunteerism, in addition to raising a family and running a business,” says Hermening, managing partner of Hermening Financial Group LLC. A husband and father of two teenage girls, Hermening served on the school board for 10 years and serves on the board of directors of the local Junior Achievement chapter.

He is a member of local civic organizations, helps sponsor several community events and is an accomplished public speaker, having addressed more than 3,000 audiences nationwide about his hostage experience.

“I want to thank people for not forgetting about us over there and for giving us such a warm welcome back to freedom,” Hermening says.

As a hostage, Hermening spent 43 days in solitary confinement in a 5-by-10-foot cell. Another memory that stands out was learning of the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen in a failed rescue attempt. “I was in awe that people would volunteer to come into a dangerous place to try to rescue someone they didn’t even know,” he says.

Today, Hermening’s independent financial planning and investment advisory firm works with more than 500 families and manages $90 million in client assets.

“We work with many of our clients for a lifetime, in good times and bad,” he says. “We counsel them on asset management, college planning and retirement planning. We hold their hands at times and cheer with them other times.”

Despite his heroic past, Hermening says he’s glad to finally be known more for his work in the Wausau community than as a former hostage in Iran.

“I spent 15 years trying to reach the point where my notoriety was based on things other than that experience,” he says. “That experience certainly made me who I am, and it was a defining event in my life, but I don’t dwell on it, and it doesn’t define me. I’m a pretty complex Kevin Hermening.”

– Jessica Mozo

Kevin Hermening, a U.S. Marine held captive during the Iran Hostage Crisis, runs a successful Wausau financial firm.

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Portfolio

Successful Searching W

Wausau native Marissa Mayer is vice president of search products and user experience for Google, where in 1999 she became its first female engineer.

201 N. 17th Ave. • Wausau, WI 54401

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GREAT Extended Stay Rates!

hen Marissa Mayer joined Google in 1999, the Wausau native and Stanford University graduate became the small start-up company’s 20th employee and first female engineer. Today, as vice president of search products and user experience, she is the multibillion-dollar company’s second-youngest executive and one of its brightest stars. “Google’s been a really exciting ride for the past nine years, but we’re just getting started,� says Mayer. “I feel very fortunate to be part of it all.�

She points to her upbringing as the foundation for her success. “Wausau is a wonderful community,� Mayer says. “The people are very industrious and creative. I was surrounded by a host of entrepreneurs and people that provided great mentoring.� “I was really blessed with the caliber of people I was able to learn from,� she adds. “To be able to provide an idyllic small-town upbringing with the arts and cultural opportunities available in Wausau is unique. The amount of cultural pull there is amazing.�

During her time at Wausau West High School, Mayer was valedictorian of her class and received a number of distinguished academic awards. She also worked at Crossroads County Market as a grocery clerk and took tickets at Rogers Cinema. When she wasn’t excelling in school or working, Mayer was skiing at Rib Mountain.

As she continues to help lead Google into the future, Mayer says that her frequent trips home help her keep a pulse on how non-Silicon Valley America reacts to technology. She’s also not beyond calling home for feedback every once in a while. “I often use my mom as a classic user example that comes up in our meetings,� she says.

Mayer has been featured in dozens of publications, including Newsweek, BusinessWeek and Fortune, which named her among the 50 most powerful women in business, the youngest to ever appear on the list. – Valerie Pascoe WAU S AU

From Wausau to Washington U

.S. Rep. David Obey has fond memories of growing up in Wausau.

“It’s a terrific place to raise kids, and the economy is much better than in other areas,” he says. “There’s clean air, terrific public services, a great education system, a low crime rate and plenty of good, healthy companies.”

Both Obey and his wife, Joan, went to St. James Catholic School, graduated from Wausau East High School and received bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“She was editor of our high school newspaper as a senior, and I was editor of the yearbook the year after. But we didn’t date in high school,” Obey recalls.

“After I graduated college, I ran into her on the street in Madison one day.

We had a cup of coffee, and the rest is history.”

Obey’s interest in politics began in the seventh grade when one of his teachers assigned him to participate in a debate about Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

“I was bored by everything at the time, and I got hooked after doing the debate,” Obey says. “A couple years later, I went to the Republican Party headquarters and started stuffing envelopes. I took my bike and my sister’s wagon and filled it with Republican literature and went to one-third of the houses in Wausau.”

Obey became a Democrat before serving three full terms in the Wisconsin

State Assembly. When he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1969, he was the youngest member of Congress in the country. Today, Obey is the third-longest serving member of the House and the only Democratic member to have served on the three major economic committees in Congress.

“I have spent much time on economic issues and chaired the committee that provides all the student aid funding in the country,” Obey says. “We’ve made a huge difference in providing

financial aid to students and tripled medical research funding for diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s.”

On a local scale, Obey says he’s proud to have secured funding for road construction and maintenance, as well as after-school programs throughout the district. He’s also been part of efforts to clean up rivers and air.

“The rewarding thing about being in politics is it enables you to change things that need changing,” Obey says.

– Jessica Mozo

U.S. Rep. David Obey, who hails from Wausau, represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

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Conquering Cancer W

Save Money.

Smell the Flowers.

Looking for ways to save money on gas and help the environment? The EPA wants to share some smart driving tips that could give you more miles per gallon of gas and reduce air pollution. Tips like making sure your tires are properly inflated and replacing your air filter regularly. And where possible, accelerate and brake slowly. Be aware of your speed ... did you know that for every 5 miles you go over 65 mph, you’re spending about 20 cents more per gallon of gas? If you’re shopping for a new car, choose the cleanest, most efficient vehicle that meets your needs. If we each adopt just one of these tips, we’d get more miles for our money and it would be a little easier to smell the flowers. For more tips and to compare cleaner, more efficient vehicles, visit

www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.

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hen former NFL player Jerry Wunsch lost his cousin to cancer during his senior year at the University of Wisconsin, the Wausau West High School graduate vowed to dedicate the rest of his life to giving hope to pediatric cancer patients around the country.

In 2001, Wunsch and his wife, Melissa, started the Wunsch Family Foundation, an organization that gathers cancer patients ages 8 to 14 from hospitals around the country for an adventurefilled trip to Wausau.

“Last year, we took 55 children from 11 different cities,” says Michelle Pierson, executive director of the Wunsch Family Foundation. “The children converge in Green Bay, and the Packers host us for the afternoon. They get to see Lambeau Field and the locker rooms, meet players and go behind the scenes of the NFL.” Then the group travels to Wausau, where the kids stay for the week at the Lodge at Cedar Creek Resort and Waterpark. “That’s our home base, and they always do a wonderful job,” Pierson says. “We take them disco bowling, and the bowling alley donates 20 lanes and a free soda bar. We take them tubing at Sylvan Hill Park, and they learn to ski at Granite Peak. They donate skis and lift tickets for all the kids and provide volunteers to take them up on the mountain.”

The kids also experience snowmobiling, sleigh rides, bonfires and a fireworks display. “It makes them feel so special,” Pierson says. “Some of them have never even seen snow before and certainly never thought they could ski.

By the end of the week, they’re just beaming. It empowers them – they think if they can conquer that ski slope, they can conquer this disease.”

The Wunsches chose Wausau for the trip because of Jerry’s native ties to the area, but also for the community’s immense support. “People always ask, ‘Why Wausau?’ and it’s because the community has such a big heart,” Pierson says. “Nobody says ‘No.’ It’s always, ‘We’ll get it done.’ ” – Jessica Mozo WAU S AU

Portfolio

Auto Designer Drives Innovation I

f you’ve caught a glimpse of a snazzy new BMW lately, chances are it was the work of Chris Bangle, the automaker’s chief of design who hails from Wausau.

Bangle designed the new BMW 7 series, the Z4 and the BMW 5 series, among others. And although he has lived and worked in Europe since 1981, the auto designer says he’ll always consider Wausau home.

“It was an ideal time to be growing up in one of the most ideal spots on the planet,” Bangle says of his childhood.

“We had a storybook climate for yearround outdoor fun – leaf piles to jump into, snow banks to tunnel under or trees to climb. Wausau was a perfect town for a young boy bent on exploring – pretty safe and just compact enough to criss-cross with your bike and not get lost or home too late.”

One of Bangle’s favorite memories is of his first job in Wausau. He delivered the newspaper on a route that took him past the American Legion Golf Course at 5 a.m. “Still today I recall how those spooky headlights of cars coming through the dark wooded roads used to scare the bejeepers out of me,” he says.

Bangle attended Wausau West High School, after which he received two “excellent” years of education at the University of Wisconsin - Marathon County. He earned his design degree at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., “but,” he says, “it was really those years at UWMC that gave me the fundamentals in design management and schooling in a cultural approach to creativity.”

In 1981, Bangle moved to Germany to work for GM’s daughter company, Opel. Four years later, he took his new Swiss wife to Italy, where he spent seven years with Fiat. The couple moved back to Germany in 1992 when Bangle became BMW Group’s design director.

Now 52, Bangle clearly has a bright future ahead. In 2008, he introduced a new BMW model called GINA that has a flexible, stretchable, water-resistant fabric skin.

“The world of design seems to be opening up to the kinds of innovations I am fascinated by,” Bangle says.

– Jessica Mozo WAU S AU

Wausau native Chris Bangle, right, serves as BMW Group’s chief of design.

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Business

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It’s Easy Being

Green LEED–CERTIFIED PROJECTS CONTRIBUTE TO ECO–MINDED ECONOMY STORY BY MICHAELA JACKSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY J. KYLE KEENER

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f the atmosphere in Wausau seems tinted a bit green, you’re probably sensing the invisible energy efficiency waves being emitted by environmentally conscious residents and business owners.

In late 2007, contracting firm The Samuels Group erected 311 Financial Way, the city’s first privately owned building certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The 42,000-squarefoot office building was designed as a model of sustainable construction for other business owners and contractors in the area, says the firm’s president, Sid Samuels.

“It was to demonstrate that we could do it, and that it could be done economically,” he says.

The group’s clients have received the message loud and clear. Every project on which the group is currently working is designed around sustainable building practices.

“The changes represent a significant savings for our clients, but it’s really a significant impact to our environment,” Samuels says.

Another local business setting the green standard is Wausau Window and Wall Systems. The half-century-old company provides windows and curtain wall systems for institutional buildings such as offices and high-rise residential buildings.

They have been involved in more than 20 LEED-certified projects over the years, including three that earned Platinum status, the highest level of certification.

“Sustainability is really about the triple bottom line,” says Steve Fronek, the company’s vice president for technical services. “It’s about not only protecting the environment, but it’s also about social responsibility and financial viability. It’s the value that these sustainable business practices deliver that makes it much more than just a fad.”

The company applies green principles to its own practices

as well as work for clients, and the results make for not only more earth-friendly results, but also better business. The company has passed the first phase of a two-part review to earn LEED-Silver certification for its new manufacturing facility and expects to save $90,000 each year in utility costs.

Public entities are jumping on the green bandwagon as well. The utilities company Wisconsin Public Service Corporation uses between 4 percent and 5 percent renewable energy in its total output, and it also offers energy audits to help customers increase efficiency.

“It’s the right thing to do,” says Kelly Zagrzebski of the WPS external affairs department who chairs the Wausau Commission for a Greener Tomorrow. “You look at the economy, you look at the environment. We all live here too, and it just makes sense for us to promote energy conservation and renewable energy.”

A LEED-certified structure, The Samuels Group headquarters has a Vetrazzo countertop made from recycled glass, among other earth-friendly features.

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J. KYLE KEENER

Business | Biz Briefs

Bob Lange, CEO of Resilient Technologies, shows off the non-pneumatic tire the company is developing for Humvees.

AIRLESS TIRES? A flat tire is at best an inconvenience.

For a U.S. soldier aboard a Humvee in Iraq, a flat tire can be fatal. Wausau’s Resilient Technologies is working on an airless “non-pneumatic tire,” or NPT, for the U.S. Army that will let Humvees keep going at 75 mph for 60 miles.

Existing Humvees have inserts that will last for 30 miles at 30 mph, not optimal for combat conditions, says Ed Hall, director of business affairs.

Resilient’s tire uses polymers in a honeycomb design that will stand up to a ballistic hit. The technology also would save time and money where maintenance is an issue and the focus is safety.

“Our goal is to get this lifesaving technology into the hands of the military as soon as possible,” Hall says.

HERE COMES THE SUN PDM Solar developed a way to use solar energy to cool building interiors, especially in hot, arid climates.

“Our system should provide the most air conditioning on the hottest day,” says David Baker, president.

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The Wausau company has a pending patent on its new technology. PDM created a system that can store heated water, using the energy in it to run a concentrator when the sun sets. It’s being tested in Phoenix. Compared with other solar air conditioning, “it’s simpler and costs less,” Baker says. “We think we are making good progress.”

SAFE STRUCTURES Quast Consulting & Testing in Mosinee evaluates the structural soundness of buildings ranging from schools to the 96-story Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.

Quast ensures proposed construction will stand up to the elements by creating mock-ups for lab testing; the field tests follow. When façades fail, Quast will investigate and suggest repairs.

President Tim Quast founded the company four years ago with four people, and it has grown to 15 employees and continues to expand. In fact, Quast just added another 8,000 square feet to its facility in Mosinee, bringing its total to 20,000 square feet.

ENGINEERING FOR THE FUTURE In 2006, Clover Industries relocated its headquarters and main operation to Wausau from Deerbrook largely because it needed a steady pool of qualified workers, including engineers. The company designs and makes large hydraulic cylinders and integrated cylinder systems for offshore and land-based oil drilling, the mining industry, and military applications.

Cylinders ranging from 8 to 48 inches in diameter are the specialty. Clover also has $3.8 million in research and development projects for the U.S. Army.

Early in 2009, it is moving a few doors down to a bigger facility in Wausau West Industrial Park, says Kristen Fish, business development manager. At 118,000 square feet, the new plant will more than double Clover’s current building space.

“We’ve been growing steadily,” Fish says. Clover had about 75 employees in April 2008; by year’s end its workforce was up to 100, an increase of 25 percent.

– Pamela Coyle I M AG E S WAU S AU . C O M

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Business | Chamber Report

Establishing Excellent Leaders SECOND-GENERATION CHAMBER PROGRAM EMPHASIZES LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

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raditional community leadership programs make participants familiar with aspects of their community and how they work, from government to fine arts. But chamber leaders felt their community needed something more: a program created to actually grow leaders.

Enter Leadership Excellence g2, a unique chamber initiative designed to help provide the leaders who will guide the Wausau region over the coming decades. Now in its fourth year, Leadership Excellence g2 (for “second generation”) is a resounding success.

“Our old leadership program was learning about the systems of a community, and that’s good,” says Lisa

Peterson, who heads up the program for The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce. “But what we have now is more about personal leadership development. It’s about learning to manage yourself in any situation, whether you are at your child’s PTO meeting or at a board meeting or running a staff meeting. It’s not rocket science, it’s not theory, it’s not, ‘What’s you leadership style?’ It’s much more simple than that.”

The program grew from years of professional work by Ray Mickevicius. a clinical social worker, organization learning expert and management development coach at Dynamic Foundations.

In 2004, Mickevicius, Peterson and other chamber officials talked about how to

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update the then-15-year-old Leadership Wausau/Marathon County program.

“They felt the design of that program had run its course,” Mickevicius says.

“They wanted something geared toward adult learning, addressing leadership development rather than networking and community knowledge.”

The unique program Mickevicius developed with the chamber works with annual classes of 15 to 18 members, most sponsored by their employers, who commit to a class load of one to two full days a month from September to May, extra meetings and homework.

The subjects, such as “Emotional Intelligence, Discipline and the Practices of Leadership,” are not lightweight, and neither is the personal involvement.

“It helps you peel back all the distraction of what can get in the way of truly functioning well in your day-today role,” says Peterson. “You spend time just critically thinking.”

Graduates report higher confidence, self-awareness and leadership ability.

“This is a very disciplined approach to leadership development,” Mickevicius says. “This is very personal, very mindful, intentionally reflective work. It’s a conversation for understanding, not a conversation for answers.”

– Laura Hill

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Ray Mickevicius leads The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Excellence g2 class.

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Business | Economic Profile

THE WAUSAU REGION BUSINESS CLIMATE Marathon County’s rich and varied economy includes industry leaders in papermaking, lumber, insurance, fine Wisconsin cheeses and other agricultural products.

Marathon County Courthouse 500 Forest St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 261-1000 www.co.marathon.wi.us

ECONOMIC RESOURCES

TAXES

0.5% County Sales Tax

5% State Sales Tax

5.5% Total Sales Tax

The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce 200 Washington St., Suite 120 P.O. Box 6190 Wausau, WI 54402-6190 (715) 845-6231 www.wausauchamber.com City of Wausau Community & Economic Development 407 Grant St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 261-6680 www.wausaudevelopment.com

Wisconsin Economic Development Association (WEDA) 4600 American Pkwy., Suite 208 Madison, WI 53718 (608) 255-5666 (800) 581-4941 www.weda.org

INDUSTRIAL SITES In Marathon County, there are nine business parks, with more than 440 acres of industrial park land for sale.

Most sites are fully developed; some are bounded by rail, while others are only partially developed. Most of the sites have direct access to major highways.

TRANSPORTATION Central Wisconsin Airport 200 CWA Drive Mosinee, WI 54455 (715) 693-2147 www.fly-cwa.org Wausau Downtown Airport 725 Woods Place Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 845-3400

MORE EO ONLINE imageswausau.com More facts, stats and community information, including relocation tools and links to resources.

Wausau Area Transit System Inc. 420 Plumer St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 842-9287 www.ci.wausau.wi.us

GOVERNMENT OFFICES Wausau City Hall 407 Grant St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 261-6500 www.ci.wausau.wi.us

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Education

Calling All Parents CHAMBER PROGRAM HELPS WORKING PARENTS TALK TO THEIR TEENS

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igh school seniors have plenty of options to further their education after high school, but it can be hard to sort them all out. That’s why The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce developed A Call to Parents, a brown-bag lunch program the chamber takes to local businesses to help parents learn to talk to their teenagers about critical educational and career decisions.

“We felt students were unaware of all the options they have after high school,”

chamber that is focused on preparing the present and future workforce to meet the needs of area companies. Local businesses can sign up to host the program for their employees during a lunch hour or shift change.

“A small group of us form a speakers bureau, and it’s always a lot of fun,” Peterson says. “Parents of kids of all ages benefit from attending, because they can become aware of the things we talk about even when their kids are small.”

The program focuses on the fact that everyone has different learning styles, and while college is the right option for some, it should be considered as the means and not the end in receiving an education.

“One woman learned early on that her son had an incredible talent - he could put together 300-piece puzzles at age 3, and he was a whiz with Lincoln Logs,” Peterson recalls. “He had challenges with reading, but it didn’t stop him from exploring things he was passionate about. And he graduated a few years ago with a degree in architectural engineering. This program helps parents be observant enough to see what their kids are really good at.”

A Call to Parents has received a lot of positive feedback from attendees, and organizers hope it will help students graduate from high school with a clear direction in mind.

“The longer it takes students to get on the right path for them, the more resources their families have to spend and the longer it takes them to be part of a productive workforce,” Peterson says.

“And productive, skilled workers are something every community needs.”

– Jessica Mozo

A Call to Parents is a brown-bag lunch program that helps working parents talk to their children about educational and career decisions.

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says Lisa Peterson, operations director for the chamber. “Sometimes parents think a four-year college degree is the only way their kids will succeed, but that’s only one option. There’s also technical college, skilled trades, apprenticeships and more. Students need a flexibility in learning, and we want them to appreciate all different kinds of learning.”

A Call to Parents is sponsored by Marathon County Partners In Education, the workforce development arm of the

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Sports & Recreation

Staying in the Swing of Things WISCONSIN WOODCHUCKS BASEBALL TEAM HITS IT OFF WITH FANS

considered highly desirable training opportunities for future professionals.

“These are guys who have been drafted or want to be drafted and are finishing their education before they do so,” says Bolder. “They play in a league like ours before they cross over into the professional leagues. But we are run similarly and maybe even better than some minor league teams. In fact, there are teams in our league who are doing better in attendance than many minor league teams.”

The Woodchucks are one of those teams, boasting an average attendance of 1,800 to 2,000 per game in the season, which runs from the end of May through the middle of August. On several occasions last summer, fans had to be turned away.

Bolder credits the fan interest not just to the team’s quality playing, but to a vigorous promotion schedule that includes everything from a post-game fireworks series to T-shirt cannons, dizzy bat contests and bobblehead giveaways.

One particular hit in the 2008 season was a visit by Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Yount, a Milwaukee Brewers team mate of Woodchucks manager Jim Gantner, making his first Central Wisconsin appearance.

Woody Woodchuck, the team’s mascot, is responsible for much of the in-stadium merriment. He also maintains an active schedule of community appearances, including the team’s reading program in the schools, and serves as the face of the Woodchuck organization.

– Laura Hill

STAFF PHOTO

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n any given summer evening in 2008, you might well have found the stands at Athletic Park jammed with baseball fans of all ages. After all, it’s not every year that the city’s much-loved team makes the playoffs.

The Wisconsin Woodchucks, a fixture in the community since 1994, has a proud history when it comes to producing winning seasons – and winning players who go on to great things in the major leagues. The playoffs, which the team narrowly lost after several team members sustained injuries, were the icing on the cake.

“Last year we had 10 players in the major leagues who had either played or signed to play with the Woodchucks last year or the year before,” says team Chief Operating Officer Jesse Bolder, citing in particular Ben Zobrist, a Woodchuck alum who plays outfield for the Tampa Bay Rays.

“It was nice to see one of our former guys out there on the field during the World Series,” says Bolder. “He played a key role for them.”

The Woodchucks are members of the Northwoods League, known as the country’s premier summer baseball league. Talented college players are recruited from across the country and must be eligible to play NCAA baseball.

The league uses wooden bats and the same size baseball as professional teams, and teams like the Woodchucks are The Wisconsin Woodchucks play at Athletic Park in Wausau.

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Arts & Culture

A Heart for the Arts TWO ARTIST GROUPS DOUBLE THE VIEWING PLEASURE

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n the Wausau region, art is a community affair.

Two local art guilds keep drawing, painting and every other medium imaginable constantly in the public eye through classes, galleries and festivals.

“They’re very, very art-minded, more so than other communities,” says Jan Pf lieger, who was president of the

Wisconsin Valley Art Association for five years, until the beginning of 2009.

The WVAA is a group of artists, art teachers, gallery owners and art appreciators that meets monthly to hear from guest speakers and view artwork by its members and other artists. They contribute to the community by purchasing art supplies for local schools

and organizations and awarding art scholarships for college students.

Each year, the group hosts the Art in the Park show as part of the Artrageous Weekend, a two-day festival put on by the Woodson Art Museum that includes Art in the Park, the museum’s Birds in Art exhibit and the outdoor Festival of Arts. Members also often display their work in exhibits at the Center for the Arts, part of downtown’s ARTSblock.

Pflieger, a drawer who has been in the WVAA for more than 35 years, sees art as a way to enrich the community.

“If you don’t have art, you’re pretty stagnant,” she says. “It’s a wonderful gift that God gave us.”

The area’s other art guild is the Wisconsin Visual Artists Guild. While WVAA’s primary focus is education and community awareness of art, the visual artists’ guild specializes in exhibitions.

The group runs the Reaching New Heights Gallery in Weston to offer local artists exposure to the community, while also raising arts awareness.

The value of community arts organizations, Pflieger says, is that they allow anyone who is interested – from professionals to finger painters – to participate in the arts.

“We’re even open to people who claim they can’t draw a straight line, but just appreciate art,” she says. “That adds to the art community, as well. They have ideas that they can share with us. We welcome anybody.”

– Michaela Jackson

Glass artist Audrey Handler’s Pear in a Chair on display at the Center for the Visual Arts in downtown Wausau

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Art Buffs Flock to Museum, Events

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STAFF PHOTO

rom Big Bird to the ugly duckling, from the mythical phoenix to Coleridge’s albatross, birds have captured the imagination since time immemorial.

Every year, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau looks skyward and invites masters of the pen, the brush, the chisel and other media to unleash their avian creativity for Birds in Art. The exhibit, which is in its 33rd year, showcases birds in all media for crowds sometimes upwards of 15,000 people.

“Just as the birds migrate north and south, we also have visitors that migrate from all directions to participate in the exhibition,” says Marcia Theel, associate director of the Woodson Art Museum.

Indeed, the exhibit itself has migrated around the world, delighting art and bird enthusiasts in Scotland, England, Sweden, China, Japan and elsewhere.

“You may see the subject matter, and think, ‘Birds? What’s there to say?’” Theel says. “Well, there is so much to say about the subject – the birds in their environment; the birds as a harbinger to what’s happening to our environment; birds as they interact with people.”

At the heart of the exhibit’s popularity, Theel believes, is the same blend of curiosity and desire that fills our sleep with dreams of flying.

“We’d all like to be able to sit up at the very tippy-top branch of a tree and look out over the landscape and just see how things look from up there,” she says. “I think we all have a little bit of avian envy in us.”

– Michaela Jackson

Kent Ullberg’s statue of whooping cranes, Rites of Spring, stands at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, home to the annual Birds in Art event.

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Health & Wellness

Clinics Look Toward the Future TWO SPECIALIZED HEALTH-CARE FACILITIES OPENED IN 2008

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ong a regional center for outstanding health care, Wausau’s medical services rose even a notch higher with the expansion of two major medical practices.

After years serving patients as tenants of Aspirus Hospital, the Bone & Joint Center opened its own 43,000-squarefoot Bone & Joint Musculoskeletal and Surgery Center on Hummingbird Road, a 400-percent increase in space over its former facilities. The clinic maintains a strong working relationship with the hospital, where its doctors perform their inpatient surgeries. But the new facility offers greater opportunities for outpatient services.

“It’s literally one-stop service for our patients,” says clinic marketing manager Cindy Verhasselt. “It’s wonderful. Patients can come in right off I-39 and find ample parking, which was always something of a challenge in our former location. They can have X-rays here and MRIs if they need it. The sports and spine clinic is right here. And our new ambulatory surgery center is a huge addition. Basically, everything orthopedic outpatients need is right here.”

The new facility, which opened to the public in September 2008, boasts 30 exam rooms, five specific to the care of extremities and four to pain management, four cast rooms, two operating rooms and one minor procedure room, outpatient rehab services and radiology rooms. A unique advantage of the clinic, says Verhasselt, is that the staff specialized only in orthopedics, guaranteeing the best care

as well as enhancing patients’ visits to the clinic.

“Our primary focus in 2009 is on getting our patients through the clinic as quickly as possible while still ensuring that our physicians have plenty of quality time to spend with them,” says Verhasselt. “We’re concentrating on the patient experience.”

The Eye Clinic of Wisconsin is also enjoying new headquarters, having consolidated several smaller locations into a new facility, the Backer Building on North First Street.

Practitioners include 11 ophthalmic and osteopathic doctors and five optometrists.

“We offer a very wide range of services, from optometry to pediatric ophthalmology, to low vision, cosmetic lift procedures and Botox, and we have a full optical department,” says Kristi Woller, HR/marketing manager. “We are always looking at what is cutting edge in technology and treatment.”

The new facility opened in January 2008 and has met with approval from patients, says Woller.

“Patients really appreciate the convenience of having all the treatment facilities on one floor,” she says.

The clinic offers vision correction treatments that include cataract surgery and premium implantable lenses, glaucoma treatment, comprehensive pediatric eye care, retinal surgery, LASIK, eye exams and treatment for various eye conditions.

The optical shop offers a wide array of designer eyewear and trained specialists.

– Laura Hill

The Eye Clinic of Wisconsin and the Bone & Joint Center, above, each recently opened new clinics in Wausau.

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Community Profile

THE WAUSAU REGION SNAPSHOT Located in the middle of north-central Wisconsin, the Wausau region includes the communities of Wausau, Rib Mountain, Schofield, Rothschild, Mosinee, Kronenwetter and Weston.

CLIMATE

4F January Low Temperature

22 F

HEALTH CARE

REAL ESTATE

Hospitals in the Wausau region consistently are rated among the topperforming facilities for quality care in the nation.

The region is also home to nationally recognized cardiac care along with a variety of other medical specialties.

$147,852

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January High Temperature

59 F

imageswausau.com

July Low Temperature

More facts, stats and community information, including relocation tools and links to resources.

81 F July High Temperature

Average Home Price

ARTS AND CULTURE Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum 700 N. 12th St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 845-7010 www.lywam.org Marathon County Historical Museum 410 McIndoe St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 842-5750 www.marathoncounty history.com Grand Theater on ARTSblock 415 Fourth St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 842-0988 (888) 239-0421 www.onartsblock.org

EDUCATION Lifelong learning is more than a catchphrase in the Wausau region. Its school districts and parochial schools regularly rank among the top schools nationwide, and post-secondary education is available from a variety of sources in and around the Wausau region.

Center for Visual Arts 427 Fourth St. Wausau, WI 54403 (715) 842-4545 www.cvawausau.org

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Aspirus www.aspirus.org

Marshfield Clinic www.marshďŹ eldclinic.org

Newman Catholic Schools www.newmancatholicschools.com

Upper Iowa University www.uiu.edu

Aspirus Network www.aspirus-network.org

Mid-Wisconsin Bank www.midwisc.com

Peoples State Bank www.psbwi.com

Wausau Insurance Companies www.wausau.com

City of Wausau www.wausaudevelopment.com

Ministry Health Care www.ministryhealth.org

Plaza Hotel & Suites www.plazawausau.com

Wisconsin Public Service www.wisconsinpublicservice.com Woodson YMCA www.woodsonymca.com

Graebel www.graebel.com

Mohican North Star Casino & Bingo www.mohicannorthstar.com

Security Health Plan www.securityhealth.org

Greenheck www.greenheck.com

Mosinee School District www.mosineeschools.org

UMR www.umr.com

I M AG E S WAU S AU . C O M

WAU S AU

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C3 NEWMAN C AT H O LI C S C H O O L S

3 4 A S P I R U S N E T WO R K C 3 P EO P LE S S TAT E BA N K 1 C IT Y O F WAU SAU 2 0 P L A Z A H OTEL & S U ITE S 28 GR AEBEL 3 4 S EC U R IT Y H E A LT H P L A N 3 3 G R E E N H EC K C 4 M A R S H FI E L D C LI N I C 2 3 M I D -W I S CO N S I N BA N K

21 UMR C 3 U P P E R I OWA U N I V E R S IT Y

2 6 M I N I S T RY H E A LT H C A R E

1 8 WAU SAU I N S U R A N C E CO M PA N I E S

C 2 M O H I C A N N O RT H S TA R CASINO & BINGO

2 2 W I S CO N S I N P U B LI C S E RV I C E

C 3 M OS I N E E S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

C 3 WO O DS O N Y M C A

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Are You Serious About Your Health?

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WOODSON YMCA One Community, One YMCA, Two Great Locations Wausau Branch 707 Third St. Wausau, WI (715) 845-2177

www.woodsonymca.com

Aspirus Branch 3402 Howland Ave. Weston, WI 54476 (715) 841-1850

Upper Iowa University is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Wausau Campus 3INCE

Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree completion program in Wausau. !CCEPTING UP TO Associate credits 3IX WEEK TERMS Permanent ON SITE COUNSELOR Evening classes

Degrees Accounting Business Administration Criminal Justice Emergency Disaster Management Health Services Administration Human Resource Management

Human Services/ SW CertiďŹ cate Management Marketing Public Administration Technology & Information Management Communications

7 #AMPUS $R s 2OOM ! s 7AUSAU 7) s 6ICKI &AORO !NDERSON #ENTER #OORDINATOR ANDERSONV UIU EDU WAU S AU

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