March 2016

Business Intelligence for the New North

First Generation

solutions Most entrepreneurs may not think of themselves as a family business, but it’s best to prepare as such as the business evolves

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Business Intelligence for the New North

18

March Features 18 COVER STORY

First generation solutions

Most entrepreneurs may not think of themselves as a family business, but it’s best to prepare as such as the business evolves

24 TOURISM

Sporting strategy

Local tourism officials placing more emphasis around attracting, catering to sporting events to increase visitor spending

24

30 FIREFIGHTERS OF NORTHEAST WISCONSIN

Ready for liftoff

Appleton start up launches as B2B’s 5th annual Firefighters of Northeast Wisconsin wraps up

Departments

30

4

From the Publisher

6

Since We Last Met

10 Corporate Earnings 12 Build Up Pages 29 Guest Commentary 34

Voices & Visions

37

Professionally Speaking

38

Who’s News

44 Business Calendar Rex In A Box

45 Advertising Index 46 Key Statistics

2016 Corporate Wellness Awards Nominations Open Download Nomination form www.newnorthb2b.com

@ newnorthb2b.com NNB2B | March 2016 | 3

From the Publisher

Resuscitating the flat tax argument Sub-standard technology, customer service make federal agencies too complex to effectively pursue their own charge

by Sean Fitzgerald, New North B2B publisher

Readers of B2B might recall me writing about the notion of a flat federal tax early last year. The rant came on the heels of a bit of preoccupation I was having with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the challenges of communicating with the oppressive agency to rectify errors to our business account.

It marked the first time in my 20-year business journalism career that I’d publically taken the IRS to task – and even though the article probably accomplished little other than to get readers riled up in agreement with my irritation – it provided me with an outlet to vent my frustrations.

Eventually those errors were resolved with no additional financial cost to B2B, but did digest several hours of my time and added a few extra measures of stress to the ol’ ticker.

Well, a new frustration emerged with the federal government this past January – this one more specific to the Social Security Administration, but still related to the onerous federal tax code. And it continues to demonstrate that the federal government is simply to complex for it to even handle its own problems, much less those of others.

Like most other employers, I do all of B2B’s payroll tax payment and reporting online, including filing W-2 and W-3 forms at the beginning of each year. Complying with the federal tax code has always been a part of B2B’s mission statement, and as a law-abiding employer, I find that online transactions provide immediate verification of our compliance. Besides, the federal government prefers online filing to enable it to be more efficient in its paperwork. So here’s what happened: I only access our online account through the Social Security Administration to file W-2 forms once each year, and when I was preparing to do so back on Jan. 18, I received notice that I was locked out of our account. The only instructions to rectify this problem and regain access to our online account were to call the agency’s toll-free number.

I did call, and after a few minutes of navigating the agency’s phone tree, received a message that the office was closed due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Alright. So I tried calling back a second time a few days later when my schedule allowed. I navigated the agency’s phone tree for a 4 | March 2016 | NNB2B

few minutes, this time remembering what numbers I’d need to press, only to once again receive a recorded voice message that the offices were “closed due to inclement weather.”

Alright. So the snowstorm that hit the East Coast – a minor nuisance to those of us in Wisconsin – might have been worse than they expected. But that’s the only office for the entire Social Security Administration in the whole country? There’s no one else taking calls on the main telephone line into this federal agency from anywhere in the United States not affected by the snowstorm?

I called again the next day – the office was still closed due to the snowstorm. Apparently there’s a shortage of little plastic beach shovels on the East Coast to help them dig out of the nearArmageddon conditions they faced and get back to a sense of normalcy.

When I called again during the final few days of January, I navigated my way through the phone tree, heard a ring tone on the other end of the line, and eventually received a message that “due to an unusually heavy call volume, no representative was available to take your call.” Then it simply disconnected the call. No opportunity to wait on hold. No opportunity to leave a message of my own. This happened at least eight more times through the end of January.

Emailing tech support at the SSA was of no assistance, either. After sending three emails between Jan. 19 and Jan. 29, I received zero response other than an automated reply acknowledging my inquiry.

Such Kafka-esque instances of the federal government making it near impossible to cooperatively comply with already onerous regulations makes the idea of a simple tax code with painless reporting and filing all the more appealing.

Republican Presidential contenders Ben Carson and Sen. Ted Cruz advocate for a flat tax, and Donald Trump is proposing a substantial simplification of the tax code. Withdrawn candidate Sen. Rand Paul is among the most vocal supporters of a flat tax, and another withdrawn candidate, Carly Fiorina, argued for simplifying the entire federal tax code into a three-page document.

Whether or not a flat tax is fair is an entirely different argument.

But the matter of simplifying the federal tax reporting and collection process is one that makes more sense in each instance the agency can’t effectively manage its own problems. And those problems are mounting as the agency becomes further behind on its “to do” list, and hold times for customer service phone calls become longer and longer. n www.newnorthb2b.com

Sean Fitzgerald Publisher & President x sean@newnorthb2b.com Carrie Rule Sales Manager x carrie@newnorthb2b.com Kate Erbach Production Contributing writers Lee Marie Reinsch Chief Financial Officer Vicky Fitzgerald, CPA

1

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1call2build.com ARCHITECTURE I FUNDING I NNB2B CONSTRUCTION I SERVICE | March 2016 | 5

Since We Last Met

Since We Last Met

Since We Last Met is a digest of business related news occurring in the Greater Green Bay, Fox Cities, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac areas in the one month since the previous issue of New North B2B. January 21 Gov. Scott Walker appointed Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Sec. Ray Allen as the new secretary for the Department of Workforce Development, taking over the role held by former Sec. Reggie Newson who resigned earlier in January to go into a private consulting practice.

Allen served at the Department of Financial Institutions for 18 years, including four as deputy secretary and the past 11 months as secretary. Gov. Walker filled Allen’s previous post by appointing Lon Roberts as the new secretary for the Department of Financial Institutions. Roberts retired this past December as a partner and president with the Wausau-based law firm Ruder Ware. Roberts has served as chair of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board since 2012.

January 25 Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton received a $40,000 grant from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund to help launch a study abroad program aimed at entrepreneurial thinking for employability. The program will exchange FVTC students with students from Columbia in a boot camp to help market and sell products for a grocery store in Colombia, in addition to developing a plan for the store’s operations. The program is scheduled for this coming fall, and is expected to advance workforce skills in business innovation.

2004 March 31 – OPEC ministers cut crude oil production by 4 percent.

Analysts believe the move could push crude oil prices above $40 a barrel, sending the average cost of unleaded fuel above $2.00 per gallon.

2006 March 14 – The Fond du Lac YMCA announced plans for a $12 million expansion project that will increase the facility by 18,000 square feet.

The plan includes doubling the size of the fitness area and providing two swimming pools.

2006 March 16 – The Fox Cities Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Capital Development Committee granted the Fox River Navigational Authority $250,000 toward the restoration of the Fox Locks system. Preservation work on the Kaukauna locks began in September and the four locks in Appleton will be restored this year.

6 | March 2016 | NNB2B

January 27 The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee decided to maintain its target range for the federal funds rate at 1/4 to 1/2 percent, its first decision since its historic rate increase back in mid-December. In making its determination, the committee said inflation has continued to remain below its 2 percent goal, partly due to declining energy prices.

January 29 Menasha-based insurance provider Network Health and Appleton-based integrated health system ThedaCare agreed to a five-month contract extension for Network Health members to access ThedaCare providers through 2016 under the same terms as the current contract with no change in fees for patients. The existing agreement was slated to end July 31, with both parties challenged to arrive at a long-term agreement during negotiations in late 2015. Both ThedaCare and Network Health will continue to negotiate a longer-term agreement.

February 2 The Town of Menasha petition to incorporate a substantial urban portion of the community into a village received approval from the state Department of Administration Incorporation Review Board, setting the stage for an April 5 referendum for town residents. If approved by a majority of

2008 March 11 – Outagamie County Executive Toby Paltzer asked the county board of supervisors to create a special committee to explore changing the name of Outagamie County Regional Airport and give oversight of the airport to a commission composed of both board supervisors and appointed representatives.

2011 March 7 – Advance, the economic development arm of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, launched its new Brown County MicroLoan program which provides loans between $5,000 to $100,000 for local entrepreneurs and small businesses to purchase machinery and equipment, inventory, working capital, as well as other certain business expenses. The microloan program includes a pool of capital loaned by 10 partnering financial institutions in Brown County.

www.newnorthb2b.com

voters, much of the east portion of the town would incorporate as the Village of Fox Crossing in early summer.

February 2 Forest Mall in Fond du Lac was sold

by Ohio-based shopping mall developer WP Glimcher to Dallas-based ATR Corinth Partners for $30 million in a package deal that included a mall outside of Atlanta. The mall lost two of its five anchor stores in the past two years, and mall traffic has diminished in the 43-year-old shopping center.

Community development officials hope the new property owner will consider substantial investment in revamping much of the real estate.

February 5 The U.S. Department of Labor reported 151,000 new jobs were created in January, lowering the national unemployment rate to 4.9 percent.

Job gains occurred in retail trade, food services and drinking places, health care and manufacturing. Employment declined in private education, transportation and warehousing, and mining.

February 9 The Village of Ashwaubenon Plan Commission approved the Green Bay Packers’ proposal for the 34acre Titletown District planned development announced last year.

The proposed $120 to $130 million development immediately west of Lambeau Field still requires final approval from the village’s board of trustees before construction can begin this spring. In addition to the marquee 10-acre public space at the center of the development, the first phase of construction includes four-star hotel Lodge Kohler, a Bellin Health clinic and Hinterland Brewery. Construction of the initial phase is expected to be complete by the summer of 2017.

February 9 The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s 111(d) Rule – more commonly referred to as the Clean Power Plan – halting any enforcement of the potentially onerous regulation of carbon emissions. State officials have estimated the cost of enforcing the measure against Wisconsin businesses could be as much as $13 billion. www.newnorthb2b.com

February 10 The Village of Bellevue Board of Trustees unanimously rejected a proposal for a 77-acre commercial and residential development off of Huron Road after neighboring residents complained about the potential increase in traffic. The plan from Cottage Road Development of Bellevue would have built 120 apartment units, several single-family homes and duplexes, as well as created opportunity for commercial retail spaces.

February 11 The Wisconsin Assembly approved Assembly Bill 568, which would expand residential landlord rights through various measures: allow landlords to dispose of or sell trespassers’ property; allow landlords to evict tenants who cause damage without repairing the damage or paying for the repair; and allow landlords to evict a tenant if the tenant, a tenant family member or guest engages in criminal activity, including dealing drugs.

February 11 The U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied a request from Lockheed Martin to impose an injunction against Oshkosh Corp. to perform work on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle production contract it was awarded from the U.S. Department of Defense in late 2015.

Lockheed Martin protested the award of the $6.7 billion contract to build nearly 17,000 military vehicles, arguing the bids for the award from both itself and Oshkosh Corp. weren’t properly evaluated. Officials from Oshkosh Corp. confirmed the company is continuing production of the contract work.

February 11 Mid Valley Industrial Services Inc. of Hortonville was ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay $104,421 in back wages to 56 workers for violations of the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Federal investigators found violations occurred when employees were not compensated for time spent loading trucks and driving to job sites. The industrial cleaning contractor was also cited for failing to maintain accurate records of hours worked by employees.

NNB2B | March 2016 | 7

Since We Last Met February 15 Officials from Tanesay Development announced plans for a 95-room, $12 million Courtyard by Marriott hotel within its RiverHeath property development along the Fox River near downtown Appleton. Construction of the hotel could begin this spring, enabling it to open by spring 2017. Tanesay indicated it will own and operate the hotel as a franchise of Marriott.

February 15 Fond du Lac-based Agnesian HealthCare announced plans to open The Treffert Center in spring 2016, a resource for area families with children facing autism. The center will be developed through a partnership with Dr. Darold Treffert, M.D., a Fond du Lac-based world-renowned expert on autism and savant syndrome. The Treffert Center will feature the Treffert Library – an international collection of books, videos, documentaries, journals, art works and periodicals on autism and savant syndrome – and Treffert Academy, which will provide a preschool and after-school care for children from age 3 to 12 years old. It will also house the Agnesian Autism, Behavior and Communication Center.

February 16 A primary election for the mayor’s office in Menasha enabled incumbent Mayor Don Merkes and former alderman Chris Klein to advance to the April 5 general election. Sitting Alderman James Taylor was eliminated from the race, coming in third in primary voting.

February 17 Fond du Lac-based NEB Corp., the holding company for both National Exchange Bank & Trust and American Bank, announced plans to merge both financial institutions under the National Exchange Bank & Trust name in 2016, creating a bank with nearly $1.85 billion in assets and 33 branches across east central Wisconsin. The leadership of the combined bank will include Eric Stone, as the vice chairman and CEO, and Jim Chatterton, current chief executive officer of American Bank, as president and COO. Chatterton will replace Mike Burch, current president and COO of National Exchange Bank & Trust, who announced his retirement later this year following the completion of the merger.

February 18 Wisconsin Assembly Republicans passed Senate Bill 707 prohibiting a state legislator from concurrently holding office as a county executive, a bill aimed directly at Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris’ bid for the 18th State Senate District seat as a Democrat. The measure passed in the senate Feb. 16. The matter of county executives also serving in the state legislature isn’t new in Wisconsin. Most recently, Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow continued to serve in the state senate for three months during 2015 to vote on the state’s biennial budget. Former state Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer also served in both the assembly and as Manitowoc County Executive between 2006 and 2012. n

8 | March 2016 | NNB2B

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NNB2B | March 2016 | 9

Corporate Earnings

Once each quarter, New North B2B runs a digest of quarterly financial reports from local publicly traded companies, or from out-of-the-area parent companies with significant operations in our northeast Wisconsin coverage area.

Associated Banc Corp.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Income $40.6 million $47.5 million t 15% EPS 27 cents 31 cents t 13% The Green Bay-based financial institution reported annual earnings for 2015 of $181 million, down just 3 percent from 2014 income of $186 million. The bank reported average loan growth of 8 percent during the past year to $18.3 billion, with commercial lending accounting for 55 percent of the loan growth.

Kimberly-Clark Corp.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $4.5 Billion $4.8 Billion t 6% Income $333 million ($83 million) s 8% EPS 91 cents (22 cents) t 6% The manufacturer of consumer paper and tissue products with significant operations in the Fox Cities reported full year 2015 sales of $18.6 million, down nearly 6 percent from 2014 annual revenues of $19.7 million, primarily attributing the difference to lower currency translation. The company reported full year adjusted earnings of $5.76 per share in 2015, and expects 2016 adjusted earnings to be in the range of $5.95 to $6.15 per share.

Plexus Corp.

1Q 2016 1Q 2015 Revenue $617 million $665 million t 7% Income $14.4 million $23.1 million t 38% EPS 42 cents 67 cents t 37% The Neenah-based contract electronics manufacturer reported it won 34 program contracts during the first quarter representing nearly $179 million in annual revenue. Company officials expect second quarter sales in the range of $600 to $630 million.

10 | March 2016 | NNB2B

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $3.3 Billion $3.5 Billion t 7% Income $450 million $450 million Unch.

EPS $1.23 $1.16 s 6% The parent company of Miller Electric Manufacturing operations across the Fox Cities reported full year 2015 income of $1.9 billion was down from previous year earnings of $2.9 billion. Company officials indicated demand for industrial equipment remains sluggish, but said there’s been evidence of stable underlying demand trends during the past two quarters in its welding segment, which includes Miller Electric operations.

Bemis Company Inc.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $983 million $1.1 Billion t 7% Income $56.8 million $59.1 million t 4% EPS 58 cents 59 cents t 2% The Neenah-based supplier of flexible packaging reported full year 2015 adjusted earnings increased nearly 11 percent to $2.55 per share. The company’s U.S. Packaging segment increased its operating profit to $392 million during the past year – or 14.3 percent of net sales – compared with operating profit of $376 million in 2014.

Brunswick Corp.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $986 million $939 million s 5% Income ($9.3 million) ($4.3 million) t116% EPS (10 cents) (5 cents) t100% The parent company of Mercury Marine operations in Fond du Lac indicated full year 2015 revenues of $4.1 billion increased 7 percent compared with 2014 receipts of $3.8 billion. The company’s Marine Engine segment, which includes Mercury operations, reported fourth quarter sales of $475 million, up 2 percent from $465 during the same quarter of 2014.

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Humana Inc.

WEC Energy Group Inc.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $13.4 Billion $12.3 Billion s 8% Income $101 million $145 million t 30% EPS 67 cents 94 cents t 29% The health and benefits company with extensive operations in the Green Bay area reported full year earnings of $8.44 per share compared to $7.36 per share for the full year 2014. The company plans to close on its previously announced merger with Aetna during the second quarter 2016.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $1.8 Billion $1.2 Billion s 51% Income $179 million $121 million s 48% EPS 57 cents 53 cents s 8% The merged operations of WE Energies and Integrys Energy Group, the parent company of Wisconsin Public Service Corp., reported annual income increased 9 percent from $588 million in 2014 to $639 million in fiscal 2015. The company reported average daily temperatures during the fourth quarter were 26 percent warmer than during the fourth quarter of 2014, driving energy demand lower.

Oshkosh Corp.

1Q 2016 1Q 2015 Revenue $1.3 Billion $1.4 Billion t 7% Income $14.6 million $34.6 million t 58% EPS 19 cents 43 cents t 56% The manufacturer of specialty vehicles reported an 18 percent increase in its defense segment sales to $318 million, which was offset by a 26 percent decline in its access equipment segment revenues to $530 million. Company officials acknowledged the timing of an international contract awarded for more than 1,000 military vehicles has been slowed and do not expect it to result in any revenue during fiscal 2016.

www.newnorthb2b.com

West Corp.

4Q 2015 4Q 2014 Revenue $568 million $563 million s 1% Income $62.3 million $48.3 million s 29% EPS 74 cents 56 cents s 32% The enterprise communications service provider with extensive operations across the Fox Cities and Greater Green Bay areas reported full fiscal year 2015 income rose 53 percent to $242 million compared with earnings of $158 million during 2014. The company’s specialized agent services segment – which includes much of its northeast Wisconsin operations – reported fourth quarter revenue increased 7 percent to $73.1 million.

NNB2B | March 2016 | 11

Build Up Fond du Lac

1

2

Build Up

Indicates a new listing

Fond du Lac 1 - 255 County Road K, Fond du Lac

St. Mary’s Springs Academy, a 92,000-sq. ft. addition to the existing high school campus. Project completion expected in summer.

2 - 250 Camelot Dr., Fond du Lac Grande Cheese Company, an 87,000-sq. ft. new corporate headquarters and research center. Project completion expected in early spring.

Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds

Coming to B2B in April 2016 Tourism

Enhancing facillities to attract larger, more contemporary conventions

12 | March 2016 | NNB2B

www.newnorthb2b.com

Build Up Oshkosh

Indicates a new listing

Build Up

Oshkosh

There are currently no qualifying commercial or industrial projects under construction in Oshkosh.

Projects completed since our February issue: None

Take the first step toward a professional, quality built construction project...

Building Quality Communities Contact us or visit our Web site for a full listing of your local construction professionals.

9 2 0 . 7 3 3 . 3 1 3 6 y 866.966.3928 y www.newbt.org www.newnorthb2b.com

NNB2B | March 2016 | 13

Build Up Fox Cities Build Up

Fox Cities

Indicates a new listing

1 - W6931 School Road, town of Greenville Fox West YMCA, an addition to the existing building for a new gymnasium, wellness center and various interior renovations. Project completion expected in summer.

2 - 705 N. McCarthy Road, town of Grand Chute TEK systems, a 4,600-sq. ft. addition to the existing commercial office building.

Project completion expected in March. General contractor is James J. Calmes & Sons Construction of Kaukauna.

3 - 4800 W. Prospect Ave., town of Grand Chute Werner Electric Supply Co., a 260,775-sq. ft. corporate office and distribution center. Project completion expected in March. General contractor is Consolidated Construction Company of Appleton.

4 - Plaza Drive, town of Menasha Community First Credit Union, a 120,000-sq. ft. corporate office campus. Project completion expected in late fall.

5 - 218 E. Lawrence St., Appleton YMCA of Appleton, an addition to the existing community center and various interior renovations.

6 - 400 E. North Island St., Appleton Neenah Paper Inc., a 45,000-sq. ft. addition to the existing specialty paper mill. Project completion expected in late fall. General contractor is Bayland Buildings of Green Bay. 7 - 1025 W. Navitus Dr., town of Grand Chute Navitus Health Solutions, a four-story, 34,688-sq. ft. office building to expand the existing call center campus.

8 - 2105 E. Enterprise Ave., Appleton Orthopedic & Sports Institute of the Fox Valley, a 2,000-sq. ft. addition to the existing surgery center. Project completion expected in May. 9 - 1101 Moasis Dr., Little Chute Trilliant Food & Nutrition, a 133,840-sq. ft. addition to the existing industrial facility.

General contractor is Keller Inc. of Kaukauna.

10 - 100 W. Second St., Kaukauna Kaukauna City Hall, a municipal services building. Project completion expected in May. 11 - 800 block of Schelfhout Lane, Kimberly Anduzzi’s Sports Club, a nearly 10,000-sq. ft. restaurant building. Project completion expected in early spring.

12 - 1405 S. Oneida St., Menasha Festival Foods, a new grocery store. Project completion expected in summer.

13 - 1000 Midway Road, Menasha Orthopedic & Spine Therapy, a 12,500-sq. ft. medical clinic building. Project completion expected in early spring.

14 - 177 Main St., Menasha One Menasha Center, an eight-story, 100,000-sq. ft. multi-tenant office building to include Faith Technologies, Community First Credit Union and RLJ Dental.

15 - 333 N. Green Bay Road, town of Menasha ThedaCare Physicians, a 70,000-sq. ft. health care clinic for family practice, internal medicine and endocrinology. Project completion expected in late fall.

14 | March 2016 | NNB2B

www.newnorthb2b.com

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16 - 1257 Gillingham Road, Neenah Menasha Packaging Company, a 48,382-sq. ft. addition to the existing pre-print facility. Project completion expected in March. General contractor is Bayland Buildings of Green Bay.

Projects completed since our February issue: • Interstate Battery, 4740 W. Packard St., town of Grand Chute.

• Expera Specialty Solutions, 600 Thilmany Road, Kaukauna.

• Rollmeister, Inc., 2474 Schultz Road, Neenah.

17 - 1645 Bergstrom Road, Neenah Menasha Packaging Company, a two-story, 103,900-sq. ft. corporate office complex. Project completion expected in fall.

18 - 927 S. Green Bay Road, Neenah Aldi, a 17,825-sq. ft. grocery store. Project completion expected in late summer.

www.newnorthb2b.com

NNB2B | March 2016 | 15

Build Up Greater Green Bay area 1

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Greater Green Bay area 1 - 2467 Glendale Ave., Howard Bode Central, a multi-tenant commercial building.

2 - 2340 Duck Creek Parkway, Howard Dental Associates, a 3,300-sq. ft. addition to the existing commercial building for a new dental clinic. Project completion expected in early spring.

3 - 2231 N. Quincy St., Green Bay NEW Water/Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, a wastewater treatment and electrical generation facility. Project completion expected in 2018.

16 | March 2016 | NNB2B

Indicates a new listing

4 - 301 Bay Beach Road, Green Bay McDonald Lumber Company, an 80,000-sq. ft. warehouse.

General contractor is Bayland Buildings of Green Bay. 5 - 320 N. Broadway, Green Bay DDL Holdings/Titletown Brewing, an addition to the former industrial facility for a mixed-use retail development.

6 - 304 N. Adams St., Green Bay Hotel Northland, a substantial overhaul of the existing 8-story building for a 160-room luxury hotel with two restaurants and a spa. Project completion expected in late fall.

www.newnorthb2b.com

7 - 2590 University Ave., Green Bay Pit Row Shell, an addition to the existing convenience store and fuel station.

20 - 1220 Flightway Dr., Hobart The Driveway, a 10,000-sq. ft. indoor sports facility. Project completion expected in May.

8 - 1811 E. Mason St., Green Bay Tri City Glass & Door, a two-story, 35,000-sq. ft. showroom, offices and production facility. Project completion expected in June. General contractor is Keller Inc. of Kaukauna.

21 - 505 Lawrence Dr., De Pere Creative Sign Company, a 10,500-sq. ft. addition to the existing commercial building. Project completion expected in early spring. General contractor is Bayland Buildings of Green Bay.

9 - 1160 Kepler Dr., Green Bay Aurora Baycare Medical Center, a two-story, 11,000-sq. ft. addition for cancer care services. Project completion expected in the fall.

10 - 1351 Ontario Road, Green Bay Willow Creek Behavioral Health, a 72-bed, 52,265-sq. ft. psychiatric hospital and substance abuse treatment facility.

Project completion expected in late summer.

11 - 1304 S. Huron Road, Green Bay American FlexPack Inc., a 43,000-sq. ft. addition to the existing manufacturing facility.

12 - 2360 Costco Way, Bellevue Bellevue Commons, a 12,000-sq. ft. multi-tenant retail building.

22 - 1724 Lawrence Dr., De Pere Festival Foods, a two-story, 42,500-sq. ft. corporate office building. Project completion expected in December.

23 - 2130 American Blvd., De Pere Machine Plus, a 10,000-sq. ft. manufacturing facility. Project completion expected in late spring.

24 - 200 Ninth St., De Pere Rennes Health & Rehab Center, a 20,000-sq. ft. addition to the existing health care facility.

Projects completed since our February issue: • North Shore Bank, 1838 Cardinal Lane, Suamico.

• Omnova Solutions, 1701 Cornell Road, Howard.

13 - 2609 Development Dr., Bellevue Pediatric Dentistry Clinic & Family Dental Center, an 8,781sq. ft. dental clinic. Project completion expected in summer.

General contractor is CR Structures Group Inc. of Kimberly.

14 - 201 W. St. Joseph St., Allouez Capital Credit Union, a 400-sq. ft. addition to the existing financial institution office. Project completion expected in March. General contractor is Keller Inc. of Kaukauna.

15 - 470 Marina Lane, Ashwaubenon Residence Inn by Marriott, a 103-room hotel. Project completion expected in late fall.

16 - 2202 S. Ridge Road, Ashwaubenon Ridgeview Liquor, a 5,930-sq. ft. retail building. Project completion expected in March.

17 - 2391 S. Ridge Road, Ashwaubenon Ashwaubenon High School, a new community auditorium and a new swimming pool. Project completion expected in early fall.

18 - 900 Anderson Dr., Ashwaubenon Ashwaubenon Community Center, a 16,275-sq. ft. community center. Project completion expected in June.

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NNB2B | March 2016 | 17

Cover Story

First Generation

solutions

Most entrepreneurs may not think of themselves as a family business, but it’s best to prepare as such as the business evolves

You’ve hung out your shingle: Cupcakes by Cutie. Your website’s up, your commercial kitchen’s ready, your client list quivers with anticipation. You’re ready to start baking -- just you, your massive Mixmaster and … your family?

Even if they’re nowhere to be found (or nonexistent) when it comes to dishwashing, they’re in it with you. A business is a family business from the start, said Dale Feinauer, business management professor at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Business Administration and faculty liaison to the Wisconsin Family Business Forum.

“Immediately, Day One, your spouse is co-owner of the business, and he or she is engaged in that question of ownership if the person dies,” Feinauer said. “So what’s now occurring in the business, how it’s being managed and how it all plays out is influencing the spouse right away.”

Along with the late nights, cold dinners and scrapped weekend plans.

Any closely held business has the potential for undesirable turnover, Feinauer said. So it’s smart to have a plan in place, should a bus hit you or an epiphany spark a move to a yurt.

“We need to be thinking about all these transition issues from the very beginning,” Feinauer said.

Granted, new business owners’ heads buzz with myriad minutiae accompanying the survival and growth of their business.

Outreach to others

Based at UWOshkosh, the Wisconsin Family Business Forum leads workshops for family businesses, counsels and advises, and offers a family business education certification. Its small peer groups help those in similar stages of business evolution tackle issues they face.

Story by Lee Marie Reinsch

“Running a business is complicated enough, and running a family is complicated enough with all the personalities and relationships and communication,” said Meridith Jaeger, executive director of the Forum. “You get even more interesting dynamics when you put the family in the business.”

Most businesses involve owners, managers and families – and they’re usually separate. “They

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fall into three different boxes – your family are not fellow employees, and employees aren’t typically owners, for most businesses,” Jaeger said.

All that’s out the window in family businesses. Prepare for communication glitches, petty jealousies, sibling rivalries, competition for a parent’s attention. Whose shoulder can you cry on?

“One of the downsides of being the owner of a family business is you don’t have anybody to talk to,” Feinauer said. Peergroup participants from the Forum are there to lend an ear.

Passing the torch

The founding generation may be used to governing autocratically.

“As that business moves into the hands of sons, daughters, executives and nonfamily members, decision-making becomes more collaborative, more like a partnership where we have consensus,” said Bob Mathers, partner, business law and estate planning attorney with Davis & Kuelthau, S.C. in Oshkosh. He’s also a CPA and certified financial planner. “A lot of times that drives the need to have policies in place.”

For example, consider the issue of wages: with autocratic decision making, if Mom says that’s what employees earn, that’s the final decision. “But when you get to brothers and sisters deciding on compensation, you need a compensation policy, and make sure you adhere to it so we don’t get people’s noses out of joint,” Mathers said.

Siblings working together usually know what to expect, said Jaeger. They usually grew up together in the same house, with the same parents and motivation. They know what trips each other’s trigger.

It’s the third generation - “the cousin consortium” - where all hell can break loose.

“They didn’t grow up in the same house with the same motivation,” Jaeger said. “With my brothers and I, we had the same parents, and we know what’s expected of us moving forward.”

The cousin consortium leans more like a formal business environment, where family and nonfamily are involved in decision-making.

“How the business makes decisions changes as the business evolves to the next generation,” Mathers said.

Shifting between generations

Transitioning a business is the No. 1 reason that brings most Forum members into the organization, Jaeger said. Where to begin?

“We look at their financial plan,” Mathers said. “Most don’t have a financial plan, but if they do, it goes a long way.”

Figure out a way to turn asset ownership and balance-sheet assets into income. “The next generation can manage the assets, but if you have that safe and secure income stream for that senior family member to live on, they can feel more comfortable to start giving up some of those reins,” Mathers www.newnorthb2b.com

Fostering Innovation in the Next Generation Kids these days

(fill in the blank with grumble of choice) .

You might not know your kids are interested in joining your business.

Some may even say they’re moving as far away from you as possible the minute they grow up.

The bad thing about the next generation as potential successors is they know too much – they’ve endured the family business all these years. They’ve been there when the ceiling leaked or the bypass was built. They’ve heard you cursing the IRS, shoplifters, building inspectors and deadbeats (in no particular order). They’ve seen you rip your hair out by the roots.

When it comes to naming someone who shares your DNA as the new owner, some hard-sell tactics may have to be instituted. Or you could start early to instill those innovative and entrepreneurial genes.

Dale Feinauer of the UW Oshkosh College of Business has these tips: 1. Expose them to the business. “Give them opportunities to understand and be engaged in the business – conversations around the dinner table where you talk about the business, explore positives and negatives and some of the issues, at a level that makes sense to them.”

2. Engage them. “This can be anything from mowing lawns to working on the shop floor, emptying garbage cans,” Feinauer said.

3. Do school things like presentations for Career Day or use your family business in homework. “In an accounting class, you need to do a balance sheet. Tell them we’ll give you access to our data so you can look at it,” Feinauer said.

4. Get them thinking entrepreneurially by putting them in charge of a charitable donation. “It doesn’t have to be huge dollars,” Feinauer said. “I’ve been amazed at the entrepreneurial focus of the next generation. They start looking at not-for-profit organizations and the question of return … (and) how will we know it’s had an impact.

Those are entrepreneurial skills that are very transferable.” Earmark a certain amount – with restrictions.

5. Put focus not on this family business but on being a family business. “Help them think entrepreneurially without restricting them to being in the family business that we’re in now. Ask them, ‘What kind of business would you like to be in?’”

6. Pie-in-the-sky brainstorm. “Ask ‘How do you think we can make money?’ Get (teens) in a room and tell them, ‘You know things about technology, about style, about culture that I don’t have a clue about.

I don’t see them and if I do, I don’t get them.’ It’s fun to brainstorm about possible business ventures. Is there a market out there, how big is the market, what are the price points in the market?”

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Cover Story said. “Look at the senior family member’s income needs, assess how realistic they are and get those as secure as possible so they’re independent from the family business.”

One example: When a separate entity, controlled by the parent, owns the business real estate. “It’s a technique most but not all family businesses have already engaged in, so you can give or sell that operating company to the next generation but that operating company is paying rent to the real estate company,” Mathers said. “So the senior family member may have given up the operating company off their balance sheet, but they still maintain an income stream from that operating company.”

Lately Mathers is seeing more companies doing the same thing with intellectual property instead of real estate. “So instead of a lease in the form of rent, I’ll pay a royalty in the form of a license on that intellectual property and use that as my income stream.”

Along with the retiree income stream: Income from an operating company is considered self-employment income and subject to higher tax rates, Mathers said.

“Rental income is considered passive income and not subject to self-employment taxes,” Mathers said. “Not only do we have a healthy income stream going to the senior family member, but it’s also taxed at a different rate.”

The operating company can deduct expenses, and the Mom and Dad’s income stays independent from their kids’ business decisions.

So how to move equity ownership from one generation to the next? One way is gradually, through gifting transactions: Mom and Dad can give away the business in smaller chunks using the $14,000 per year gift-tax exclusion.

“Often what I will do is make a gift in December and then again in January, so that’s $28,000 worth of gifting,” Mathers said. “For a married couple, that’s $56,000 in gifts that can be made within a couple days of each other.”

Upside: Recipients don’t pay tax on that income. Downside: Recipients inherit the donor’s tax basis, which is usually lower, which means higher capital gains taxes when the recipient sells the business.

Inheriting the business can remedy the capital gains problem – but it means someone had to die for that to happen. By that time, if heirs aren’t in the business, they may not have the needed experience.

“Oftentimes because of the governance of the family business, the senior family member wants the junior family member to start making decisions and taking ownership before they die,” Mathers said.

That’s actually where Oshkosh-based Aegis Financial president Bill Bowman starts when a transitioning family business comes in for financial advice: By asking if the next generation is ready to take over the business.

“We ask the questions that are on everybody’s mind, but they don’t know how to ask them,” Bowman said. “If a son and father come in, we can easily discuss those things … We’ve had

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clients that are multigenerational businesses and, although the founder loved it, for the second generation, it may not be their thing. The first generation has to really be sure the next generation is passionate about the business just as much as them.”

No cookie cutter approach

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Transition deals can be structured many different ways, depending on the assets of the business, the cash flow it provides, and goals of all those involved, Bowman said.

“The more assets and the more cash flow the business is generating, the more available lending will be,” Bowman said.

Selling the business to the next generation for less than its value is one way to keep the business operating or give it some flexibility during the transition.

“If the payments are less (or stretched out into the future), it helps the next generation with cash flow so they can keep it operational,” Bowman said. “It depends on what they’re trying to accomplish and how can we structure this deal so that, one, the second generation has the best possibility of continuing on and, two, the individual retiring has enough income to provide for his retirement years.”

Aegis’ team of accountants and attorneys strives to develop a deal that minimizes taxes while helping each party succeed.

“Everybody needs to win in this circumstance,” Bowman said.

“For the person who’s retiring, his future is based on the business being able to maintain itself or grow, so you don’t want to put too much burden on that second generation. If they’re not able to maintain that business, the first generation won’t get their money out of it.”

Entrepreneurial families

Stephanie Geurts, CPA Partner sjg@suttnercpa.com 920.235.6789

It’s commonplace that only a small percentage of family businesses make it to the second and third generation.

Mathers’ experience leads him to posit that the truth may be more positive than the data illustrates.

“For the entrepreneurial family, it’s not about this one company - they’re buying and selling businesses, not just holding onto them generation after generation,” Mathers said. “Successful family businesses, that’s what they do: Just because we sell the widget company doesn’t mean it’s a capitulation, because more often than not, the entrepreneurial family is taking the proceeds … and reinvesting into another family-owned business.”

In the last decade, low interest rates have heated up the private-equity market. In his own practice, Mathers sees families selling off parts of the business so they can focus on the core that really represents it.

“Family-owned businesses on average drive a 6 percent higher return on assets than their nonfamily-owned counterparts, so private equity firms are very interested in getting that financial success into their portfolio,” Mathers said. “Low interest rates have made money more available for them to come to family businesses and say, ‘We’ll buy you out.’”

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Cover Story All in the family

Brothers Joe and Charlie Luedtke of SPC, Inc. in Hortonville – producer of skids, pallets and crates – have always known they were going into the company their dad, Bob, started.

“Dad wanted to start it so he’d have something to pass on to us – a secure job, a future, something we’d like to do and would enjoy doing,” said co-owner Joe Luedtke. “It was always drilled in from early on that ‘I’m starting this for you guys’ and we would carry it on after he retired.”

Although now retired, Bob remains majority owner of the company, with the brothers as minority owners. They haven’t consummated the formal stock transfer yet. “I think Dad plans to hold onto that for several more years just, still being CEO on paper,” Luedtke said. “He still wants to have some involvement in the business, still wants to be informed of what’s going on, but as far as what really happens and the decisions that get made on a daily basis, we’re doing that. But he still wants to hold onto the baby that he started to make sure it’s successful and stays on the path he started for us.”

The brothers complement each other. Joe handles sales, buying and customer support, and Charlie handles payroll, receivables and payables.

“We have a great relationship while we’re here and outside of work as well,” Luedtke said of he and his brother.

When a business needs professional help

Steve Utech’s father, Ken, never intended to create a family business. Yet decades later, his wife, son and daughter are key principles of Utech Consulting, Inc. of De Pere.

Utech began as a family therapy office, but found itself dealing with many business owners. As the consulting firm evolved, it now helps companies thrive by improving relationships and communication. Steve Utech said 20 to 40 percent of his family’s business comes from other family businesses seeking help with transitions and uncomfortable family dynamics.

“For example, one of the kids or siblings is underperforming and it’s difficult for parents to address that because of the emotional ties that come along with that (situation),” Utech said. “We facilitate conversations. Sometimes we’ll do a little bit of family therapy at the front end to get the emotional baggage out so people can clear the conversation and get through some of the transition planning and have effective communication with their lawyers or accountants so it doesn’t have to be this painful process where families are torn apart during the transition.”

Utech said family businesses come with pros and cons.

“Being a son or daughter (of the owners), you’re going to get opportunities to move ahead quicker than someone who doesn’t have that opportunity,” he said. Two years after graduate school, Utech said he had projects that otherwise would require a decade of experience.

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“That itself was a gift and allowed me to fast track my career,” he said.

But those not in business with their families may have more freedom to be the adults they’ve grown up to be, rather than the kids their family members see.

“The emotional dynamic of the family can be somewhat confining,” he said. “In some family businesses, it might be you don’t want to disrespect your parents or maybe the founder doesn’t want to give up control, and that puts a constraint on the kids.

“Or maybe there’s competition between the kids and how they receive love or affirmation from the parents: It’s not spoken, but you’re performing for that love and appreciation.”

And feedback: From your boss, it’s just feedback. But when Mom’s your boss, it can seem like approval or love.

“It’s this weird thing that develops with family business dynamics.” n Lee Reinsch of Green Bay worked 18 years at daily newspapers before launching her freelance business, edgewise, in 2007.

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Tourism

Sporting Strategy Local tourism officials placing more emphasis around attracting, catering to sporting events to increase visitor spending

Submitted by Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau

Story by Lee Marie Reinsch

A scene from the Youth Soccer Midwest Region Championships at Scheels USA Youth Sports Complex in Appleton during the summer of 2015.

Everybody knows going to a Green Bay Packers game can be an expensive weekend.

Beyond the gridiron

Of course, the big body-slam comes from the ticket price, but along with that luxury bleacher seat, you’ve got some other significant outlays. Before you even get inside the stadium gates, there’s gas, parking fees and the run to the grocery store for tailgating eats, charcoal and paper plates. And don’t forget to count the bucks you spend on rain ponchos, parkas and hand warmers.

“It’s people traveling to a destination for involvement in some sort of sport,” said Wendy Hielsberg, executive director of the Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Once inside the gates, there are nachos and Brat’chos and the detour to the Packers Pro Shop. Post game, there’s drinks, pizza and tips while you wait out the traffic, and maybe a hotel if it’s late or you’ve over-enjoyed the alcohol. It adds up.

And the northeast Wisconsin tourism economy loves it all.

So important is sports tourism to its economy that Green Bay officials estimate that the Packers’ not hosting a playoff game during the recent 2016 post-season cost the area $14 million in travel spending.

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But sports tourism is more than just Packers tickets.

Whether it’s youth or adult, individual or team activities, sports tourism counts money people spend pursuing their favorite activities, from getting there to what they do afterward. It encompasses professional sports like the Packers, college and high school sporting events, and a slew of youth sporting tournaments and participation-based amateur activities. Those can include ice fishing, marathons, bowling, cycling, birdwatching, golfing, hunting, fishing, disc golfing, even – wait for it – cornhole. Oshkosh is home to the Wisconsin Cornhole Tournament, which drew 500 people last year.

“The range of sports is what makes this market so crazy,” Hielsberg said. “It’s a growth market. It’s grown enough that we put dollars toward it, we go to tradeshows for it, and we actually dedicated a staff person for it.” www.newnorthb2b.com

Carrying the ball

Whereas the tourism industry used to handle sports travel as an afterthought, in recent years many convention bureaus have dedicated fulltime staff to handle their sports tourism demands.

Oshkosh hired its first sports specialist two years ago.

Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau got in the game in 2001, the first destination marketing organization in the state to do so, according to Matt Ten Haken, director of sports marketing at Fox Cities CVB. “We work to bring new events to the area through competitive bids, work with local organizations to create new events, and we assist established local events to ensure a successful experience for all,” Ten Haken said.

He slots sports events into three categories: annual events hosted by local groups; events created with the hopes they’ll become annual; and what he calls bid-on events, which are regional or national championships on which convention bureaus bid to try to bring to the area. An example of the latter is the Youth Soccer Midwest Region Championships at Scheels USA Youth Sports Complex in Appleton, which drew some 214 teams from 13 Midwestern states this past year, according to Ten Haken.

An event that became an annual affair is the two-day Cheesehead Invitational wrestling tournament, which has drawn dozens of high-level high school teams and their supporters from around the Midwest and the country to Kaukauna since 1999.

Ten Haken estimates that the Fox Cities CVB works with around 150 sporting events per year.

Go, soccer moms

Sports tourism is a $7.68 billion-a-year industry, and it’s growing 3 to 5 percent a year, according to the National Association of Sports Commissions.

Some 23.9 million people partake in competitive sporting-related activities each year. Which means, “ka-ching.”

“Any team sports is a growth market, especially youth team sports, because the parents travel with them,” Hielsberg said. “There are more spectators, and www.newnorthb2b.com

they typically stay overnight. We really like to target youth sports.”

Last year’s Oshkosh On the Water Soccer Classic drew 4,000 people to Oshkosh, and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-Star game drew 5,000. The Waupaca Boatride Volleyball Tournament propelled 11,000 people to the greater Oshkosh area, and the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament attracted 18,000.

On average, Hielsberg estimates, a multi-night general visitor to Oshkosh spends $180 per day, estimating one traveler per room, with daytrippers averaging $50 per day. Oshkosh CVB doesn’t break down spending by tourist categories. Hielsberg said the convention bureau industry does a less than adequate job of standardizing metrics, and CVBs often measure disparate values.

Keeping stats

Fox Cities CVB does break down its tourism-spending categories. Using a slightly different formula – each sport athlete or spectator traveling with three others and sharing a room – Fox Cities CVB calculates that each spends $108 per day, according to Ten Haken. Fox Cities CVB estimates sports tourism generates 22,000 hotel room nights a year.

“That equates to roughly $7 million per year in direct visitor spending,” Ten Haken said.

He defines direct visitor spending as dollars going directly from the pocket of the traveler into the hands of local businesses: hotels, bike repair and bait shops, restaurants, cafes, gas stations and gift shops.

Economic impact is another way to measure tourism spending and involves indirect dollar growth from induced spending – spending prompted by increased business. The soccer team goes out for pizza, the pizzeria orders more mozzarella, and the mozzarella factory expands and attracts bigger clients.

Although the direct visitor spending number is lower than the economic impact number, Fox Cities CVB prefers to use it. “It’s more conservative, but we feel it’s more fair,” Ten Haken said.

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Tourism Rattling cages

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ 70 home games are the bread and butter for Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, attracting some 25,000 people during the playing season, according to Timber Rattlers Vice President Aaron Hahn.

Most come from the Fox Valley and northeast Wisconsin, but a significant crowd travels up from the southern part of the state.

“A handful come from out of state – we get California, New York, Texas – but a lot come from Milwaukee and Madison, and we do quite well with the areas south of Fond du Lac,” Hahn said. “Mainly we draw from a 60-mile radius.”

The Fox Cities Stadium also hosts the three-day Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association high school baseball championships, which drew around 10,500 people last year.

“It’s always great for us if there’s a little more local involvement because we’ll get more attendance here, and the same is true with the NCAA Division III World Series,” Hahn said. “If we have one of the UW schools qualifying, our attendance is much higher.”

Last year, UW La Crosse played in the NCAA championships, which meant in-state fans and families traveled to the Fox Cities for the games and spent money on hotels, food and a host of other expenses.

The NCAA Division III World Series baseball championship games are one of the “bid-on” events Ten Haken helps secure.

Submitted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau

Victory for SUNY Cortland’s baseball team at the 2015 NCAA Div. III World Series at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.

Although Fox Cities Stadium has hosted the pinnacle baseball championships for the past 17 years with hosting rights through 2018, it’s never a sure bet. It’s Ten Haken’s job as director of sports marketing to sell the area as the best host site.

This year he’ll work on a bid for the 2019 through 2022 term.

Another big event for Fox Cities Stadium, the Jordy Nelson Charity Softball game, drew 8,000 people last year.

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But outside softball and baseball season, Fox Cities Stadium doesn’t sit fallow. Its banquet facility holds weddings, holiday parties and business functions for groups of up to 250, Hahn said. It also hosts charity walks, such as the Fox Cities Heart Walk and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Coming up with a game plan

Hielsberg started noticing the growth of sports travel in the Oshkosh area almost a decade ago, and it took the demise of the former Oshkosh Convention Center around 2007 to underscore it.

“I said ‘We’ve got to sell something. We don’t have conventions, we don’t have a convention center,’ and we went after the sports market,” Hielsberg said.

So well did they see the possibilities that they did something unusual for a CVB: pledged $1.5 million over the course of 10 years to help UW Oshkosh’s Titan Stadium upgrade its facilities to help attract big events to the area.

“We believed in tourism, we believed in the potential,” Hielsberg said. “Some of our room-tax dollars go to the convention center, and since we didn’t have a convention center, we were able to reallocate those dollars.”

So far, it’s panning out.

“We held some state football championships here and some national track meets, and we were able to host the college football playoffs,” Hielsberg said.

The stadium also hosts numerous soccer, track and field, basketball, baseball, volleyball, wrestling and cross country camps for boys and girls during the summer months.

“If we didn’t have a good facility, we wouldn’t have been able to host any of these events because it’s a very competitive business, so it worked out,” she said.

The debt will be paid off in a little over two years, and the CVB is already looking on to its next project: a sports facility assessment feasibility study.

It asked organizations involved with football, baseball, soccer and softball about the condition of the facilities they use in the community.

“We’re trying to evaluate what we have, how often is it being used, and what could we do to make it better,” Hielsberg said.

“We’re looking at the big picture – do we need another facility, do we need to upgrade our current facilities to keep this momentum of sports tourism going?”

Fox Cities CVB is asking the same questions.

“There’s a finite number of events we can host in the facilities we have,” Ten Haken said. “We’ve worked with two consultants to determine what could be of value to the Fox Cities in terms of renovated or brand-new facilities.”

In November, all Fox Cities municipalities with lodging establishments increased their room tax to 10 percent to funnel dollars toward building a new exhibition center in downtown Appleton. A portion of that increase – 1 percent – goes to a grant to fund sports tourism efforts.

“We’re looking at facilities with indoor ice or indoor hardwww.newnorthb2b.com

NNB2B | March 2016 | 27

Tourism

UW Oshkosh MBA

court facilities (volleyball, basketball, etc.) so we’re working with organizations and facilities to get them to apply for grants through our tourism development grant fund to assist them with building or renovating facilities,” Ten Haken said.

“We’re hoping in 2016 to have some grants approved to assist with funding for facilities that will have a major impact with our efforts to bring more and bigger events to town.”

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After bonds for the Performing Arts Center in Appleton are paid off in 2017, another 3 percent of the total 10 percent Fox Cities room-tax collection will be put into the grant fund.

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Not that leisure travelers and sports travelers are on opposing teams, but Fond du Lac’s latest bash marries the two.

Sturgeon Spectacular: A Celebration of Winter and a Really Big Fish coincides with sturgeon-spearing season. It provided family-friendly activities citywide, from concerts and a chili crawl downtown, to restaurant specials to ice hockey and kite racing on Lake Winnebago, said Craig Molitor, executive director for Fond du Lac Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Our objective is to get visitors into town, and we hope over the years we can get some folks interested and bring them to Fond du Lac, not necessarily to sturgeon spear, but we want to create a family-friendly festival of stuff all over the community, both indoor and outdoor,” Molitor said.

Speaking of ice sports in Fond du Lac: The Foot of the Lake Synchronized Skating Classic each January at Blue Line Family Ice Center draws hundreds to the city, booking nearly all its hotel rooms.

When it comes to sports attractions, Blue Line is Fond du Lac’s No. 1 sports asset, Molitor said.

As for room nights generated, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh takes first place, followed by Road America in Elkhart Lake, with Blue Line third in generating hotel room nights. Its many icesport events attract visitors from miles away.

Much as he loves Walleye Weekend – the summer festival that includes the Mercury National Walleye Tournament – Molitor said it’s not a major tourism-revenue generator but more of a family reunion.

“People don’t necessarily spend time in hotels, because if they’re coming from out of town, they’re staying with their families,” he said.

And for the most part, eateries don’t profit from the noted summer event, either.

“They’re doing their eating at the park, not in the local restaurants, whereas our model for Sturgeon Spectacular is that we do want to begin from the very beginning with the idea that this is something the local business community should benefit from.” n Lee Reinsch of Green Bay worked 18 years at daily newspapers before launching her freelance business, edgewise, in 2007.

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Guest Commentary

Quality matters Health care decisions need to consider more than price tag

by Jeffrey Bard The article “Comparing health care costs” from the January 2016 edition of New North B2B offers a sampling of average prices for common procedures at area health care facilities. The big takeaway is how widely prices vary for the same procedure. While this phenomenon is not new to insurers or employers who fund health plans, it’s probably an eyeopener to the typical consumer.

Employees are consumers who are responsible for high deductibles and coinsurance, and thereby have a financial incentive to “shop around” for elective procedures. Even within a single provider network, there is usually enough price variation to make the homework worthwhile. The frustration comes when price information is not easily accessible, or when the charges billed to a specific patient differ from the published prices. (Few patients are actually charged the amount published in online databases.)

Frustration with the current system is understandable.

Consumers are urged to “make informed decisions” about health care, yet doing so is far more difficult than with other purchases in life. Hospital billing is especially complex. Some of the many variables at play include individual patient needs, the level of specialized care provided, and insurance coverage. All these factors contribute to variation in the patient’s cost.

Consumers who want to be fully informed about their prospective health care costs are better off contacting specific providers and requesting a cost estimate that factors in their insurance benefits. Aurora Health Care and many other health care systems provide such a service. All Aurora patients may call Aurora Care’s Customer Service Department to obtain an estimate, which is based on the insurance information provided by the patient.

Aurora fully supports price transparency in health care.

We believe hospital billing and reimbursement should be transparent for consumers, employers and anyone else with a stake in paying for health care. At the same time, focusing on the price tag alone is short sighted, because it doesn’t account for the full health care experience.

Most of us care deeply about the non-financial dimensions of health care value, including: C Clinical quality. Take the example of a typical inpatient surgery. Having a great outcome – meaning no infections or other complications, a short stay and a smooth recovery – depends on countless discrete steps and processes being performed superbly by many different people. Every physician, nurse and other caregiver on the case must be qualified, engaged and responsive. Everyone on the team must follow evidence-based protocols consistently, base their decisions on www.newnorthb2b.com

the right data, and use the right equipment properly.

C Service quality. When Aurora patients complete satisfaction surveys, it’s striking how often they comment on the nonclinical aspects of their experience. People notice and remember “softer” things like courtesy, a prompt response to a call light, a kind gesture, having a special food request filled quickly and correctly. Based on all the “little things” that show up on surveys, it’s clear that patients place a high value on feeling cared for, comforted and respected.

C Convenience. Aurora’s research indicates that convenient, easy access to care is worth a lot to patients. Options such as extended hours, same-day appointments and online appointment scheduling all rank high on the list of what consumers want in their health care partner.

Clinical quality, service quality, convenience – can any of these be measured by cost? Not reliably.

Meaningful performance measures

Aurora is among nearly 40 organizations in the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ), a non-profit consortium. WCQH participates in a range of health care performance measurement and quality initiatives at the state, regional and national levels.

Members voluntarily report data on the hospital and ambulatory care they provide. Next, WCHQ performs sophisticated analyses on the data to evaluate members’ clinical processes against evidence-based standards. The results are published so that providers, purchasers and consumers can compare the performance of health care providers. For example: F What percentage of a medical group’s patients receive the recommended colorectal cancer screening?

F What percentage of a hospital’s heart attack patients undergo the recommended “STEMI with PCI” procedure within 90 minutes after arrival, the standard time proven to increase the chance of survival?

F What percentage of a medical group’s diabetic patients receive the recommended kidney monitoring?

I would encourage area business leaders to visit the WHQC website at www.wchq.org and peruse the reports. You will be impressed with the breadth and depth of analysis. This is important work, and it contributes to making Wisconsin a healthy place to live, work and do business.

Why would Aurora and other health systems volunteer to be compared in this way? The intent is to spur quality improvements and greater efficiency in health care. Ultimately, quality and efficiency drive down the variable costs of health care.

Jeffrey Bard is the executive vice president for the north region of Aurora Health Care.

NNB2B | March 2016 | 29

Firefighters of Northeast Wisconsin

ready for liftoff Appleton start up launches as B2B’s 5th annual Firefighters of NE Wisconsin initiative wraps up

by Sean Fitzgerald, NN B2B publisher

The entrepreneur Kelly Steinke READ Learning Educational Services LLC readlearningservices.com

Getting a new business off the ground is a process wrought with uncertainty, most entrepreneurs will acknowledge.

That’s certainly been the case for former teacher Kelly Steinke as she’s worked through the start-up stage of Appleton-based READ Learning Services. Since mid-2015 – when Steinke made the decision to leave the classroom and develop her reading education consultancy into a fulltime business – Steinke has been working with business consultant Gary Vaughan of Guident Business Solutions in Appleton at no cost as part of New North B2B’s Firefighters of Northeast Wisconsin program.

Through this effort in each edition of B2B since last October, we’ve tracked the progress of Steinke’s work on her start up leading up to her launch coming in March. In exchange for sharing her entrepreneurial journey, she received consult from Vaughan at no cost. Steinke admits the road to launching her business has been characterized by twists and turns unrelated to the original plan she had for her business a year ago.

“What the vision once was has really broadened,” Steinke said, noting that initially she just planned to run a clinic to help dyslexic students read better and become more successful in the classroom. The clinic, tutoring and testing center still

30 | March 2016 | NNB2B

The consultant Gary Vaughan Guident Business Solutions, Appleton guidentbusinesssolutions.com remains one important facet of READ Learning Services, but during the past several months, Vaughan has helped Steinke diversify her revenue stream to ensure greater financial stability as her business starts off.

As a leading expert on helping students with dyslexia learn to improve their level of reading and succeed in their studies, Steinke speaks and writes about students falling through the cracks in schools because their learning disabilities haven’t been diagnosed. She plans to capitalize on such opportunities to speak and write as an eventual revenue source. She’s already been invited to present during one of the sessions at a national home schooling conference in Ohio later this month.

Perhaps the most profitable segment of her start up could be the Silver Moon Spelling Rules instructional kit Steinke rolled out in early March. It’s a classroom product sold to instructors and home school parents, but Steinke is finding interest for the product from unexpected markets, such as teaching English as a second language to adults.

“One thing we’re identifying is just how broad this field (of reading services) is,” said Vaughan. “We have to think about how to diversify (profit centers).”

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Countdown to product launch

Perhaps one of the most challenging and time consuming aspects of Steinke’s new business launch was the development and release of her spelling rules product. Like any new product coming into the marketplace, Vaughan indicated he and Steinke made every effort to ensure it’s legally protected, fully developed and professional in its appearance and functionality, and priced accordingly.

Steinke is taking a three-pronged approach to selling her Silver Moon Spelling product – which includes a total of 21 spelling rules in the inaugural set – by incorporating online sales through her website, retail sales through education product distributors, and direct sales through the conferences and conventions she attends.

The product itself includes an instructional manual, a set of teacher flash cards and a separate set of student cards – all designed with the leading research methodologies for reading in mind. Pricing for the kits was established comparative to other similar spelling kits available on the market.

“This whole program is built to drive memorization,” Steinke said, noting it’s a distinct characteristic of her product. “I really think this product is going to help a lot of people.”

Properly protecting the product and preparing it for market meant registering the product with an International Standard Book Number, otherwise known as an ISBN, and securing a Universal Product Code (UPC) for retail channels. With Vaughan’s assistance, Steinke has built various marketing collateral around the spelling kit product, including display banners to dress up her exhibit at conferences and trade shows.

She’s put a significant amount of research into ensuring the Silver Moon spelling kit will appeal to schools, home teachers and others.

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“I’m hoping that training institutes (for teachers) will be interested in buying the kit to supplement their training,” Steinke said

Methodology New North B2B magazine began seeking nominations for its 5th annual Firefighters of Northeast Wisconsin initiative in mid2015, with a goal of assisting those northeast Wisconsin small business owners who feel as if they’re constantly burning the candle at both ends, putting out fires, spinning their wheels, but intent on finding a way to improve. In the end, we selected Appleton-based READ Learning Educational Services LLC with its start up.

Through the generous help of Gary Vaughan of Guident Business Solutions in Appleton, READ Learning Educational Services owner Kelly Steinke received five month’s worth of consulting at no cost to help her work on the strategy of launching and growing her business.

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NNB2B | March 2016 | 31

Firefighters of Northeast Wisconsin Molding an entrepreneur

Other aspects of Steinke’s development – as well as that of her business – during the past six months include enhancing her financial aptitude. Steinke has learned to interpret balance sheets, cash flow statements and profit and loss statements, all critical to understanding the financial status of her business at any moment.

She’s also learned more about networking in a business environment, which Vaughan describes as being much different than networking in other professional settings, particularly in education. Steinke reported one recent networking success led to conversations with Appleton-based health care provider ThedaCare regarding the opportunity to come in and speak to its pediatrician group about early detection of learning disabilities associated with reading.

Additionally, she’s learned to manage collaborations with vendors to accomplish tasks for her business that she simply can’t take care of as a staff of one. Whether it’s been with her web site developer, her accountant, her attorney or her graphic artist, she’s managed large projects with contracted partners to help evolve her business.

Steinke acknowledges the totality of the entrepreneurial experience presents much more than even she initially anticipated, but she’s been taking it all in stride.

“It’s interesting to look at how much ‘firefighting’ I’ve had to do when launching my business,” she said. “Not in the sense that I was in financial trouble or had big problems, but in

TM

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An example of the flash cards used in the Silver Moon Spelling Rules instructional kit developed by Steinke.

the sense that most everything on the business end was new learning and there were a lot of little ‘fires’ that came up along the way that took time and energy to put out.

“I’d think I had something completed that I could check off my list when I’d realize there was more to it than met the eye. The ‘fire’ seemed to be figuring out the details – especially when it came to QuickBooks and getting the products produced.”

Unrelated directly to the business, but further developing her professional resume, Steinke has been tapped to instruct a graduate course through Marian University titled Executive Functioning Success. The 8-hour course offers one continuing education credit for professionals and teaches executive functioning skills, time management and organization through visual strategies and increasing metacognition.

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Six Sigma I Leadership & Supervision I Technical Skills I Customized Training Solutions I Strategic Development 32 | March 2016 | NNB2B

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Finding balance

As B2B magazine wraps up its 5th annual Firefighters of Northeast Wisconsin series aimed at helping business owners spend less time extinguishing fires and more time growing their enterprise, it’s worth noting one common challenge among nearly every entrepreneur – just starting out or well seasoned – is striking a balance between the business, family life and community engagement. It’s a leading cause of business failure for business owners not adept at adjusting their schedules to manage the demands of running a company.

“Self management of time is one thing that all business owners need to grapple with,” said Vaughan, who noted it’s an issue that many of his clients with Guident Business Solutions face on a regular basis. “When the business starts to manage you from the standpoint of taking all of your time, that’s when family becomes that extra ‘thing’ on the side.”

For her part, Steinke is finding her way to a more balanced life as a new business owner. She’s taken Set 1 up kickboxing in her downtime to help relieve stress and commit some disciplined physical activity into her schedule. Even though she’s just starting out and hasn’t had much opportunity to develop a daily routine of operating tasks for her business, Steinke appears much more at ease now than during her 15-year career as l a teacher beholden to the schedule of nua ma nal ctio tru ins The cover of the lling product. the school bell. for Steinke’s new spe TM

Spelling Rules

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“I have a lot more peace in my life than I did in my previous career,” she said, indicating that she walks her girls to school every day now and chaperones their field trips, luxuries she couldn’t enjoy when she was scheduled to be in the classroom as a teacher.

Vaughan has worked with hundreds of business owners throughout his career, both as a consultant and in the classroom, and knows that after five months of working closely with Steinke on READ Learning Services, she has what it takes to make her dreams of being a business owner a smashing success.

“One of the things I noticed right away is the passion that Kelly has for what she’s doing,” said Vaughan. “This has the legs to be a viable business. I have no doubt.”

While reflecting on the start-up phase of READ Learning Services leading up to its launch, Steinke recalled her days as a teacher attending conferences and workshops on reading disabilities, thinking that one day she would be the expert at the front presenting in front of the audience of teachers. She dreamed that the instructional tools those colleagues were using in the classroom to help students read better would be developed by her as well. Both of those dreams have finally achieved fruition.

“It has been eye-opening to see the business as its own entity,” Steinke said, indicating it’s been a long road since she decided to leave the job security of a tenured job in the classroom to pursue her business fulltime.

“I haven’t regretted the decision once.”

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NNB2B | March 2016 | 33

Retail

V V

oices isions &

A monthly conversation with New North small business owners, each shedding light on the local economy through the perspective of their industry sector.

True love for each other and the Open Road led Pete Johnson and Lori Thiel to purchase the Harley-Davidson dealership in Fond du Lac in 2007. Their financial backgrounds and devotion to integrity make the 32,000 square foot building a world-class host of sales and service.

Industry publication Dealernews was certainly impressed, listing Open Road Harley Davidson among its Top 100 Powersports Retailers of 2015, recognizing customer service, markets served, promotions, events, merchandising and community outreach.

Pete’s from Appleton, Lori is from Hilbert, but you met in South Dakota?

Lori: Our passion for the outdoors and Harleys is what brought us together.

We met during the mecca Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Ironically, as we got to know one another, we discovered we had much more in common. We were both raised in entrepreneur families, we both worked long, successful careers in financial services, shared like-minded life and business values, and loved the sport of motorcycling. We became partners in life and in business within 18 months of meeting one another. We wanted our next chapter to be fun, keeping life interesting while creating world-class experiences.

Tell me about your timing of getting into the market.

Lori Thiel and Pete Johnson Co-owners

Open Road Harley-Davidson Fond du Lac openroadhd.com

Pete: 2006 was the peak for the on-road motorcycle industry and Harley.

While 2007 and 2008 were decent years, 2009 began a significant downturn in the industry. Most businesses had difficulty enduring the “Great Recession,” and we were not immune to this. While it was very difficult, it made us much stronger and more resilient. Our industry today is still half of what it was in 2006, and we’re proud and very grateful to be achieving sales that place us very near those 2006 sales levels.

What was hardest about getting started?

Lori: Living and working together. Although we had a lot of excitement and confidence coming into this business and have whole-hearted belief in the Harley-Davidson brand, there is uncertainty in everything. We made a vow that the business wouldn’t ever interfere in our personal relationship. We’ve been fortunate that our strengths complement our profession. We bring different assets to the business.

How do your financial services backgrounds help you today?

Lori: Our business intelligence insights. Change is inevitable and there is no short formula for success. Be adaptive and fiscally responsible. Hire talent and take care of the talent who take care of your business. Use solid processes and procedures. Be ready for many long hours.

34 | March 2016 | NNB2B

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Do Harley-Davidsons virtually sell themselves?

Pete: The motorcycles don’t sell themselves like they did years ago. The HarleyDavidson brand is very strong in most of the world today, and this definitely helps our mission. There are many dealers to choose from in Wisconsin and you need to set yourself apart. At the end of the day, most of our customers are looking for a dealer they can connect with, and most of that involves having stellar team members, impeccable customer service and, first and foremost, integrity in everything we do.

Is the market too saturated for Harley dealerships?

Pete: While we have the largest market share of any state in the union, the dealer population is saturated in our state. This is exactly why our focus on impeccable services has served us well, as the alternative outlets are abundant, we strive very hard to be the Harley dealer of choice. You can advertise wherever you want, but an on-site event in someone else’s territory would need to be approved by them.

Lori: The dealership here in Fond du Lac is independent of the 20-some dealers across Wisconsin. We’re assigned a territory, which is Oshkosh south to Campbellsport.

Does the strong brand come with a strong franchise agreement?

Lori: They do have retail covenance over us. Over decorating, the lighting and fixtures. They allow us 10 percent latitude with what we can do outside their scope. And if you want to be in good standing, you follow their policy.

Are most of your customers still of a certain demographic?

Lori: America is becoming more ethnically diverse. Harley is absolutely getting on that wave. We do better here than the national average in terms of women.

We’re at 19 percent and Harley is at 11 percent, nationally. There has been the perception that it’s an old man’s game and most people can’t afford to ride. But anyone can buy a Harley for $7,000, up to $40,000.

Pete: There is still a little of the old bad-ass Harley biker stigma out there, but that has subsided drastically over the last few decades. Our customers come from all walks of life: white collar professionals, blue collar trade workers, women and young adults. You name it, they ride it! The important thing to remember is that riding Harleys is where all these folks can come together – no titles, no resumes, no stature, no b.s. – just authentic enthusiasts coming together to enjoy a common interest.

How did the late winter affect business?

Pete: We had a tremendous 2015 and a large part of that success came in the second half of the last year. An early spring and/or a late winter always helps business, but we’ve found that even with a short riding season, we can prosper.

Our Harley purchasers do enjoy accessorizing their bikes, to the tune of about $2,500 on average. Most often, individualizing your Harley means everything.

While our winter months do see fewer bike sales, our service and general merchandise departments help carry the day. Our service department actually stays busy throughout the winter months, as many of our customers initiate large projects during the non-riding months of the year. We also encourage customers to knockout all their maintenance-related work before the riding season begins.

IF YOU’RE A CPA If becoming a CPA sets the standard in accounting, what represents The Standard Above™? With a network of nearly 8,000 members and a focus on the latest issues affecting you and your clients, the WICPA helps you climb to new heights and emerge as the best of the best.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A CPA Knowing that your accounting professional or CPA is an active member of the WICPA, you can rest assured that our continuing education requirements make them current on the best practices in the field. They stand out among their peers and are leaders in the accounting community.

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Has the shifting economy affected sales?

Lori: Yes. Customers are more prudent, more knowledgeable and expect more value. n www.newnorthb2b.com

© 2016– Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants

NNB2B | March 2016 | 35

Professionally Speaking

Professionally Speaking is a paid promotional spot in B2B.

Gifts of real estate a win for the giver, community

by Karlene Grabner of Oshkosh Area Community Foundation Advisors commonly help their clients achieve charitable goals through gifts of cash or stock. With careful planning, gifts of real estate can help people fulfill their charitable dreams while experiencing maximum tax benefits.

These types of gifts can include land, a personal home, business and commercial property, vacation homes and condos.

The Foundation has helped numerous donors give back to their community using gifts of real estate.

“To a certain degree, it’s tax driven,” says Patrick Seubert, managing attorney with Seubert Law LLC in Neenah. “(Clients) get a charitable deduction that can actually lower their income tax. What you’re doing is assisting the donor in carrying out their wishes, and also providing an opportunity for the community.”

920.426.3993

Seubert, who has helped several clients make gifts of real estate, describes the typical scenario for doing so: A couple has gifted property to their children that they purchased much earlier in their lives. The fair market value on the property has increased dramatically. If the property is sold, the children will be taxed at a rate of about 25 percent for the gains on the sale. Imagine a property purchased for $25,000 that has a fair market value of $500,000 today — the children will be taxed on a gain of $475,000.

“An alternative then would be to take that property and do a charitable gift to the Foundation,” Seubert says.

Real estate donations work well when handled on a local basis, where the Foundation is familiar with the donors and the property, and has worked with the financial advisor or attorney before.

Seubert suggests potential donors first review the possibility of making a gift of real estate with their legal counsel and accountant. After some preliminary discussion, the Foundation

will be brought onto the team. Most importantly, he says, work with someone you trust. “(A gift of real estate) is more a facet of a complete estate plan, especially for people with larger estates,” Seubert says. “It’s really about the donors wishes and what is the best way to carry that out.”

While gifts of real estate are complex, the payoff, in terms of savings from capital gains taxes and the ability to help clients achieve their philanthropic goals, can be great.

Advisors who can help clients successfully gift real estate to fulfill charitable goals within their overall estate plan will be the heroes.

Karlene Grabner is Donor Services Director with the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation.

Grabner engages donors to build bridges between their charitable interests and community needs.

Reach her at Karlene@OshkoshAreaCF.org or 920-426-3993.

The Shrinking TID May Be Coming

by Joseph E. Tierney of Davis & Kuelthau, s.c. - Milwaukee

On January 22, 2016, Sen. Petrowski (R-Marathon) and Rep. Spiros (R-Marshfield) introduced 2015 Senate Bill 606 (“SB 606”) amending certain aspects of the law governing tax incremental financing districts (collectively, “TIDs” or singularly, a “TID”). SB 606 provides that an amendment to a TID’s project plan that only subtracts territory from a TID would not count against the current limit of four amendments over the life of the TID. Additionally, an amendment which only subtracts territory from a TID would not be subject to the

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414.225.1471

“12 percent” test which requires the adoption of a resolution finding that the equalized value of the taxable property of the TID does not exceed 12 percent of the total equalized value of taxable property of the particular city or village.

If passed, this change to TID law might enable municipalities to redraw the TID landscape in their communities so as to enable new TIDs and close older TIDs to spur development and the growth of municipal revenue. For developers, there may be an opportunity to look at opportunities that were previously locked into a particular district and push the municipality to subtract them from the old TID and roll them into a new TID.

SB 606 has been referred to the legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and Commerce.

If you have any questions regarding this article, please contact your Davis & Kuelthau attorney, or the author, Joseph E. Tierney at 414.225.1471 or jtierney@ dkattorneys.com.

NNB2B | March 2016 | 37

Who’s News

Incorporations

New North B2B publishes monthly new business incorporations filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

Brown County

Midwest Inspect LLC, Donald Joesph Chic, Jr., 2435 Reginald Hill, De Pere 54115.

PWR Logistics Transport LLC, Victor R. Gabris, 3750 Packerland Dr., Bldg.

107, De Pere 54115.

Kanda Marketing LLC, Aaron Gary Depas, 1939 Pheasant Run Tr., De Pere 54115.

Northern Concrete INC., Bryan Lemmens, 6601 County Road R, Denmark 54208.

Weddings By Wendy LLC, Wendy Ann Stewart, 421 Woodrow Ct., Denmark 54208.

Humboldt Auto Sales LLC, Martin Alvarado, 250 N. Northview, Green Bay 54311.

Puparrazzi LLC, Oscar Rubalvabra, 424 S. Monroe, #100, Green Bay 54302.

Pose Yoga Studio LLC, Matthew B. Thompson, 2505 Finger Road, Green Bay 54302.

Contacto Latino Multimedia LLC, David Hernandez, 1221 Bellevue St., Ste. 103, Green Bay 54302.

Gajeski Finishing LLC, Adam Gajeski, 4759 Maple Dr., Green Bay 54313.

Insurance Options for Seniors LLC, Joel H. Rubin, 3220 Normandy Lane, Green Bay 54301.

Sister Bay Beignets LLC, Jodi Arndt Labs, 231 S. Adams St., Green Bay 54301.

Meister Custom Carpentry LLC, Jesse Aaron Meister, 1073 Shawano Ave., Green Bay 54303.

Green Bay Towing and Transport LLC, Juventino Plancarte Martinez, 325 Winward Road., Green Bay 54302.

Premier Lawn Care LLC, Christopher Dean, 1267 7th St., Green Bay 54303.

Fox Valley Adaptive Solutions LLC, Alexander Joseph Steeno, 2720 Old Coach Road, Green Bay 54302.

Voss Eyecare S.C., Kevin K. Voss, 550 N. Military Ave., Ste. 10, Green Bay 54303.

Raized Lutheran Church INC., Eric Wenger, 1659 Ontario Road, Green Bay 54311.

5 Star Appraisal LLC, Sarah Hoppe, 2610 Pecan St., Green Bay 54311.

Wisconsin Insurance Services LLC, Elizabeth Kostichka, 2733 Nicolet Dr., Green Bay 54311.

Christian Tae Kwon Do LLC, William Allan Sandberg, 3518 Glen Abbey Dr., Green Bay 54311.

Extreme Professional Painting LLC, Brooke E. Juza, 420 S. Broadway, Green Bay 54303.

Diamond Dog Training LLC, Tammy Sue Pill, 1562 Deckner Ave., Green Bay 54302.

A-1 Plaster & Drywall LLC, Gregory Joseph Loch, 3167 Glendale Ave., Green Bay 54313.

Moore Laser Engraving LLC, Janis Eileen Moore, 2482 Curtis Ct., Green Bay 54311.

R&D Cleaning LLC, Maria Teresa Diaz, 1971 Manitowoc Road, #17, Green Bay 54302.

Kids Business Boot Camp LLC, Michelle Volk, 1395 Ridgecrest Tr., Green Bay 54313.

Color Master Graphic & Design LLC, Alexander J. Cropsey, 1712 Wolverine Tr., #4, New Franken 54229.

The Courses at Bonchers Farm LLC, Judy Boncher, 4904 Gravel Pit Road, New Franken 54229.

Firearms Safety Instructor Group LLC, Robert G. Williams, 1294

38 | March 2016 | NNB2B

Riverside Dr., Suamico 54173.

M.A.K.E. Fence and Deck LLC, Mark L. Weyenberg, 370 Justina Ct., Wrightstown 54180.

Fond du Lac County

Hollander Farms and Trucking LLC, Belinda Ann Hollander, W10139 Hollander Dr., Brandon 53919.

D&R Automotive LLC, Daniel Lee Nielsen, 102 S. Railroad St., Campbellsport 53010.

Country Daycare LLC, Donna M. Mertens, N8089 Townhall Road, Eldorado 54932.

Icebox Transport LLC, Jeffrey A. Spear, 508 Washington St., Fond du Lac 54937.

Todd Freund Siding & Windows LLC, Todd R. Freund, W3842 Shady Lane, Fond du Lac 54937.

Psyberfire Softworks INC., Emil Harmsen, 333 Willsher Dr., Fond du Lac 54935.

The Tiny Yarn Shoppe LLC, Susan Mary Misudek, 35 Country Ct., Fond du Lac 54935.

Healing Hope Counseling LLC, Heidi Ann Burns, 445 W. Scott St., Fond du Lac 54937.

Container Materials Consulting LLC, Leonard A. Youwer, 520 Willsher Dr., Fond du Lac 54935.

Sew Right LLC, Nicholas J. Mueller, 809 Mequon Ave., Fond du Lac 54935.

T&T Mechanical LLC, Thomas Petrie, 208 Fond du Lac St., Mt. Calvary 53057.

Magical Entertainment LLC, Daryl Rogers, 402 Chapleau St., North Fond du Lac 54937.

Page To Page Farms LLC, Brittany Racquel Page, W12980 Lake Shore Road, Ripon 54971.

Silver Creek Dentistry LLC, Cris G. Johnson, 646 Lincoln St., Ripon 54971.

Empire Motorsports LLC, Matthew Douglas Schlimgen, 1069 Metomen St., Ripon 54971.

Paramount Motors LLC, Adam Chase, 177 Grant St., Rosendale 54974.

Green Lake County

Independent Career Counseling LLC, Cynthia F. Smazinski, N1650 County Road XX, Berlin 54923.

River View Equestrian Center LLC, Vanessa Marie Blake, 449 Van Horn Road, Berlin 54923.

Oconto County

Casey’s Custom Showers LLC, Casey Jon Filz, 2257 Creekview Dr., Abrams 54101.

Outagamie County

Beach Feet Travel LLC, Tammy King, 3414 N. Summit St., Appleton 54914.

Wellington Cinematic Media LLC, Raelenne J. Haeberle, 623 S. State St., Appleton 54911.

Meade Street Advisors LLC, Mark Robert Richards, 5501 Meade St., Appleton 54913.

Lighthouse Retirement Plans LLC, Michael B. Kreiman, 222 E. College Ave., Appleton 54911.

By Your Side Midwifery LLC, Annmarie Ida Rian, 615 S. Weimar St., Appleton 54915.

805 Artistry Salon LLC, Jessica Yankus, 397 Gardners Row, Appleton 54915.

Black Label Lighting LLC, Jon L. Chartier, 1182 N. Perkins St., Appleton 54914.

Agnes & Dora Boutique Fox Cities LLC, Kristin Biekkola-Verstegen, 220 E. Wayfarer Lane, Appleton 54913.

Secondhand Studios LLC, Aaron Duesterhoeft, 1509 N. Linwood Ave., Appleton 54914.

Asian Boba Tea & Sandwich LLC, Na Lee Xiong, 1214 N. Division St., Appleton 54911. www.newnorthb2b.com

Hair Design By Andrea LLC, Andrea Baird, 707 S. Christine St., Appleton 54915.

Aspire Vocational Services LLC, Katherine Ann Kirchner, 1636 W. Homestead Dr., Appleton 54914.

UC Fitness LLC, Steven Brayton, 1600 Tri Park Way, Appleton 54914.

Wired Audio Productions LLC, Nicholas Jeffery Weyers, 4100 N. Haymeadow Ave., Appleton 54913.

Fabric Engineering and Design LLC, Clark W. Johnston, 1809 N. Eugene St., Appleton 54914.

Ron’z Trucking LLC, Ronald J. Zawacki, 835 W. Spencer St., Appleton 54914.

Attic Tattoo LLC, Ryan Schlieve, 117 S. Appleton St., Appleton 54915.

Badger Construction LLC, Marcus Wojtowicz, 617 Debruin Road, Combined Locks 54113.

Gerndt’s Green Lawns LLC, Brian D. Gerndt, N4077 County Road E, Freedom 54130.

Countryside Electric LLC, Justin Lawrence Ashauer, W6329 Wege Road, Hortonville 54944.

Curt’s Farm Repair LLC, Curt W. Kilsdonk, W1168 Van Asten Road, Kaukauna 54130.

Anderson’s Gifts and Treasures LLC, Brenda Anderson, 215 W. Wisconsin Ave., Kaukauna 54130.

Ninedorf Remodeling & Home Services LLC, Michael Ninedorf, N2527 Della Marcus Dr., Kaukauna 54130.

Touch-Up Tim Paint Services LLC, Timothy James Smet, W492 Keith Michael Dr., Kaukauna 54130.

Melchert Farms LLC, Brian Melchert, 1212 Hill Crest Lane, Seymour 54165.

Winnebago County

Ladder Testing Services LLC, Gary Thomas Olson, 5949 Oak Lane Dr., Butte des Morts 54927.

Down to Earth Greenscaping INC., Ann Kuehni Yard and Garden Inc., 504 London St., Menasha 54952.

PSA Delivery LLC, Michael Tracy, 1438 Baytree Lane, Neenah 54956.

Fox Cities Delivery LLC, PSA Delivery LLC, 1438 Baytree Lane, Neenah 54956.

Affordable Sheetrocking LLC, Dewayne Klenke, 1459 Tullar Road, #7, Neenah 54956.

Elite Caulking & Tuckpointing LLC, Benjamin Olson, 9206 Eureka Lock Road, Omro 54963.

Prusky Painting LLC, Brian Michael Prusky, 4338 Springbrook Lane, Omro 54963.

Howling Mad Vapors LLC, Jeffery Todd Cornish, 556 Pleasant St., Oshkosh 54901.

Absolute Freight Logistics LLC, Muzaffarah Raheela Ahmed, 1243 Wheatfield Way, Oshkosh 54904.

Phoenix Rose Astrology LLC, Nicole Dekeuster, 426 Sullivan St., Apt. 9, Oshkosh 54902.

Seckar Electric LLC, Matthew G. Cleaver, 1328 W. Bent Ave., Oshkosh 54901.

The Wobbly Painter LLC, Mark R. Engel, 135 W. 21st Ave., Oshkosh 54902.

Viking Tree Service LLC, Chad A. Wiechert, 4755 Old Oak Road, Oshkosh 54904.

Williams’ Counseling & Consultation LLC, James M. Williams, 1315 W. South Park, #H, Oshkosh 54902.

Kereh Trucking LLC, Henry Kere, 566 Grand St., Oshkosh 54901.

Konrad Cremation Services LLC, David M. Goltz, 402 Waugoo Ave., Oshkosh 54903.

Brand Bags LLC, Cheryl Ann Lauritch, 1107 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh 54901.

WHAT IS You may have just returned from an exciting convention or event in another city or state. Imagine that group meeting right here in the Fox Cities. We encourage you to get involved and work with us to “Bring it Home” to the Fox Cities.

SHARE By booking an event with the Bring it Home program, you may receive Fox Cities area gift certificates.

920-734-3358 FoxCities.org/bringithome

To bring your event home to the Fox Cities, visit FoxCities.org/bringithome www.newnorthb2b.com

NNB2B | March 2016 | 39

Who’s News Wisconsin-based n Wisconsin-owned n Wisconsin Value Digital Copiers, Laser Printers & Network Scanners

Building permits

B2B includes a monthly list of building permits (not to include residential projects) in excess of $400,000.

Urgent Care Physicians, 600 N. Koeller St., Oshkosh $420,000 for an interior renovation of the former restaurant building for a new medical clinic.

General contractor is R.J. Albright Inc. of Oshkosh. January 5.

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Pit Row Shell, 2590 University Ave., Green Bay. $552,990 for an addition to the existing convenience store and fuel station. General contractor is Alliance Construction & Design of Green Bay. January.

Marcus Theatres, 340 S. Koeller St., Oshkosh. $1,275,000 for a remodel of the entire theater complex. General contractor is Thomas Grace Construction of Minnesota. January 7.

East Town Moving & Storage/U-Haul, 2201 Main St., Green Bay. $650,000 for an interior alteration to the existing commercial building. General contractor is Alliance Construction & Design of Green Bay. January.

Lambeau Field/City of Green Bay, 1265 Lombardi Ave., Green Bay. $29,829,320 for renovations to the luxury suites at the existing stadium. General contractor is Miron Construction Co. of Neenah. January.

Navitus Health Solutions, 1025 W. Navitus Dr., town of Grand Chute. $13,014,900 for a four-story, 34,688-sq. ft. addition to the existing office campus.

General contractor is Ideal Builders Inc. of Madison. January 15.

American FlexPack, 1304 S. Huron Road, Green Bay. $550,000 for interior alterations and a 43,000-sq. ft. addition to the existing manufacturing plant.

General contractor is Immel Construction Inc. of Green Bay. January 20.

Bellevue Commons, 2360 Costco Way, Bellevue. $1,200,000 for a 12,000-sq. ft. multi-tenant retail building. General contractor is VJS Construction Services of Pewaukee. January 26.

Bayland Bank, 333 S. Nicolet Road, town of Grand Chute. $749,756 for an interior renovation of the existing bank office. General contractor is Miron Construction Co. of Neenah. February 8.

New locations Bank First opened an office at 4201 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Appleton, just north of Fox River Mall. It’s the 12th location for the Manitowoc-based financial institution.

Mergers/acquisitions

Want to know what it would be like to be a dinosaur? Now you can through virtual technology in this new, innovative exhibition!

Nicolet National Bank in Green Bay plans to acquire Navigator Planning Group LLC of Green Bay. The acquisition plan calls for several financial advisors and staff from Navigator to join Nicolet Wealth Management.

February 1 – May 16, 2016 OSHKOSH

PublicMuseum 40 | March 2016 | NNB2B

The dental practice of Dr. Richard Tulip in Oshkosh will merge with Govani Dental LLC in Oshkosh. A practicing dentist for 45 years, Dr. Tulip will continue to see his patients at Govani Dental two days each week.

1331 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh, WI 54901 Tue - Sat 10am- 4:30pm • Sun 1- 4:30pm 920.236.5799 • oshkoshmuseum.org

www.newnorthb2b.com

Griesbach

Baum

Business honors Open Road Harley-Davidson in Fond du Lac was named to Dealernews magazine’s Top 100 Powersports Retailers in North America for 2015. Rankings are based on customer service, marketing, promotions, events, merchandising and community outreach.

The Green Bay Water Utility was awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by Government Finance Officers Association. It’s the 21st consecutive year the utility has received the recognition.

Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership presented its Best New Downtown Business Award to Mix It Up Bakery and presented its Downtown Legacy Award to Kitz & Pfeil True Value Hardware.

OMNNI Associates of Appleton received the Outstanding Highway Construction Award in the structure category from Wisconsin Department of Transportation for its work providing construction administration for the State Road 96 bridge replacement project across the Fox River in Wrightstown.

New hires Legacy Private Trust Company in Neenah hired Paul A. Griesbach as a trust investment officer. Griesbach has 18 years of investment and finance experience.

Fox Valley Hematology & Oncology in Appleton hired Carrie Baum and Nikki L. Ott as registered dietitian nutritionists and Aerieal Schug and Joan VanGrinsven as patient navigators.

Aurora BayCare Bariatric Surgery hired Bonnie DeJardin as a nurse practitioner at Aurora BayCare in Green Bay and at

Ott

Schug

VanGrinsven

DeJardin

Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh. Additionally, BayCare Clinic Plastic Surgery & Skin Specialists hired Nick Grimm as a physician assistant.

Kaukauna-based Keller Inc. hired the following employees: Jordan Schroeder and Aaron McGinnis as architectural draftsmen; Danielle Heiting as an accounts payable administrator; Kelsie Dallmann as an administrative assistant; and Rebekah Spidle as an interior designer.

Grimm

Affinity Health System and Ministry Health Care added Teague Martis, M.D. as a family medicine physician to the Affinity Medical Group clinic on Koeller Street in Oshkosh and Monica Jacobus, M.D. as a general surgeon to Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh.

H.J. Martin and Son in Green Bay hired Jacob Hussong as a tool room technician and Amanda Oninski as an interior designer. Oninski worked the past two years as a designer with MimiWorks in De Pere.

Schroeder

The Paper Discovery Center in Appleton hired Michael Breza as an educator. Breza previously worked for 15 years as an assistant director at Oshkosh Public Museum.

The Green Bay office of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. hired Amber C. Coisman as an attorney in its litigation practice group and Aaron P. McCann as an attorney in its labor, employment and immigration practice group. Coisman previously was a partner at a firm in Chicago where her practice focused on insurance disputes. McCann previously was an associate attorney at a Milwaukee area law firm and had served as deputy director of former Gov. James Doyle’s Washington, D.C. office.

McGinnis

Bay Point Networks in De Pere hired Jerry Haines as president of its Dairyland Food Group division. Haines has extensive experience in the cheese and dairy industries with Titletown Cheese Trading Co. in De Pere, Saputo Cheese USA and Winona Foods in Suamico.

Heiting

Haines

www.newnorthb2b.com

McCann

Coisman

Breza

Spidle

Dallmann

NNB2B | March 2016 | 41

Who’s News

Slocum

Arndt

Gaupp

Kottke

Agnesian HealthCare Clinic at Westwind in Fond du Lac hired Mollie May as a nurse practitioner.

The Appleton Housing Authority hired Kris Murphy as service coordinator for its Oneida Heights Apartment Complex.

Murphy has more than 15 years experience in the medical field.

McClone in Menasha hired Troy Carlson as a strategic risk advisor. Carlson has seven years experience in risk management and insurance, with a focus in construction and manufacturing.

Appleton-based ThedaCare added Brenda Dierschke, M.D. as a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at ThedaCare Orthopedic Care in Appleton, and hired Courtney Weiland as vice president of philanthropy. Weiland worked the past 13 years with the national YMCA office in Chicago, most recently serving as senior director-financial development resource specialist.

Miron Construction Co., Inc. in Neenah hired Randy Boden as a project executive, Nic Sanderfoot as an estimator, and Jesse Metko, Tony Favilla, Brett Obermeier and Sam Murphy as project managers.

Imaginasium in Green Bay hired Lindsay Arndt as project manager. Arndt previously, worked as a project manager for an agency in Minneapolis.

Johnson

First National Bank – Fox Valley hired Sydney Johnson as a teller at the bank’s Neenah branch and Kevin McCarty as credit supervisor. McCarty has 14 years experience in the financial industry, most recently as a senior underwriter for a bank in Ohio.

Water-Right in Appleton hired Chris Adams as a manager in its Clear Choice Water Group. Adams has been working in the water treatment industry since 1997 and had his own business for a period, which he sold in 2004.

Promotions

Element in De Pere hired Lisa Gaupp as director of business development. Gaupp most recently worked with BrandDirections in Neenah.

Appleton-based Schenck SC named Mark Diederich, CPA as a shareholder. Diederich has more than 20 years of experience, with a special concentration on agriculture, as well as working with wood, metal, stone and sand quarry companies.

Horicon Bank hired Anna Kottke as vice president and senior financial consultant out of the bank’s Fond du Lac office. Kottke has more than 15 years experience in financial services.

McCarty

Murphy

Andrews has 22 years of natural stone industry experience.

Breakthrough Fuel in Green Bay hired Steve Slocum as director of client services. Slocum previously served as the associate product manager for Nsight Teleservices in Green Bay.

Carlson

Andrews

Keller, Inc. in Kaukauna promoted the following staff members: Shane Lamon to expeditor; Craig Otis and Carl Schwahn to estimators; and Kayla Schultz to payroll/HR coordinator. Lamon has been with Keller for the past 10 years working in the finish carpentry division as a leadman.

Bank First National promoted Trevor Rabbach to business banking officer, Dennis Kozlovsky to vice president of underwriting, and Julie Luker to assistant vice president retail banking. Rabbach joined Bank First in 2012 and recently worked as a business banking representative from the bank’s Appleton office. Kozlovsky joined the

VerHalen Inc. in Green Bay hired Jon P. Moreau as chief financial officer. Moreau has 23 years experience, most recently serving as senior vice president, CFO and treasurer at Arrowcast, Inc. in Shawano.

Kaukauna-based Peninsula Stone, Inc. hired Chris Andrews as a natural stone consultant leading the firm’s sales and business development efforts in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan.

Diederich

Lamon

42 | March 2016 | NNB2B

Otis

Schwahn

Schultz

Rabbach

Kozlovsky

www.newnorthb2b.com

Luker

Stephens

Scheuerman

bank in 2000. He works from the bank’s Green Bay office and recently served as an underwriting manager. Luker joined the bank in 2013 as a business banking administrative assistant and works from the bank’s Appleton office.

Breakthrough Fuel in Green Bay promoted Elaine Stephens to vice president of technology and data science. Stephens previously worked as the firm’s lead data scientist.

Unison Credit Union promoted Ryan Huebner to branch manager of its Hyland Road office in Kaukauna. Huebner has four years experience in the financial services industry, including the last three years with Unison.

Herrling Clark Law Firm, Ltd. named Kristen S. Scheuerman as a partner and shareholder. Scheuerman works from the firm’s Appleton office and practices personal injury law.

Appleton-based Woodward Radio Group promoted Greg Lawrence to FM sales manager. Lawrence has been with Woodward Radio Group for 14 years and has more than 20 years experience in the radio industry.

First National Bank – Fox Valley promoted Jennifer Miller to regional teller supervisor and Cathy Brazee to commercial loan support lead. Miller joined the bank in 2011, most recently serving as retail administrator. Brazee has been with the bank since 2009 as a commercial client service specialist.

Individual awards Shannon Full, president and CEO of Fox Cities Chamber, received the 2016 Young Professional Award from Wisconsin Economic Development Association.

Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership recently presented the following awards during its recent annual meeting: Design of the Year Award to Ted Buetow and Randy Cunzenheim for Theo’s 24; Interior Renovation of the Year Award to Tracy Mathweg for Lillians; Friend of Downtown Award to Lisa Pauly of Fond du Lac Area Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Volunteer of the Year Award to Leo Metivier with Fondue Fest.

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Brazee

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kaldascenter.com | (920) 886-2299 NNB2B | March 2016 | 43

Business Calendar

Certifications Karen Oram, an accountant and financial software advisor at Phillips Tax & Accounting in Oshkosh, earned her Certified Public Accountant designation.

Woodland

Monnett

Oram

Kleman

during its recent annual recognition event: Convention Award to Jon LiDonne for his work with the 25th Annual Convention and Training Conference for the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers; Sports Award to Cole Boge for his effort to organize The Ultimate Baseball Weekend last July; Destination Builder Award to the US Youth Soccer Region II Local Organizing Committee; Heritage Award to Nick Hoffman with History Museum at the Castle in Appleton; and Volunteer of the Year to John Van Drunen, bureau board member representing the City of Kaukauna.

Bret Woodland, a project manager at H.J. Martin and Son in Green Bay, was named to ENR Midwest magazine’s Top 20 Under 40 list for 2016.

Elections/appointments Elizabeth Slade, incubator program manager for Advance Business & Manufacturing Center and Brown County Culinary Kitchen in Green Bay, was elected president of the board of directors for Wisconsin Business Incubation Association.

The one-year term will go through 2016.

Jason Monnett, vice president and senior lender for Wisconsin Business Development in Oshkosh, and Rob Kleman, senior vice president of economic development for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, were both elected to three-year terms on the board of directors for Wisconsin Economic Development Association.

Kleman previously served on the WEDA board from 1996 to 2003 and is a past president of the association.

Business calendar

New North B2B encourages businesses and organizations looking to attract interested persons to upcoming events to email info@newnorthb2b.com.

March 1 Greater Green Bay Chamber Power Networking Breakfast, 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the chamber offices, 300 N. Broadway, Ste. 3A in Green Bay. No cost to attend for chamber members. For more information, call 920.437.8704 or email members@ titletown.org.

March 7 Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce Coffee Connection, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at BioLife Plasma Services, 923 Security Dr. in Fond du Lac. For more information or to register, call 920.921.9500 or go online to www.fdlac.com.

March 8 Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Sales Club, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the chamber building, 120 Jackson St. in Oshkosh. No cost to attend for chamber members. For more information, call 920.303.2266 or go online to www.oshkoshchamber.com.

March 8 Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours, 8 to 9 a.m. at the chamber office, 101 E. Wisconsin Ave. in Kaukauna. For more information or to register, call 920.766.1616 or go online to www.heartofthevalleychamber.com.

March 10 Greater Green Bay Chamber Business Showcase, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at KI Convention Center in Green Bay. For more information, call 920.437.8704 or email members@titletown.org.

Better Business Bureau New Members Businesses accredited through the Northeast Wisconsin office during January 2016 5 Star Insurance Group, Appleton Adashun Jones Inc., Fond du Lac Astro Hydraulics, Green Bay Auto Aces, Appleton Exit Elite Realty, Appleton Reese’s Body Shop, Sturgeon Bay Signature Homes by Adashun Jones, Fond du Lac Signs Plus, Green Bay Take Time Therapeutic Massage, Manitowoc Title Revolution, Green Bay Tranquility Spa, Green Bay Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Green Bay

44 | March 2016 | NNB2B

March 10 Women in Management – Oshkosh Chapter monthly meeting, 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. at La Sure’s Banquet Hall, 3125 S. Washburn St. in Oshkosh. For more information or to register, go online to www.wimiwi.org or email cathy@visitoshkosh.com.

March 10 Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, 5 to 7 p.m. at Gerhards – The Kitchen & Bath Store, 2100 W. College Ave. in Appleton. No cost to attend for members. For more information or to register, go online to www.heartofthevalleychamber.com or call 920.766.1616.

March 15 Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce Business Connection, 5 to 7 p.m. at Lake View Place, 517 Luco Road in Fond du Lac. For more information or to register, call 920.921.9500 or go online to www.fdlac.com.

March 15 “Strength-Based Leadership,” an evening leadership development workshop from Mid-Day Women’s Alliance, 5 to 7 p.m. at Atlas Gathering Room, 425 W. Water St. in www.newnorthb2b.com

Appleton. Cost is $10 for alliance members or $35 for non-members and includes refreshments and a StrengthsFinder 2.0 book and survey. For more information or to register, go online to www.middaywomen.org.

March 16 A.M. Oshkosh, a networking event from the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, 7:45 to 9 a.m. at Dream by Thimke Jewelers, 200C City Center in Oshkosh. Cost to attend is $2. For more information, call 920.303.2266 or go online to oshkoshchamber.com.

March 16-17 “E-seed Co-Create Event,” a no-cost workshop presented by Fox Valley Technical College’s Venture Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at D.J. Bordini Center, 5 Systems Dr. in Appleton. Learn about the E-seed program small business training model.

Registration is required by going online to www.fvtc.edu/VentureCenter or calling 920.996.2949.

March 22 Fox Cities Chamber Business Connection, 5 to 7 p.m. at Winncrest Banquet Hall, 2788 Towne Court in Neenah. For more information or to register, email Pam at receptionist@foxcitieschamber.com.

March 22 Entrepreneurs Anonymous, a networking and development event for entrepreneurs sponsored by Epiphany Law, 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Holidays Pub and Grill, 1395 W. American Dr. in Neenah. Topic will be “A Night with an Attorney” facilitated by Epiphany founder Kevin Eismann. Cost to attend is $10. Registration is requested by contacting Amanda at 920.996.0000 or info@entrepreneursanonymousewi.com.

April 5 Greater Green Bay Chamber Power Networking Breakfast, 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the chamber offices, 300 N. Broadway, Ste. 3A in Green Bay. No cost to attend for chamber members. For more information, call 920.437.8704 or email members@titletown.org. n

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“I would highly recommend CR Structures Group and will use them again. From planning to building they exceeded our expectations.” ~Owner, PolyFlex, Inc.

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Design-build Commercial Industrial

920.733.7305 x www.crstructures.com 571 Marcella St. x Kimberly, WI 54136 www.newnorthb2b.com

Thank you to the advertisers who made the March 2016 issue of New North B2B possible.

Aegis Financial ⎮aegisfinancialplanners.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Alberts & Heling CPAs ⎮alberts-heling-cpas.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Appleton International Airport ⎮atwairport.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Bank First National ⎮bankfirstnational.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Bayland Buildings ⎮baylandbuildings.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Borsche Roofing Professionals ⎮wiroofer.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Candeo Creative ⎮modmadmen.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Consolidated Construction Company ⎮1call2build.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 CR Structures Group ⎮crstructures.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Davis & Kuelthau, s.c. ⎮dkattorneys.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Dynamic Designs ⎮dynamicdesignspulaski.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 ECO Office Systems ⎮ecomyoffice.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Energy Bank ⎮energybankinc.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 First National Bank ~ Fox Valley ⎮fnbfoxvalley.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau ⎮FoxCities.org/bringithome. 39 Fox Communities Credit Union ⎮foxcu.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Guident Business Solutions ⎮guidentbusinesssolutions.com. . . . . . . 22 Home Builders Association of Fond du Lac & Dodge Counties, Inc. ⎮SuperHomeX.com . . . . . . . . 12 Kaldas Center for Fertility, Surgery & Pregnancy, S.C. ⎮ kaldascenter.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Keller Inc. ⎮kellerbuilds.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Millennium Construction Inc. ⎮millenniumconstructionwi.com. . . . . . 20 Modern Business Machines ⎮mbm360.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Moraine Park Technical College ⎮morainepark.edu/training. . . . . . . . 32 National Exchange Bank & Trust ⎮nebat.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Network Health ⎮meetnetworkhealth.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 NEW Building & Construction Trades Council ⎮newbt.org. . . . . . . . . . 13 NWTC Corporate Training & Economic Development ⎮ corporatetraining.nwtc.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 OptiVision ⎮optivisioneyecare.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Oshkosh Area Community Foundation ⎮oshkoshareacf.org. . . . . . . . . 37 Oshkosh Public Museum ⎮oshkoshmuseum.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Peninsula Stone Inc. ⎮peninsulastoneinc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 SITE Landscape Architecture ⎮SITElandscapearchitecture.com . . . . . 28 St. Norbert College MBA program ⎮snc.edu/go/mbasnc . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Suttner Accounting ⎮suttnercpa.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 UWO College of Business ⎮uwosh.edu/cob/mba/events . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Verve, a Credit Union ⎮verveacu.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Village of Hobart⎮hobart-wi.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Winnebago County Solid Waste Management ⎮ www.co.winnebago.wi.us/solid-waste/container-rental-program. . 43 Wisconsin Institute of CPAs ⎮wicpa.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Wisconsin SBDC at UW Green Bay ⎮uwgb.edu/sbdc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

NNB2B | March 2016 | 45

Key Statistics

If there are indicators you’d like to see in this space, contact our office at 920.237.0254 or email sean@newnorthb2b.com.

local gasoline prices

u.s. retail sales

Per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline.

february 21. . . . . . . february 14. . . . . . . february 7. . . . . . . . january 31. . . . . . . . february 21, 2015. .

january

$1.66 $1.56 $1.58 $1.65 $2.29

$449.9 billion 0.2% from December 3.4% from January 2015

Source: New North B2B observations

existing home sales

u.s. industrial production

january

homes sold median price brown cty . ....................152 .................... $152,750 Fond du Lac cty ..............54 .................... $111,000 outagamie cty . ............128 ....................$130,200 winnebago cty .............112 .................... $130,950 WI Dept. Revenue Collections

december 2015

$1.378 Billion 6.2% from December 2014

www.kellerbuilds.com

“Keller’s entire team worked well with our members of St. Peter Church and their quality of work is exceptional. We could not be happier with our new church!”

-Pastor Phil Koelpin St. Peter Church

46 | March 2016 | NNB2B

(2012 = 100)

january

106.8

0.9% from December 0.7% from January 2015 air passenger TRAFFIC (Local enplanements)

jan 2016 jan 2015 Appleton Int’l ATW.....................21,028 ...... 20,012 Austin Straubel GRB..........................N/A .......22,255

local unemployment

december nov dec ‘14 Appleton ....... 3.6% ...... 3.5% ....... 4.0% Fond du Lac ... 3.9% ...... 3.5% ....... 4.2% Green Bay........4.1% ...... 3.9% ........4.7% Neenah ........... 3.5% ...... 3.5%.........4.1% Oshkosh . ....... 3.8% ...... 3.8% ........4.5% Wisconsin ..... 4.2% ...... 4.0% ........4.7%

natural gas prices Prices for small businesses using less than 20,000 therms. Listed price is per therm.

february................... $0.459 january......................$0.477 february 2015.......... $0.586 Source: Wisconsin Public Service

ism index Numbers above 50 mean expansion.

Numbers below 50 mean contraction. january . . . . . . . . . 48.2 december. . . . . . . . 48.0

Manufacturing Dental Convenience Store Financial Veterinary Municipal Child Care

Faith-Based Agriculture Professional Office Chiropractic Industrial Assisted Living Educational Funeral Home Cold Storage Automotive Warehousing Retail Restaurant Hospitality Medical Recreational www.newnorthb2b.com

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