Wisconsin Business World®

Real World Experience. Life-Changing Results.Real World Experience. Life-Changing Results.

Annual Report20112011

Celebrating 30 years

educating Wisconsin’s future leaders!

Dear Business World Supporter:

This past summer marked the 30th Anniversary of Wisconsin Business World! The campuses of St. Norbert College in De Pere and Edgewood College in Madison played host to nearly 300 high school students from all corners of Wisconsin. Business World has changed quite a bit since it began in 1982, but the reasons why this program exists are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago! One truth that has not changed in 30 years, today’s students and educators need to be exposed to Wisconsin business, the spirit of entrepreneurism and the value of our free enterprise system.

Business World teaches our students about the real-world skills they need before they enter the workplace. Through hands-on activities and simulations, students are put in the driver’s seat to manage a company and make many of the same decisions demanded of real life company executives. Under the guidance of volunteer business mentors, these future leaders benefit from current leaders who work alongside students as they navigate through the week’s activities.

We are proud to have educated over 14,000 students over the past 30 years and grateful for the generosity of the volunteers and organizations who made it all possible. Without the support and cooperation of educators, volunteers, sponsors and alumni, Business World would not be where it is today.

We hope you continue to support Business World in the coming year. When the business and education communities work together to better prepare our future workforce, everyone wins!

Sincerely,

Steve Benzschawel Director Wisconsin Business World

Kurt Bauer, President, WMC, Inc.

James R. Morgan, WMC Foundation President

Steve Benzschawel, Business World® Program Director

Susan Nyffenegger, Executive Assistant

Our MissionWisconsin Business World is designed to provide students and educators from across the state with an experience that demonstrates the value of business and economics education. This unique program offers a better understanding of, and an appreciation for, the free enterprise system in which we live.

Business World SponsorsBusiness World AdvisorsBusiness World Students

The 30th year of Business World

brought hundreds of Wisconsin’s

brightest young entrepreneurs

together on a college campus to

work with business mentors and learn

about the challenges facing today’s

businesses. Participants come from all

across the great state of Wisconsin.

Each dot on this map represents

the hometown of a student, advisor

or program sponsor from the 2011

Business World programs.

SundaySunday

MondayMonday

move into your dorm meet your roommate say bye to Mom & Dad! meet your company meet your advisor

Students are divided into companies and paired with a Company Advisor, a volunteer from the business community. Advisors serve as a mentor and consultant, guiding their company of students through the week’s challenges and activities.

This morning students decide who the leaders of their company will be by electing a CEO and VPs of Marketing, Production and Finance - an opportunity for students to hone leadership skills and embrace the challenges ahead. Afternoon business tours give students an inside look at the day-to-day operations of a local company and the chance to learn what employers expect from their workforce.

elect a CEO & VP create a product from junk tour a real business create a marketing plan exhibit at a trade show

2

Week at a Glance

Sunday night’s Junk Product Workshop, where junk items are selected to be used in the new product prototype each company will develop.

Monday night’s Product Trade Show, where each company sets up a booth to display marketing materials and pitch their product to a panel of judges.

TuesdayTuesday

WednesdayWednesday

perform a commercial hear from a business speaker play The Price is Right!

present business plan to shareholders pitch your company at closing ceremonies say goodbye to new friends

3

Week at a Glance

Advisor Jack Pfister throws prizes into the crowd at The Price is Right, which wraps up the final night at Business World.

Students have formed a company, created a product, designed marketing materials, presented at a trade show, performed a commercial skit, listened to presentations from business professionals and toured a local company. An impressive accomplishment for kids who were strangers on Sunday night!

This morning students present their Business Plan and outline company performance over the past two (simulated) years at the Shareholder’s Reports.

Students say goodbye Wednesday, but the lessons learned and new friendships will remain long after Business World is over.

St. Norbert CollegeJune 19-22, 2011

Advisor: Jack Pfister, SCORE, MadisonCompany: Creative Kitchen Inc.Product:Homemaid

Advisor:Jim Schulz, AdVenture, WaupacaCompany: A-TeamProduct: Scrunch n Dunk

Advisor:Bob Denor, retired - Ariens Company, ReedsvilleCompany:Cluck, Inc.Product: ClucknNator

Advisor:Eileen Baus, National Business Furniture, MilwaukeeCompany:MagnetiCo.Product:MagneJack

Advisor: Michelle Morrow, WPS Health Insurance, MadisonCompany: Big Deal, Inc.Product: Triple Threat

Advisor: Andy Lemorande, St. Vincent Hospital, Green BayCompany: RealitiProduct: BluBox

Advisor: Mike Michalski, Belmark, Inc., De PereCompany: Bravado, Inc.Product: Bravado Hot n Cold

Advisor:Rob Bermke, Georgia Pacific, Green BayCompany:AquaTechProduct:TechnoWave

4

ToursFEECO International

KIAriens Company

Wisconsin Public ServiceServices Plus, Inc.

Lambeau FieldBelmark

SpeakersNina Nolan, St. Norbert CollegeJim Morgan, WMC Foundation

Marv Schumacher, FRAM

Most Realistic product went to Bravado, Inc. shown proudly displaying their product, the Bravado Hot ‘n Cold.

AquaTech won Most Creative Product with the TechnoWave, which can safely turn any pool into a wavepool.

St. Norbert CollegeJune 19-22, 2011

“I promise you that BW will be an experience you won’t regret. I met so many new people and enjoyed all the activities. I had a great time!” – S.Y. DSHA HS

5

EdgewoodJune 26-29, 2011

Advisor:Bob Denor, retired – Ariens Company, ReedsvilleCompany:Chicken in a Basket, Inc.Product:Easy Om

Advisor:Carol White, Brookfield Chamber of CommerceCompany:Hike-EProduct:Solar Satchel

Advisor: Jeff RaymondCompany: Victorious EmpireProduct:ScanOptics

Advisor:Andy Sefcik, Colony Brands, MonroeCompany: Air Tech Product: 02 Gravity Board

Advisor:Joel Barker, Backpack TacticsCompany:Reasonable Understanding Product: Pop-Up Solar Grill

Advisor:David Leef, ITU, Inc., New BerlinCompany: Tooti FrootiProduct:Frooti Smoothi

Advisor: Jack Pfister, SCORE, MadisonCompany: FishTechProduct: Fearless Fisher 5000

Advisor:Scott Wiedenhoeft, Engine Power Inc., OconomowocCompany:Untamed Cuisine Product: Repas Sur Roues

6

ToursCertco

Suttle-Straus, Inc.Plastic Ingenuity

Springs Window FashionsGE Healthcare

Great Big PicturesCovance

Placon CorporationMadison Mallards

Best Presentation went to Victorious Empire, shown here with their display at the Trade Show

Reasonable Understanding, Inc. won Most Creative Product with the Pop-Up, a portable, solar-powered grill.

Speakers

EdgewoodJune 26-29, 2011

“I didn’t know what to expect, but once I was put into my Company and met all my new friends, we combined great minds together and made an awesome product from a pile of junk! It’s so fun!” – H.L. Lake Mills HS

7

Gil de las Alas, Oscar MayerDan Olszewski, UW School of Business

Jim Morgan, WMCKurt Bauer, WMC

Company Advisors

Each “company” of students is paired with a volunteer from the business community who acts as a mentor for the week, guiding their company of students as they make decisions and take part in a variety of competitions and challenges. Business World Advisors offer a diverse collection of professional experience, and have a desire to share that knowledge and work experience with high school students.

Advisors play the most important role in the success of Business World. Not only do they serve as role models from the community, they also develop a personal connection with the students that will help inspire them in the future. The importance of this connection is validated by the impressive number of volunteer Alumni Advisors who participated in the program in their youth and have since returned to share their experience and perspective with today’s students.

Over the past 30 years, hundreds of dedicated volunteers have donated their time, talent and resources to the Business World program. Without this support from the business community, the BW program and its 14,000+ Alumni would not be where we are today! Thank you to all our Advisors, past and present, who enable us to offer this tremendous opportunity to the young adults in Wisconsin.

Company Advisors, St. Norbert College

Company Advisors, Edgewood College

Company Advisors from the past

8

The Business World Advanced Program

The Business World Advanced Program is open to graduates of our first year BW program. Advanced Program students possess a willingness to further their understanding of business and economics and a desire to learn more about Wisconsin’s economy.

Students work in small groups and prepare reports and projects for first year students that highlight Wisconsin companies and explore marketing and advertising principles. In addition, Advanced Program students are expected to model the leadership qualities and personal accountability that the Business World program strives to encourage in our first year students.

In addition to their projects at camp, Advanced Program students

hear from business speakers on issues facing their future

take company tours for a close-up look at how a business operates

learn about the host college and life as a college student

“I’m so glad I came. The leadership and teamwork skills I learned really helped me prepare for college.” – A.P. Wausau East HS

Advanced Program students at Edgewood College

Cameron O’Connell speaks with Fox News 11 at St. Norbert College

9

Mini Business World

Program Highlights Dynamic & interactive one-day program

Student “companies” brainstorm to create a product

Companies compete for awards & prizes

Students make presentations and interact with mentors

New in 2011!

Form a Company

Design Marketing Materials

Hear Business Speakers

In one school day students learn about entrepreneurship and free enterprise from hands-on-projects and competitions.

10

2011 Mini BW LocationsDane County

Sturgeon Bay

Germantown

Wausau

Visit www.wibusinessworld.org to bring a Mini BW program to your community

Algoma, 8

Appleton East High School, 2

Appleton West High School

Arrowhead High School

Ashwaubenon High School, 3

Athens High School, 3

Bangor High School, 4

Bay Port High School, 3

Beaver Dam High School, 2

Berlin High School

Big Foot High School

Black River Falls High School, 4

Blair-Taylor High School, 2

Bowler School District

Brown Deer High School

Burlington High School, 2

Cambridge High School, 9

Campbellsport High School, 3

Catholic Memorial High School, 9

Chilton High School

Christian Life School

Clinton High School

Craig High School, 2

D. C. Everest Senior High, 2

De Pere High School, 4

Delavan-Darien High School

Divine Savior Holy Angels High School

Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School, 2

Fennimore High School, 5

Fond du Lac High School

Fort Atkinson High School

Fox Valley Lutheran High School, 2

Gibraltar, 9

Green Bay West High School, 3

Gresham High School, 3

Horace Mann High School

Hortonville High School

Howards Grove High School, 3

Independence School District

Jefferson High School

Johnson Creek High School

Kaukauna High School

Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School

Kewaunee High School

Kimberly High School, 2

LaFollette High School

Lake Mills High School, 3

Lincoln High School

Little Chute High School, 2

Luther High School, 3

Watertown Luther Prep

Madison East High School

Madison Edgewood High School, 10

Madison Memorial High School, 5

Madison West High School, 2

Manitowoc Lincoln High School

Manitowoc Lutheran High School, 4

Manitowoc Roncalli High School, 6

Marinette High School

Marquette University High School, 2

Mayville High School, 3

Mc Farland High School, 5

Menasha High School

Mequon Homestead High School, 4

Messmer High School

Middleton High School, 2

Milton High School, 3

Milwaukee Pius XI High School, 2

Monona Grove High School, 10

Monroe High School, 3

Mosinee High School, 2

Muskego High School

Nathan Hale High School

Neillsville High School, 2

Nekoosa High School

New Berlin Eisenhower High School

New Holstein High School

New London High School

NEW Lutheran High School

Newman Catholic High School, 2

Notre Dame Academy, 5

Oak Creek High School

Oconomowoc High School

Oconto Falls High School

Oconto High School

Omro High School, 4

Onalaska High School, 2

Oregon High School

Osseo-Fairchild High School, 3

Pacelli High School

Parkview High School

Phillips Academy Andover

Plymouth High School

Port Washington High School

Portage High School, 2

Preble High School

Pulaski High School

Racine Horlick High School

Racine Walden High School

Reedsburg Area High School

Reedsville School District, 2

Ripon High School, 2

River Falls High School

Rosholt High School

Saint Ambrose Academy

Saint Joseph High School

Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy, 2

Sevastopol, 30

Seymour High School

Sheboygan Falls High School, 3

Shiocton High School, 2

Siren High School

Slinger High School, 2

Southern Door, 31

Southwestern Wisconsin High School, 6

Sparta Junior High School

St. Catherines High School

Stoughton High School

Sturgeon Bay High School, 41

Sun Prairie High School

Three Lakes High School, 2

Tomahawk High School, 4

Verona Area High School, 20

Watertown High School, 2

Waunakee High School, 10

Waupun High School

Wausau West High School, 2

West De Pere High School, 3

Westosha Central High School

White Lake School District

Wilmot Union High School, 3

Wisconsin Heights High School, 19

Wrightstown High School, 5

Thank you to the teachers, counselors, and administrators from across Wisconsin who help promote the Business World program and encourage students to participate. This great program would not be possible without your support.

Listed below are the participating high schools from Business World and Mini-Business World programs held in 2011:

Participating Schools

11

Tom PamperinPresident/CEO of Premier Community BankBusiness World Class of 1984

My Experience at Wisconsin Business WorldI attended Business World in the summer of 1984 at Lawrence University. I remember the exhilaration I felt as our “company” made decisions on production, marketing

and pricing. I recall grilling my advisor about the real world, constantly looking for more and more information and insights. I knew at that point that business was in my future!

Where is Tom Now?Tom is the President/CEO of Premier Community Bank, a $200 million community-owned and focused organization offering banking, insurance and investment services in eight communities in North-Central and North-East Wisconsin.

Prior to joining Premier Community Bank, Tom worked for Allied Health of Wisconsin as CFO, Wipfli as a Senior Consultant, St. Francis Bank as an Assistant Vice President and KPMG as a Supervising Senior Accountant. A Certified Public Accountant, Tom is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

Tom is a Board Member of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, currently serving as Vice Chairman, and has served as the Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee. He has also served the Wisconsin Bankers Association as a Board Member and President of the Wisconsin Bankers Association Insurance Trust and Employee Benefits Corporation and Chair of the Leadership Development Committee. He served the Graduate School of Banking as a member of its Banker Advisory Board, representing Wisconsin, and as a member of its Board of Trustees. Tom was a forming member and a current advisory board member of the networking group CEOnly. Closer to home, Tom serves as Treasurer of the Marion Area Community Foundation, Secretary/Treasurer of the Marion Economic Development Corporation and Chair of the Marion Community Block Grant Program.

Christine SmithPrincipal, Baker Tilly Business World Class of 1984

My Memories of Wisconsin Business WorldEven after all of these years, I remember the positive impression left by my advisor (one of the few women managers at that time in a regional electric company) and the strong bond

I made with other high school students. My experience was one of the factors that lead to my pursuit of a degree in business administration.

Where is Christine Now?Principal of the State and Local Government Consulting group, Christine has served clients of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause since 1998.

With over 20 years working with or in the public sector, she has extensive expertise in public sector management, and advises a variety of clients (municipalities, school districts, utilities, state agencies, institutions of higher education) nationwide on innovative approaches to optimizing resources and creating alternative revenue sources. She is excited about the many opportunities she has to help clients weather the current economic downturn by innovatively using their resources and facilitating non-traditional strategic alliances. A specialist in strategic planning, revenue alternatives, resource optimization, budget reduction and process improvement, her experience spans projects from large municipal procure to pay process reengineering projects to consolidated operations strategic planning initiatives. She has examined the full range of governmental functions from wastewater treatment to library services.

Prior to Baker Tilly, she spent ten years serving as a legislative liaison, budget/program and policy analyst, and human resource specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. She speaks regularly to regional government leaders and is published in government association publications.

Business World Alumni: 1982�2011Where are they now?

30 years of BW has produced alot of Alumni - over 14,00 in fact. Here’s a sample of what some are up to now

12

Dan OlszewskiDirector, Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, Wisconsin School of BusinessBusiness World Class of 1984

My Experience at Wisconsin Business WorldI attended Business World in the summer of 1984 at Lawrence University and years later, I returned as an advisor and in 2011, I spoke to the BW students at Edgewood College.

Where is Dan Now?Dan Olszewski is the Director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. He teaches the capstone course for Entrepreneurship MBA students and was one of the co-founders of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (WEB) program for UW graduate students enrolled in the sciences and engineering. Recently the Financial Times ranked the entrepreneurship program 9th among global business schools.

Prior to joining the UW, Olszewski was CEO and Chairman of PNA Holdings during which time revenues increased from $26M to over $400M from the organic growth of Parts Now! and acquisition of Katun Corp. With the assistance of private equity sponsors, he led the successful buyout of the founder in 1999.

Before joining Parts Now! Olszewski was a consultant at McKinsey and Company, with a focus on strategy, supply chain, technology and finance. He has also worked for IBM, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance in Tokyo.

Olszewski graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Computer Science, and received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Olszewski is on the board of directors of World Data Products Inc. and Sologear, LLC. He is on the advisory board of Parts Now! LLC. He also currently serves on the nonprofit advisory board for the Henry Vilas Zoological Society and has served on the Friends of Wisconsin Public Television Board.

David AndersonRegional Senior Vice President, Marshall & Ilsley BankBusiness World Class of 1984

My Memories of Wisconsin Business WorldI attended the Lawrence University session in Appleton during the summer of 1984. I was a group captain, was interviewed by the local media folks (which aired later that night on local

news) and was appointed to give the closing speech to the attendees. I met dozens of great people, including instructors and students alike. BW reaffirmed for me that my career focus would be in Business Administration. BW helped shape the leader I am today.

Where is David Now?A native of Wisconsin Dells, David Anderson is a Regional Senior Vice President of Marshall & Ilsley Bank. David joined Marshall & Ilsley Bank in 1994 as a Commercial Banking Officer. He currently oversees Business Banking in Southeast Wisconsin and assists in the strategic direction for Business Banking for M&I Corporation.

Prior to joining M&I, David was an Economic Development Officer for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) where his primary focus was administering WHEDA’s guaranty programs serving the Tourism, Agriculture, and Manufacturing industries and underwrote Industrial Revenue Bonds for Wisconsin manufacturers.

David is a past President and current board member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), current board member for the Better Business Bureau, past President and board member for the West Suburban YMCA, Advisory Board Member for Auer Steel and Advisory Board Member for the Graduate School of Banking. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance with a resident major in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

Business World Alumni: 1982�2011Where are they now?

13

Wisconsin Business World® is a program of the WMC Foundation, Inc., an affiliate of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce

PO Box 352, Madison, WI 53701-0352

Toll free: (888) 276-7953 Fax: (608) 258-3413 Website: www.wibusinessworld.org

Thank you 2011 Business World Sponsors!