FEBRUARY 2007

Profiles: Blue Hawaiian’s Dave and Patti Chevalier • TaylorMade’s Mark King • GM’s Jill Lajdziak • Supervalu’s Mike Jackson • Nationwide’s Mary Ostrom

• Jewell-Osco’s Larry Wahlstrom • Pacific Summit’s Jim Watts

From Green Bay to Maui,

Shorewood to Augusta,

Brillion to Saturn,

alumni execs rise above

Inside UW-Green BayFebruary 2007

Volume 33, No. 2

EditorChris Sampson

Editorial StaffChris Sampson

Sue BodillyScott Hildebrand

DesignerYvonne Splan

PhotographerEric Miller

Contributing Photographer

Matt Becker

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Inside UW-Green Bay is published by the Office of University Advancement and its Marketing and Com-munication unit. We welcome your comments. Address them to: Inside UW-Green Bay Editor, Cofrin Library Suite 815, or fax (920) 465-2340. Mail change of address notification to Inside UW-Green Bay, Cofrin Library Suite 820, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311-7001.

Cover photograph courtesy of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters

FEATURES

4 In the driver’s seatSaturn GM enjoys fast-track success

6 King of the driversGolf CEO is a big hitter

8 Big buy, small worldRetail execs share alumni ties

10 Second careerTop executive gives back

11 Thanks, Dr. HardenAward honors campus legacy

20 Soaring sweetheartsPlane proposal earns ‘I do!’

DEPARTMENTS11 Campus news

15 Alumni notes

4

11

24

20

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Green Bay’s University of Wisconsin, and welcome to what we feel is a particularly exciting edition of Inside magazine.

We proudly turn the spotlight on UW-Green Bay graduates who have traveled far and wide to assume positions of leadership with world-famous brands, Fortune 500 corporations or their own leading-edge companies.

Geographically speaking, that’s a departure for these pages. As a regional institution, we typically highlight the careers and contributions of the vast majority of our alumni who live their lives and base their businesses right here in Northeastern Wisconsin.

We will resume that regional focus in an upcoming issue when we profile individuals on our “Phoenix 400.” That’s the sizeable and growing list of UW-Green Bay alumni who are CEOs, CFOs and COOs, presidents, owners and entrepreneurs. Most are Wisconsin-based, many with national or even global reach, some with Forbes or Fortune rankings.

Work ethic and education are common denominators. Previewing the stories here of our high-achieving Titletown transplants, I was struck by how similar are their personal stories. They may reside today in Maui, San Diego or Detroit, but they grew up in Green Bay, Brillion or Oconto. They were first-generation college students of modest means who worked their way through school. One swept floors as a part-time job and wound up running the corporation.

In short, these individuals began where many of our students and young alumni start today. Their examples are inspirational, for us all. We must all work to ensure that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay continues to be a bridge to brighter tomorrows.

Thank you for your support in helping us “Connect learning to life.” And, remember, Go Phoenix!

Bruce ShepardChancellor

Notes from 2420 Nicolet...

Far from home, alumni leaderscarry Green Bay with them

Visit Inside on the web at www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/page/inside.htm

� February �007 �February �007

Hitting the heights in Hawaii, couple stays grounded

Patti and Dave Chevalier’s diligence at becoming the best in their industry has resulted in becoming the biggest, with a touch of Hollywood flash.

The UW-Green Bay graduates (Dave is Class of ’77, Patti Class of ’83) own and operate Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, the largest touring company on the islands.

“We operated with one heli-copter from 1985 to 1989,” says Dave. “Our goal was to simply have our own business and be self-sufficient. I never envisioned we would be this big, we’ve really just grown with the market and opportunity.”

The couple, together with Patti’s brother Dave Griffin, oversees the operation of 32 expert pilots and 180 full-time employees with bases on Maui, the Big Island and Kauai. With a fleet of 19 helicopters, they fly about 30,000 tours per year.

CAMPUS HANGOUT: The Rathskeller (now Phoenix Club)

HOW THEY MET: “Former faculty members Joyce Salisbury and David Galaty introduced us and set up an off-campus blind date.”

FACULTY MEMORIES: “Keith White (biology) brought such an intellectual curiosity and interest in sci-ence and was really motivational in helping you be creative in your thinking. Ija Korner (psychology) was an influence socially, helping you to open your mind and, well, grow up.”

ADVICE FOR TODAY’S GRADS: “You can attain most anything you want, but you’ll have to pay the price. Be clear and focused, and work for the goals.”

INVOLVEMENT: Helped create Maui’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team, offering personnel and equipment in times of emergency or disaster... Maui Coastal Land Trust... chair, Chamber of Commerce and Maui Visitors Bureau (Patti)... board member, Helicopter Association International (Dave).

ACCOLADES: Island Business Magazine Entrepreneurs of the Year; Travel Channel’s “Top Ten World’s Best” helicop-ter experiences; industry’s Five-Star Diamond Award.

Blue Hawaiian has become the helicopter service of choice for photographers from National Geographic and major Hol-lywood studios. The Chevaliers have flown aerials for motion picture blockbusters such as Jurassic Park, The Lost World, as well as Honeymoon in Vegas, Flight of the Intruder, Crimson Tide, George of the Jungle and Pearl Harbor, among others.

“It’s fun working with the entertainment industry and meeting people you’ve seen on the screen for years,” Dave said. “It is really neat to see the final product and go with the fan-tasy of it and be entertained. But when I’m doing it, it’s just a job... with a lot of waiting around.”

The Chevaliers run the com-pany as a family team. Dave, who is U.S. military trained, is both a pilot and CEO, respon-sible for the overall vision and direction. Patti is the president.

Her brother, “Griff,” a former UW-Green Bay student himself, is the COO. Patti and Griff work together “in the trenches,” says Dave, in overseeing day-to-day operations.

Although the Green Bay natives left Wisconsin almost immediately after graduation, they remained committed to their environmentally focused education — a big plus on the spectacular but environmen-tally sensitive Hawaiian Islands.

“There is little doubt that our environmental focus and philosophy grew from our expe-rience at UW-Green Bay,” says Dave. “It is a part of everything we do.”

Ten of their helicopters are EC130 EcoStars. The spacious, state-of-the-art machines have been designated as ‘Quiet Technology Aircraft’ by the National Park Service. Dave was part of the customer focus

group that developed this first helicopter specifically designed for air touring. Additionally, he was the helicopter rep on the working group of environmen-tal and air-tour interests that reached consensus on the National Parks Overflights Act of 2000.

On top of the $2.2 million price tag for each EcoStar, the Chevaliers have splurged on extras such as custom four-camera, in-flight video systems recording a DVD of each tour, two-way communication with pilots, and Bose Electronic Noise-Canceling headsets that cost about $1,000 each. The investment in safety equipment including emergency floats and a terrain mapping system has

helped the company far exceed national safety standards.

Patti, a former social studies teacher, takes education to heart, making sure every visitor leaves inspired with an enhanced knowledge of the islands. They consider their tours “flying classrooms” and hired Hawaii expert George Kanahele to develop an audio program in Hawaiian history, culture, language, wildlife and geology.

“What we do is not a thrill ride,” Patti says. “It’s a means to pro-vide an educational experience that cannot be achieved any other way.”

Thousands of miles from Wisconsin, the Chevaliers have made a home, but their aloha spirit isn’t far removed from their college philosophy, or their Midwest roots. They still visit the Green Bay area from time to time — Dave’s sister Catherine is a UW-Green Bay alumna and a resident of the area. They are Packers fanatics, still. But a permanent return home? Not likely. And who could blame them?

We’ve got such a wonderful place in the country with an incredible view,” said Dave. “We’ll be sitting on our lanai with a little wine and (of course) cheese and remind ourselves how far we’ve come, and just how fortunate we are.”

Hometown: Green Bay Owners and Operators, Blue Hawaiian HelicoptersMaui, Hawaii

DAVE & PATTI CHEVALIER

FROM THE COVERFlying high in Hawaii…Cruising in a convertible…Golfing with Sergio…Sounds like a dream mid-winter vacation, but for some transplanted grads-turned-executives, it’s a job.Read how hard work and college education have yielded high-profile careers, Inside UW-Green Bay.

� February �007 �February �007

GM’s Titletown work ethic, drive have Saturn on the rise

Today, internships still open doors

In 1979, with UW-Green Bay graduation approaching, Jill (Jentink) Lajdziak sat in a job interview with a Procter & Gam-ble executive and was asked, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Her perfectly candid answer, “I want to be working for Gen-eral Motors,” would prove pro-phetic.

Nearly 30 years later, Lajdziak (pronounced lay-jak) is general manager of GM’s Saturn divi-sion. She oversees the Saturn product line, from sales and marketing to bottom-line prof-itability.

Her rise through the ranks reflects an energy and clarity of vision that must have impressed even that early P&G interviewer. She took his direct but good-natured reply — “Then you better get started” — as confir-mation she shouldn’t settle for a job anywhere else. She didn’t.

Unveiling of Saturn’s new Sky Red line, the midsized Aura or the crossover Outlook? Lajd-ziak is there. Extended media interviews with hundreds of journalists? Lajdziak supplies the answers. Developing the popular, “no hassle, no haggling” sales strategy? Lajdziak initiates the discussion. And it’s a blast, she says.

Hometown: Brillion General Manager, Saturn division, General MotorsGrosse Pointe, Mich.

JILL LAJDZIAK “This was and is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a brand from scratch,” she says. “To be a part of the start-up team... to work with them and create the strategies to develop an all-new brand and then to see the end result is incredible.”

Coincidentally, one of her Sat-urn co-creators was another Fox Valley person, John Bergstrom, CEO of one of the nation’s larg-est dealerships, headquartered in Neenah.

She describes him as a “trusted friend, a man of integrity, a trusted confidante, and a very, very strategic thinker.”

Since startup, Saturn’s ascent has been “unbelievable,” Lajdziak says. “Now we’re in the process of doubling our portfolio and bringing it to the marketplace — a com-plete revitalization — in less than 18 months, unheard of in the automotive industry.”

Plus, Lajdziak and her colleagues have been able to do what some considered nearly impossible in today’s industry: create and retain brand loyalty through “guest treatment.”

“I’m tenacious about making a promise in the marketplace and delivering on that every day,” she explains. “Brand greatness tran-scends expectation for product, service, delivery at every touch-point with the customer.

“I talk to consumers all the time. In the age of Internet, I respond to every e-mail. People can’t believe they get through to me via e-mail, but I respond because that is our brand, we put people first. I have a responsibility to lead this brand to ensure it hap-pens at every turn. I feel strongly that a leader leads by example.”

It isn’t uncommon for Lajdziak to work 16-hour days and jet cross-country a few times each week for speaking engagements.

Saturn’s Jill Lajdziak ’79 got a taste of international business in her days as a UW-Green Bay marketing student. Now, today’s marketing students are helping sell a taste of Green Bay to the world.

Lydia Nelson and Stiliana Georgieva are assisting one of the world’s largest meat processors as it spring-boards into a new niche — Halal marketing — to reach Muslim consumers who adhere to processing and trade practices permissible by Islamic law.

The pair (shown above with co-CEO Carl Kuehne) presented results of their summer research to staff at American Foods Group, a company with $1 billion in annual sales and more than 1,500 employees at the Green Bay plant alone.

UW-GREEN BAY MEMORIES: “Bob Obenberger, (business administration and marketing), I loved his class. Cam-pus hangouts? None especially nostalgic. I commuted and worked at the library.”

COOL EXPERIENCE: “As a member of the Interna-tional Business Association student group, I went on

an international assignment with an oil company. When I got back, I still wanted to get into the car business.”

ACCOLADES: Automotive News’ 100 Leading Women

FAMILY: Husband Robert and “terrific” sons Robert (16) and Andrew (1�)

BACHELOR’S DEGREE: 1979, Business Administration

“I love it,” she says. “I am blessed it is my passion. I believe that intellect is great, but intellect alone gets you nowhere. At the end of the day it is work ethic and drive. Then you continue to build on successful strategies and your business acumen grows over time. And I’ve been fortunate that at GM, I’ve had wonderful career development opportunities.”

She’s thankful, too, for her Green Bay years and small-town upbringing in Brillion, about 30 miles to the south.

“I am unbelievably proud to have grown up where I have,” she says, citing the region’s strong work ethic. On her desk she displays a plaque quoting philosophies of Packers coach Vince Lombardi that any worthy goal requires hard work, and that “Leaders are made, they are not born.”

Her late mother was a great influ-ence. “My mom always said, ‘I want to be a memory-maker and a promise-keeper,’ and she made

family times very special. I’ve modeled my own parenting style from it. When I’m with my boys, I’m with them 100 percent.”

Lajdziak says she practically grew up in her father’s dealer-ship, Jentink Chevrolet Oldsmo-bile, in Brillion.

While her father’s career was winding down through retire-ment in 1989, hers was skyrock-eting. She began in 1980 as a district sales manager and by 1984 was assistant manager for General Motors. By 1999, she was VP of sales, service and mar-keting for Saturn and in 2004, was named general manager of Saturn, the title she holds today. And the brand she lives.

Nelson and Georgieva, a native of Bulgaria, are believed to be the first non-engineering interns taken on by American Foods. The company now has an increased Halal presence on the West Coast, and a distribution partnership with Sam’s Club is in the works. Additional findings from Georgieva’s spring research could further identify new markets.

6 February �007 7February �007

King of TaylorMade found his drive at UW-Green Bay

UW-GREEN BAY: “I had three of the greatest years of my life here. Even today, of the things I’ve done in the �� years

since, graduating from college was the most significant achievement I’ve ever had.”

MEMORIES: “Actually, I remember basketball more than anything. Noonball, pickup games at the Sports Center... getting to know faculty, staff, students...

I remember that Dan Spielmann was a pretty good shooter.”

PACKERS FAN: “Vince Lombardi used to say ‘God, family and the Green Bay Packers.’ I amend that to ‘family, TaylorMade and the Green Bay Packers.’”

ACCOLADES: Golf Industry Executive of the Year; Chairman, National Golf Foundation; Phoenix Athletics Hall of Fame

FAMILY: Wife Mary Jo, daughters Lauren and Allison

VIDEO OF SPEECH: www.uwgb.edu/commencement/podcasts/

Industry insiders know Mark King as a towering figure in the big-money, star-studded world of golf.

The chief executive of the nation’s largest golf equipment maker, King welcomes Sergio Garcia as a frequent house guest. Business personality Donald Trump is a fan. Friend John Daly agreed to play Santa at his company’s Christmas party.

Nonetheless, King spoofed his own stature when he returned to UW-Green Bay in Decem-ber, invited to deliver the com-mencement address. He would follow protocol in wearing cap and gown, but the idea of speak-ing from behind a lectern on the Weidner Center stage was just too much.

“At 5-foot-7... I’m not going to stand on a stool so that people can see me,” he told the near-capacity audience, to much laughter. “That’s not my best presentation.”

King went with a wireless microphone that day. Step-ping confidently forward, front and center, he dominated the big stage, which also pretty much describes his career since graduating from UW-Green Bay in 1981.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf named him its president in 1999, at age 40, and CEO in 2002. He was chosen Golf Industry Executive of the Year in 2001. His lead-ership was credited for making TaylorMade the No. 1 brand on the PGA tour and boosting sales from $300 million to $1 billion annually.

PGA Magazine, Fortune, Brand-week and the Harvard Business Review have all carried articles profiling King and his knack for setting audacious goals and achieving them, his winning strategy of taking the clubs pro golfers were using and adjusting them to suit amateurs.

Trump, whose golf and resort interests cross paths with King, has described him as an “amaz-ingly dynamic business leader. I can see why so many golf maga-zines name him as one of the best leaders in golf... He’s very smart, very visionary, and hard driving.”

Are you on the ‘Phoenix 400’?

In his December commencement address, however, King took pains to emphasize his life’s arc hasn’t always been as smooth as a textbook swing.

He played golf as a kid at Brown County Golf Course and earned a Division I scholarship. Recruited out of West High School, he followed an admired older team-mate to Northern Illinois University.

Problem was, King remembers, he was fol-lowing the teammate’s dream, not his own. He never warmed to college life and the large, rural NIU campus. His golf game tanked.

“I was miserable,” King told the graduates. “Everything in my life was the goal of going away and playing golf, and I was a com-plete failure. I hated it. I was los-ing confidence that I could be a successful person.”

Fortunately, a Green Bay friend and mentor, golf shop owner Eddie Langert, promised him his old job back if he came home, reconnected with his family and enrolled at UW-Green Bay. Langert, King said, convinced him to believe in himself.

King transferred back and his enthusiasm for school, and golf, returned. He finished his degree in business administration. He was team MVP for a rising UW-Green Bay golf program.

“UWGB is where I got my con-fidence back,” King says. “The people here made it a great experience. I made some very good friends.”

He made another good choice in signing on as a regional rep for the start-up company Langert was touting, TaylorMade.

Once golfers discovered the metal-head drivers, they rushed to trade in their old persimmon clubs. King, a natural salesman working the prime West Coast territory, San Diego to Las Vegas, sold more than anybody. He became VP for sales in 1989.

Today, he gets to major tour-naments at fabled venues

including Augusta and Pebble Beach, plays occasionally with the world’s elite pros, and rubs elbows with big names in the worlds of entertainment, poli-tics and business.

“Successful people tend to enjoy the challenge of the game of golf,” he says, “so I’ve had the privilege of meeting a lot of people.

“I have been fortunate in so many respects. For a kid from Green Bay, the dots just connected.”

Hometown: Green Bay President and CEO, TaylorMade-adidas GolfCarlsbad, Calif.

MARK KING

Call it the “Alumni 400” or the “Phoenix 400,” but alumni records indicate a healthy number of UW-Green Bay graduates are owners, CEOs, presidents and executive directors.

“Given our relative youth and modest size,” Chancel-lor Bruce Shepard says, “the number of alumni in leadership positions is truly impressive.”

Each individual success story is gratifying to the University and its friends, of course, but the sheer

length of the list holds importance, too. Current and future students may aspire to add their names. The list helps illustrate the community impact of UW-Green Bay and its graduates.

Are your name and title currently listed on our “Phoenix 400” alumni database? Should they be? Let us know. Alumni and friends are invited to browse the list at www.uwgb.edu/alumni/400.html.

� February �007 9February �007

The grocery business has been a perfect fit for Mike Jackson.

Through it, he met his future wife, paid for college, saw the

world and raised a family.

It led to his pres-ent position as president and chief operating officer for Supervalu, the Twin Cities-based grocery giant that

operates 2,500 retail outlets, supplies thousands more, employs 200,000 people, and does nearly $40 billion in annual business.

Jackson — born in Sturgeon Bay and raised in Oconto — is a prime example of a homegrown talent who used college as a stepping stone from a work-a-day job to a Fortune 500 career.

“Find a connection between education and a career field as early as you can in life,” is his advice for today’s students. He’s also a big fan of internships.

Jackson entered the grocery business as a teen-ager, at the old A&P market in Oconto.

He happened to work beside a girl named Debi Hayes — “I was bagging groceries, and she worked the checkout.” They will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in October.

When the Jacksons arrived in Green Bay, Mike knocked on doors to get hired at what was then a 24-hour Red Owl grocery on Adams Street, downtown. He handled produce and a little cash-register duty while attend-ing UW-Green Bay.

UW-GREEN BAY DAYS: Many classes with Karl Zehms... “intense, a

great teacher... ‘taskmaster’ isn’t the right word, but he expected your best”... and memories of being

on edge preparing for his exams. Vivi Dilweg (local lawyer and later judge) taught business law “with real-world applications. She was great.”

INVOLVEMENT: Vice chair, National Grocers Associa-tion; IGA USA Board of Directors; advisory board for the Carlson School of Management’s Institute for Research in Marketing; trustee for “Food for All,” a domestic/international anti-hunger organization.

FAMILY: Wife Debi, children Michael Jr., Marci, Mason and Timothy, and three grandchildren.

BACHELOR’S DEGREE: 1976, Managerial Systems, emphasis in accounting

With schooling, hard work, he bags top job in groceries

UW-GREEN BAY MEMORIES: “Chuck Ihrke. I still remember a January course in microbiology. It was a short, focused course that involved a lot of teamwork. I got to know the professor and my classmates. . . I also remember a January interim trip to

Scandinavia. ”

INVOLVEMENT: Under his leadership, Jewel-Osco has won recognition for its generosity to the Greater Chicago Food

Depository and the United Way, and as a founding member of the Chicago Minority Business Development Council.

BACHELOR’S DEGREE: 197�, Population Dynamics.

“You ever hear stories about someone starting out sweeping the floors and then moving up the ranks and becoming presi-dent of the company?” Larry

Wahlstrom asks. “Well, that’s literally what I did.”

Wahlstrom was a sophomore at UW-Green Bay in the early 1970s when a part-time position opened at the Osco Drugstore in downtown Green Bay.

He took it, and stuck with it, working extra hours to earn a little cash for college. The week he graduated in 1974 Osco sent him off to management training in Clinton, Iowa.

“Fifteen moves later,” he says, recalling stints along the East Coast, in Boise, Scottsdale, Orlando, and several Midwest cities, “here I am.”

Today, he is president of Jewel-Osco. Based in Melrose Park, Ill., the company has 200 stores — full-service combination food and drug outlets — in Wiscon-sin, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Jewel-Osco is dominant in the Chicago market and its 35,000 employees statewide make it Illinois’s largest private employer.

From associate’s status in Green Bay, Wahlstrom rose through a

series of jobs and execu-tive positions.

He was vice president of Osco’s New England division and, following the company’s acquisition by

Albertsons Inc., president of its Florida food division.

“I would work the midnight to 8 o’clock shift, then hustle out to school for a 9 a.m. computing class, spend the day there, go home for a little sleep, and then do it all over again,” he recalls.

With work, a young family and challenging studies, his campus time was limited, but he took full advantage of the Library-Learning Center, which was brand-new in 1972. “When I had time between classes, I was there studying, or on one of the couches, trying to catch a quick twenty Z’s.”

Hometown: OcontoPresident and COO, SupervaluEden Prairie, Minn.

MIKE JACKSON

He became the first in his family to graduate from college.

Jackson never expected to leave Wisconsin, but store manager and corporate executive posi-tions beckoned. He and Debi left Green Bay for Fort Wayne, Ind... Dayton... back to Kenosha... out to Puyallup, Wash... and eventu-ally to the Twin Cities. His job today requires frequent travel.

During his 27 years with Super-valu, Jackson has held positions throughout the company in

From college job to president’s desk

Mega-merger, small world: I’m from UW-Green Bay, too!At $11.3 billion, it was one of retail’s biggest corporate

merger/acquisitions of 2006.Tension was to be expected when a small group of Super-

valu executives arrived for a first meeting with their Al-bertsons counterparts as a prelude to finalizing the deal.

For Jewel-Osco President Larry Wahlstrom, an Albert-sons man, much of the apprehension soon dissipated. Across the table was Mike Jackson of Supervalu.

“Mike had read my bio, and he mentioned that he was a UWGB grad, too. We realized we had common ground,” Wahlstrom says, smiling at the recollection. “About then, I started to think, ‘these Supervalu folks are good people.’”

In fact, the two men’s personal stories (on these pages) are strikingly similar. Tiny Northeastern Wisconsin home-towns. First-generation college. Rising from absolute entry-level positions — at Green Bay stores only blocks apart — and achieving national prominence.

Jackson points to work ethic and the Midwestern man-ners that people in the Twin Cities call “Minnesota nice.” In the hyper-competitive retail grocery industry, with wafer-thin profit margins, those traits are good business.

Small-town roots “keep you humble,” Jackson says. “You can empathize with people. You know how important rela-tionships and customer service are.”

Hometown: Aurora President, Jewel-OscoMelrose Park, Ill.

LARRYWAHLSTROM

both supply chain services and retail operations. He has primary responsibility for overseeing about 1,200 Save-A-Lot stores nationwide, and the retail network also includes brands such as Albertsons, Cub Foods, Jewel-Osco and others.

Serving as supplier for 5,000 independently owned grocers is another big part of the business. Even off the top of his head,

His primary impression of UW-Green Bay in those years? Accommodating.

“There were several times I sim-ply could not free my schedule to take a course at the assigned time,” he recalls, “including my final semester, when it would have required coming back for a fifth year. People were so help-ful, and I was able to accomplish some of that work through inde-pendent-study arrangements.”

He worked in Boston as senior vice president, mergers and integration, responsible for Alb-ertsons’ integration of its Shaw’s and Star Market retail outlets. In 2004 he was named president of Jewel-Osco, which has since been acquired by Supervalu.

Exciting stuff for someone who grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in Florence County — one of Wisconsin’s northernmost and least-populated counties.

“Coming from a small town is an advantage, not a disadvantage,” Wahlstrom says. “You learn to be a good listener — not just hear-ing the words, but reading the body language — and there is often a positive, can-do attitude in a small town, as well.”

Integrity, and having a passion for what you do, were other strong values he embraced grow-ing up.

His parents saved enough from farming to send him and his siblings to college. Their family’s century-old homestead near Aurora, incidentally, remains in good hands with his brother and a nephew now running the operation.

That sense of continuity and family — and deep appreciation for the value of higher education — extends to Larry Wahlstrom’s own children.

He and MaryGail (Olsen) have twin daughters, Stephanie and Heather, and a son, Dean. All three earned doctorates in phar-macy at Purdue University.

“They had 30 years in and around the pharmacy business,” he says. “It was a natural.”

Jackson can tell you which stores are Supervalu partners.

Knowing your stuff and doing your homework are takeaways from UW-Green Bay, as is an appreciation for continuing education. He completed the Wharton School executive management program at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Good study habits, focus, the ability to handle multiple proj-ects. . . serve you well,” he says. “My education helped establish that pattern early in life.”

10 February �007 11February �007

CAMPUS NEWS

UW-Green Bay presented Donald Harden its highest community honor, and it was a move both campus and com-munity could applaud.

The man described as “a primary architect of many of UW-Green Bay’s most vis-ible success stories” received an extended ovation as he accepted the Chancellor’s Award at mid-year commence-ment ceremonies.

From 1970 through 1994, when he retired as associate chancellor, Harden helped speed the emergence of the University as a popular, high-demand regional institution. His achievements included creation of a private, non-profit partnership to build modern residence halls; the growth of private philanthropy and the Founders Association in sup-port of student scholarships and academics; leadership of

SAVE MAY 1 FOR FOUNDERS RECEPTIONThe �007 Founders Association Spring Reception for

current and prospective members will take place Tuesday, May 1, in the Weidner Center foyer. Plan to join us.

When the Bay Business Journal published its annual “50 People You Should Know” list last fall, readers could meet a difference-maker with UW-Green Bay ties on every page.

Highlighted were faculty members John Katers, Meir Russ, Don McCartney and Sarah Meredith, as well as University alumni and local residents who populate key campus advisory boards. In all, at least 20 of 50 individuals featured have campus connections.

Alumni honorees included historian Mary Jane Herber ’03, Launch Photography’s Kris Maz ’94, tech CEO Steve McLean ’91, rising finance star Justin Rebman ’06, community activist Taku Ronsman ’84 and radio executive Robert Seering ’74. Supporters and board members included Alem Asres, Chris Calawerts, Sue Cohen, Sandy Duckett, Mark Harris, Kathleen Maccoux, Kramer Rock, Glen Slaats, Chris Swan and Bill Ward.

A full-page ad (right) in a subsequent issue offered congratulations. Members of the Chancellor’s Council of Trustees sponsored the placement to call attention to the University’s recent successes and community impact.

Thriving campus saysthanks to ‘architect’ Harden

the move to NCAA Division I athletics; and guidance of the University’s first capital cam-paign.

“Any success I enjoyed,” Harden said, “was the result of working with many good peo-ple over the years. It was also a reflection of how strongly this community supports this University.”

Chancellor Bruce Shepard praised Harden’s civic involve-ment. Harden led community campaigns for the Bellin Health Foundation, Brown County United Way and youth, health, symphony and museum organizations, and served on the seven-member Executive Committee of the Green Bay Packers. A member of the Chancellor’s Council of Trustees, he is a key consul-tant to the $25 million Cam-paign for UW-Green Bay now under way.

Community connections: UW-Green Bay populates ‘50 to Know’ list in a big way

Photos by LAUNCHFILM.com

Early ’70s grad finds capitalism pays offJim Watts has free-wheeling memories of his single year in the old Bay Apartments.

“For the winter, we brought my motorcycle (a 650 Triumph) inside, put a TV on it, and that was the TV stand,” he recalls. “We had some good times.”

Memorable, too, was an aca-demic adventure — London in January. Studying international finance and investment capital, he thought, “This looks like a cool way to make a living.”

Today, Watts is CEO of Pacific Summit Capital, the West Coast investment banking “boutique” he founded in 1995. He and

his colleagues are deal-makers, advisers who negotiate transac-tions ranging from a few million dollars well into nine figures. Think mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, ven-ture capital, valuations.

It’s quite a journey from his easy-rider days, when he hopped on the Triumph after graduation and shoveled

concrete in Colorado and camped in Cali-fornia.

He landed in Wash-ington, D.C., earned a master’s and a law degree, worked as a Capitol aide and

Hometown: Minot, N.D. CEO, Pacific Summit CapitalIrvine, Calif.

JIM WATTS

Sometimes a successful cor-porate career can be a means to a new way of life or a fresh perspective. Such is the case for Mary (Brickner) Ostrom, former vice president and market man-ager for Nationwide Financial.

Until her retirement in 2005, Ostrom spent 16 years helping Nationwide develop into one of the world’s largest insurance and financial services organiza-tions. Among her highlights was studying world markets and then establishing a Latin-American presence for Nationwide in Brazil.

Hometown: Reedsville Nationwide FinancialColumbus, Ohio

MARY OSTROM

With time and patients, busy exec pursues new goals

“It was challenging — a single woman, completely alone, going into a male-dominated culture, without fluency in the dominant language (Portuguese), establish a business, buy a company, make the hires,” she recalls.

What was expected to take Ostrom and her team up to five years took only 18 months. Now, just a little more than a year after retiring from the Fortune 500 company, she invests that same passion and persistence in her new adventures: travel and volunteerism.

In 2006, she visited France, Italy, Scotland, Australia and Canada, as well as Wisconsin, Florida, Colorado and New York. She’s a committed volunteer, as well, spending a

good deal of time at the James Cancer Hospital in her hometown of Columbus. There she visits with patients, guides families through the sprawling complex, and supports patients in their logistical transition from surgery to future treatment. Her volunteer work is, in part, a tribute to the memory of her husband, Dr. Thomas Ostrom, a social psychologist who died of cancer in 1994.

“Having been through it makes it easier,” she says. “I recall when Tom was dying, we didn’t focus on what we were losing but what we still had. That’s what I try to do when I visit with patients.”

She loves the medical center work, but the former psychology professor (before she was lured to Nationwide) says she’s also seeking new responsibilities.

“I’ve had a year, now,” she says. “I’m thinking of taking something else on, using what I know from the past and taking on something I can have a larger sense of responsibility for.”

For more on Ostrom, her reflec-tions on campus, advice to current students, and more about her work at Nationwide, go to www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/page/inside.htm.

MEMORIES: Loved the tunnels, “people pockets.” “We spent a lot of time at Zeppelin’s (sub shop) on University Avenue.”

FAVORITE FACULTY: Eric Knowles and Charles Mat-ter. “I can’t imagine where I would be now without them at the start.”

DEGREES: Urban and Regional Analysis, 1980; Ph.D., Psychology, Ohio State University

MEMORIES: “Jim Murray. He’s beyond wonderful, just an excel-

lent teacher.”

FAMILY: Wife Michelle, kids William, 10, and Jeline, �

DEGREE: ’7�, Economics

headed west. “I had noted for years that half the country’s venture capital is in California,” he recalls. “The companies we finance create jobs hand over fist. It’s exciting to be part of that.”

For an expanded version of this story, see “Inside” online.

1� February �007 1�February �007

CAMPUS NEWS CAMPUS NEWS

Green Bay staged its first, full com-munity “Nutcracker” at the historic, downtown Meyer Theatre in December. Dance enthusiast and UW-Green Bay instruc-tor Cyndie Shepard was among the volunteer organizers; she even persuaded her husband, ballet neophyte Chan-cellor Bruce Shepard, to join her in dancing the roles of Clara’s parents (in costume, right). UW-Green Bay Prof. Jeff Entwistle (inset) handled lighting and set design; alumna Jodi Radtke, class of ’93, was production

stage manager; and a half dozen current dance and theatre stu-

dents performed or assisted backstage. At least seven

local studios and 80 dancers — from children to visiting pros — collaborated. With opening night a sell-out, solid sponsorships and a

favorable audience response, planners

envision another com-munity-based production

of the Tchaikovsky classic in December 2007.

That was the Green Bay Press-Gazette head-line when a local group pledged to resume a series of touring performances at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.

Weidner Center Presents, Inc., said it will be aggressive in pursuing sponsors to underwrite a 2007-08 season of touring shows and Broadway theatre.

Board president Fred Schmidt announced that Kathryn (Delie) Green ’99 will lead the effort as executive director. Group sales manager for the Weidner when it was campus-run, Green (shown here) was most recently director of marketing and part-nerships for Packer Country Visitor and Convention Bureau.

Joshua Okoampa scored 14 goals and six assists to lead the Phoe-nix soccer team (14-6-0) to its best record in a decade. The senior from Brooklyn

Park, Minn., was selected third-team All-America by the national coaches association. He is the eighth player in program history and the first since Tim Dunne in 1992 to earn All-America honors. On the women’s side, senior Stephanie Gross of Fond du Lac was named first-team Academic All-Amer-ica by CoSIDA/ESPN. A double major in human development and psychol-ogy with a 3.83 grade point average, she finished her Phoenix career as the only player to tally 30 career goals and 20 assists. Gross is UW-Green Bay’s first, first-team Aca-demic All-American since 1998-99 and Chari Nordgaard.

Founders keepersAn audience of better than 150 enjoyed the fall Founders Association dinner and discussion of current issues in higher education. Among those returning to campus to keep up on the latest news were retired faculty members Sidney Bremer and Jerry Rodesch. Bremer, a professor of literature and urban studies from 1971 through 1994, helped create the women’s studies program. Rodesch retired in 2003 after 32 years as a

professor of history and humanistic studies.

Student ‘Steps’ makes a difference

The fourth annual Steps to Make a Difference Walk hosted by UW-Green Bay

students enjoyed a record-setting year. The charity walk on the arboretum trails raised

about $11,000 for six local non-profits. The event is organized by students in the Public and Nonprofit Management class and the

Student Civics Club. Profs. Denise Scheberle and Terri Johnson are faculty advisers.

Click here for educated rummageA very well-used copy machine for under $40? A file cabinet for $10? A chair for $2? Surplus property sales provide the occasional bargain for lucky buyers and much-needed revenue for the state and UW-Green Bay. Announcements of the University’s occasional, on-campus sales — including dates, times, locations and items for sale — are posted online. Click “Stores and Sur-plus” at www.uwgb.edu/purchasing/.

Demonstrating a strong commit-ment to regional collaboration, UW-Green Bay has expanded its transfer agreements with Northeast Wisconsin, Fox Valley, Lakeshore and Moraine Park technical colleges.

Under the agreements, a 32-credit core of courses at the technical colleges will meet specific general education requirements at the UW cam-puses in Green Bay and Oshkosh.

“Our area is in economic transition as employers seek more employees with bachelor’s degrees,” said UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard. “A more seamless system of higher education builds brighter futures for all.”

‘Door opens for return of Weidner Center shows’

“This is a wonderful homecoming,” Green said. “Making a difference in this commu-nity is very important to me.”

In 2005 UW-Green Bay cut staff and pro-gramming as annual losses approached $2

million and exhausted the facility’s reserve fund. Since then, a community task force chaired by Paul Jadin and Dan Ariens has advised the University that the Weidner Center Presents model — with the inde-pendent non-profit assuming risk for tour-ing artists — is a workable alternative.

Additional bookings will enhance the cur-rent programming base of UW-Green Bay theatre and music productions, the Green Bay Symphony, LifeLine lectures and a scattering of rentals by independent pro-moters. The first show announced was a March 27 concert by “American Idol” star Taylor Hicks.

All-Americans! Soccer Stars claim national honors

Transfer from a technical college? You’re welcome

Gross

Okoampa

A new wrinkle for international flagsHung Viet Nguyen, a summa cum laude accounting gradu-ate and native of Vietnam, posed with, and for, family and

friends following mid-year commencement. A well-received addition to this year’s ceremony was a lobby display of

more than 50 international and tribal flags representing graduates past and present. The flags illustrate the global

reach of UW-Green Bay and its alumni, and the University’s emphasis on international studies.

Extreme close-ups. Costumes. Improvisation and impressions. Sight gags. Bad puns, good puns.Expect the unexpected when you click the campus Stuff2Do podcasts. Their creator, Student Affairs webmaster Todd Sanders, has built a loyal following by turn-ing a once-static events calendar into video entertainment. A web-site that drew 250 visits on a good week has now topped 1,000.Here’s an example. Formerly, “Movie of the Week: Pirates of the Caribbean, Christie Theatre” would have been read, if at all, as a one-line listing on a simple cal-endar page. This year, the booking occasioned an arrrrrrrrrr-rated, pirate-themed mini-movie star-

ring co-workers and students per-suaded to don hat, eye patch and shiver-me-timbers voices to deliver the week’s upcoming events.The podcasts are produced with a Sony DV cam, Apple G5 hard-ware, iMovie software, a few hours of Sanders’ time, and a complete lack of self-consciousness by their wildly creative host.A goal is to hand all production off to the student video-production club. In the meantime, Student Affairs is communicating better with students, creating buzz for selected events and giving UW-Green Bay a popular podcast presence in a YouTube world.To take a look, visit www.uwgb.edu and search on “Stuff2Do.”

Campus connects in crackerjack ‘Nutcracker’

1� February �007 1�February �007

CAMPUS NEWS ALUMNI NOTES

Look for UW System funding to remain a hot issue.

Community leaders are con-tinuing to push a regional growth agenda that would expand enrollment at UW-Green Bay by roughly one-third, to 7,500 students. In addition, President Kevin Reilly is urging statewide re-investment.

A realigned state Legislature — with Republicans controlling the Assembly, and Democrats newly in charge of the Senate — is taking up Gov. Jim Doyle’s spending plan for 2007-09.

The citizen-led Board of Regents and numerous newspa-pers have urged lawmakers to restore approximately $100 mil-lion cut from previous budgets.

HOT COURSESAlmost before the first winter snowfall arrived, campus academic units were already planning a summer lineup of more than 100 course offer-ings. Summer enrollments boost the campus rev-enue stream and expand choices for continuing students. Eye-catching posters (Phoenix flip flops) direct potential students to the Web. With 26 Internet offerings, program planners hope to accommo-date students with busy work schedules. Summer helps students accelerate progress toward a degree or, in some cases, catch up on required credits or take an important prerequisite course. Know a high school senior who wants to get a jump on college? Someone at another UW school who will be back for the summer? Encourage them to check out the attractive array of choices at www.uwgb.edu/summercourses.

“Surveying Desire XV: Overtures,” an art installation by Prof. Carol Emmons, was selected to help inaugurate the gallery at Madison’s new Overture Center for the Arts. The exhibit included headphones that allowed visitors to “wiretap” two dozen vintage telephones to overhear spoken personal conversa-tions on themes of love, longing and loneliness.

Lynn Walter, a scholar of women, human rights and ethnicity, was recently appointed the Ben J. and Joyce Rosenberg Professor. Robert W. Howe was

reappointed the Barbara Hauxhurst Cofrin Professor for his work in ornithology and environmental issues. Named professorships are prestigious, five-year appoint-ments that support advanced research and student learning. Walter joined the faculty in 1976, Howe in 1984.

FACULTY AND STAFFRecognized with 2006 length-of-service plaques were geography Prof. William Laatsch, 40 years, and two staff members with 35 years each on campus: Marilyn McCarey, Athletics, and Ann Rodrian, Office of Admissions. Celebrating 30 years were Lynn Doudna, Prof. Steven Dutch, Frank Madzarevic, Kathy Pletcher, Gary Vetter, and Prof. Lynn Walter.

The UW System Board of Regents honored eight UW-Green Bay professors for the quality of their research, awarding them sabbati-cals to pursue advanced topics and enhance their teaching. Earning full-year sabbaticals for 2007-08 are:• Derryl Block, Nursing, research

on public health nursing;• David Dolan, Natural and Applied

Sciences, textbook on statistics;• Harvey Kaye, Social Change

and Development, book on FDR, “greatest generation”;

• Hye-Kyung Kim, Humanistic Studies, integrating Western, Eastern philosophies;

• Lynn Walter, Social Change and Development, sustainability and global food security.

Faculty members granted sabbatical leaves for one semester are: • Forest Baulieu, Information and

Computing Science, object-ori-ented programming language;

• Ganga Nair, Natural and Applied Sciences, atlas of dangerous tree diseases;

• Lisa Poupart, Humanistic Studies, research on oral teachings and tribal elders.

Melissa Jackson, legal counsel and ombudsperson, was the UW-Green Bay recipi-ent of a Women of Color Award presented by the UW System.

Prof. Emeritus Al Loomer marched in full regalia with the faculty contingent at yet another com-mencement this past December. A mathematician and meteorologist, he has remained active in campus and community affairs and on the tennis courts since retiring at age 70 in 1983.

Among books published fall semester were Labor’s Home Front: The American Federation of Labor during World War II (NYU Press) by Prof. Andrew Kersten; Societies, Networks, and Transitions (Houghton Mifflin) by Prof. Craig Lockard, who says the textbook takes a global perspective in covering history “from the Big Bang to the Baghdad bombings”; and The Role of Medieval Scottish Poetry in Creating Scottish Identity: Textual Nationalism (Edwin Mellen Press) by Prof. Stefan T. Hall. Kersten and Lockard are fac-ulty members in Social Change and Development, Hall in Humanistic Studies.

Prof. Aeron Haynie, English and Humanistic Studies, was chosen the first recipient of the University’s new course-development grant. Her course “The Culture of Food” will debut in fall 2007.

Prof. Emeritus W. Werner Prange, who joined UW-Green Bay in 1967 as director of instructional resources and served in a variety of faculty and administrative capaci-ties, died in December at age 79.

Recipient of a Mayor’s Beautifica-tion Award was Prof. Kevin Fermanich, whose watershed education work and Baird Creek preservation won him the honor for environmental protection.

Wisconsin Public Television commissioned a poem by Prof. Denise Sweet, state poet laureate, to commemorate the return of a whooping crane flock to Wisconsin. “All the Animals Came Dancing” is archived at http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/page/inside.htm. Here’s an excerpt:

Through the bulrushes and overgrowth

of slender reeds, your mate steps forward and with a slight but

mutual bow and brief address, you wander together, winding through

the wet meadows, springing unto a sandbar and then suddenly a flawless

lift into flight punctuating the sky with prehistoric

angles some have never seen.Howe

Walter

Jackson

Fermanich

‘Growth Agenda’ wins fans, but faces test They argue that a recent over-reliance on tuition has reduced access for students from low- and middle-income households.

At UW-Green Bay, Chancellor Bruce Shepard and civic leaders outlined this region’s Growth Agenda to the Regents when they met on campus last April. Three things — diversity, the economic transition taking place in Northeastern Wisconsin, and strong demand for a UW-Green Bay education — are driving the call for campus growth.

“The Regents clearly under-stand our region’s need for a larger university,” said Shepard, “and I am confident that lawmak-ers will understand the impor-tance of the Growth Agenda.”

‘Super’ dad loves kids’college choiceManitowoc Schools Super-intendent Mark Swanson never misses a chance to tout the four-year university a short drive up I-43 from his family’s hometown. When it came time for college choices, his three children kept UW-Green Bay all in the family.

Melissa is a graduate of the elementary education pro-gram. Josh, a senior (at left in photo), is an accounting major. Matthew is a fresh-man communication major.

“As an educator and a parent, I could not be more pleased with the opportuni-ties my children have been afforded at UW-Green Bay,” Mark Swanson says. His educated review of three key criteria — diverse curricular offerings, a safe and defined campus, and quality student housing — gives UW-Green Bay high marks.

“The university has been outstanding for our family,” the superintendent/dad says. “When Melissa began her new job (Wausau School District), she quickly real-ized how well her professors prepared her... how rigorous expectations... gave her the knowledge and skills to be an effective teacher.”

1970sJennifer Menten ’71 is a self-

employed freelance copywriter living in the United Kingdom. After an early career in New York with Doubleday & Company, Doubleday Adver-

tising and the Rapp & Collins marketing agency, she moved to the U.K. in 1979 and became an award-winning (more than 25 awards) advertising professional who also works occasionally in Sweden and the Netherlands. Her degree is in communication and the arts.

Candy (Neville) Walton ’72, direc-tor of planned giving and major gifts for the American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin, was honored by the Milwaukee Founda-tion for her volunteer work as a mentor for women in business. A distinguished service award allowed her to designate a $5,000 scholar-ship for a student at the college of her choice. (It was UW-Green Bay, of course, and the recipient was Kimberly Apel, a communication major from Grafton.)

Paul Ehrfurth ’73 is president of Paul W. Ehrfurth & Associates LLC, an economic development consulting business in Northeast Wisconsin. Previously he was vice president of economic development for the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce for nine years. His degree is in urban analysis.

Jean Kyle ’73 is a business educa-tion specialist with the Minnesota Department of Education - Academic Standard and High School Improve-ment. Her degree is in humanism and cultural change.

Kathleen (Andre) Lundy ’73 is a library assistant in the Kimberly School District. Her degree is in humanism and cultural change.

Dan Rathbun ’73 is currently working in Vietnam for DAI, a firm that provides economic develop-ment services to business, govern-ment, and agencies in developing and transitioning countries. His degree is in urban analysis.

Bruce Ballenger ’74 is an associ-ate professor of English at Boise State University. He holds a Ph.D. in composition and literature from the University of New Hampshire and teaches courses in composi-tion, composition theory, and creative nonfiction. He’s the author of six books, and his articles and essays have appeared in a range of

publications from College English to The Boston Globe. His degree is in population dynamics.

Wayne Micksch ’74 was recently named to Green Bay’s St. Vincent Hospital Advisory Council. His degree is in managerial systems.

Jeffrey Russell ’74 is co-author, with his wife Linda, of six manage-ment books. His most recent book is Change Basics (ASTD Press, 2006), said to provide a powerful model for leading change in organizations. He is the owner of Russell Consult-ing in Madison. His degree is in humanism and cultural change.

William Fonferek ’76 works as a team leader for the Savannah (Ga.) District with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. He reports moving from Jacksonville to the Atlanta area for his recent promotion. He has a 28-year career with the Corps. His degree is in science and environ-mental change.

Linda Kennedy ’76 is the regional market manager within Baylake Bank’s Central Region. She is responsible for business develop-ment, goal setting and implementa-tion of performance initiatives for the bank in Waupaca, Waushara, Green Lake and Outagamie coun-ties. Her degree is in managerial systems.

Greg Larsen ’76 is the president of On Broadway, Inc. (OBI), a Main Street Program developed to revital-ize the Broadway district on Green Bay’s west side. His degree is in managerial systems.

Randall Much ’76 was named pres-ident and CEO of Midwest Contract Operations, part of the McMahon Group, based in Neenah. He has a master’s degree in environmental arts and sciences.

Richard Strelow ’76 is a risk man-ager with US Bancorp in St. Paul. His degree is in managerial systems.

Mary (Skeek) Frazee ’77 is the communications director for Planned Parenthood, Northern New England (Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire). She has received three awards in the past two years recognizing her work: the Dirigo

Award for Pro-gressive Leader-ship, the Women in Public Life Award from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, and the

Maine Women’s Fund Leadership Award. The mother of two teens, she has also worked in Tanzania and Haiti on behalf of adolescent and women’s health. Her degree is in growth and development.

Tom Anderson ’78 is based in Green Bay as the senior vice presi-dent of operations and finance at GENCO, a supply-chain solutions company that provides transporta-tion, logistics, warehousing, distri-bution and consulting services. He majored in managerial systems.

Garen Dodge ’79 recently published “Trainees and Students Under the Fair Labor Standards Act: Must They Be Pro-vided Overtime?” in the Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Vol. 14, No. 8 (2006). Dodge is a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding and chairs an employment and labor practice group. His degree is in social change and development.

Frazee

Dodge

Menten

Russell

16 February �007 17February �007

ALUMNI NOTES ALUMNI NOTES

Johanna (Hansen) Gray ’79 works part time for the Creede (Colo.) Consolidated Schools as a general music/elementary band director. She is self-employed as a guild-certified Feldenkrais (movement and self-awareness) practitioner and private studio teacher. She was named to Who’s Who Among Ameri-ca’s Women 2006-07. Her degree is in communication and the arts.

Rolanda (Hunt) Klapatch ’79 is the CEO of Partners for Perfor-mance PPI — a nationally active consulting firm specializing in human relations and organizational and executive communications. Her company hosts corporate retreats at its Rangeley headquarters in Maine’s western mountains.

1980sTony Litwinchuk ’85 resides in Maple Grove, Minn. He is northern division vice president of Airgas North Central — the nation’s larg-est distributor of industrial gases. The former Phoenix basketball player visited campus last summer with his daughter Tara, 17, who was shopping universities with strong biology programs. (Litwinchuk says

campus growth is impressive, “but where was the store on campus in the ‘80s, when I was here?”) Also the father of two sons, A.J., 14, and Kyle, 8, he has coached

all three children in basketball, calling himself a “throwback who believes in fundamentals and taking responsibility for one’s actions.” He sometimes finds himself quoting his former Phoenix head coach, Dick Lien: “To be on time is to be late, to be early is to be on time.”

Renee Hintz ’82 is a clinical liaison with Value Options in Mesa, Ariz. Her degree is in human development.

Connie (Rose) Polasik ’83 is a plan manager for Arise Health — a subsidiary of Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance and formerly Prevea. She has a degree in nursing.

Pam Roecker ’83, the direc-tor of athletics and recreation at Emmanual College, Boston, and a basketball color analyst on the side, has been assigned to two Big East games to be aired on ESPN Fullcourt including Pittsburgh at University of Connecticut game in Hartford Feb. 17. In all, she’ll call at least 11 games this season. For the past four seasons she announced for the Atlantic 10, Northeast Confer-ence and the Horizon League. She is also an active public speaker at girls

basketball camps throughout the Northeast. She studied communica-tions and business administration and has a master’s degree in busi-ness administration and manage-ment from Wagner College.

Sherry (Bardouche) Berg ’85 is a CPA/Partner with Anderson, Tack-man & Co., PLC in Green Bay. She is also a gold-certified partner for Microsoft Dynamics GP products (accounting, CRM, retail). Her degree is in managerial accounting.

Jane (Bodilly) Birr ’85 and ’90, a certified wellness coach, recently published “Get it Over with - A 12-week Jumpstart to Great Health in Body, Mind and Spirit.” Her busi-ness, Powered Up LLC, provides instruction and e-consultation on healthier living to individuals and groups. She majored in human adaptability and has a master’s in administrative science.

Linda Szymanski ’85 is a physician at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. Szymanski’s research involves the evaluation and effects of exercise on menopausal women with cardio-vascular disease. She also has an interest in gynecological problems among athletes, and works closely with the Palmetto Health/Univer-sity of South Carolina Geriatrics Fellowship Program and the USC Department of Orthopedic Surgery. She completed her residency at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, and was board certi-fied in 2006. Szymanski holds a doctorate in exercise science and served previously as director of Preventive/Rehabilitative Exercise and assistant professor of exercise physiology at Northern Illinois Uni-versity. She earned a doctorate in exercise science from the University of South Carolina and a doctor of medicine at Georgetown. Her UW-Green Bay bachelor’s degree is in human biology.

Anita DuJardin Hockers ’86 heard from several former classmates about her book Breastless But Still Breathing. She shipped a copy to one who said it helped her better understand her own mother’s ongoing battle with breast cancer. “That made me smile,” Hockers says. Her health fine, she’s mostly concentrating on enjoying her family, especially two children, ages 16 and 12. She majored in business administration at UW-Green Bay.

Julie (Londo) Davenport ’86 works for Central Texas College as a senior instructional system developer. Her degree is in information and computing science.

Duane White ’86 reports that he still lives in Pound (Wis.) and raises Spanish mustangs. He works at Pulse Communication, Green Bay “with a bunch of other UWGB Alums... a far cry from working at the front desk at the Sports Center!” His degree is in communication processes.

Tim Nixon ’87, a shareholder and attorney with Godfrey & Kahn in Green Bay, has been selected for inclusion in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He has a double major in political science and public and environmental admin-istration.

Allan Lutterman ’88 works as a project foreman for Jos. Schmitt & Sons Construction Company of Sheboygan. His degree is in com-munication processes.

Todd Kreuser ’89 is a financial planner with Macco Financial Group in Northeast Wisconsin. His degree is in physics.

Jo (Bates-Torgessen) Norman ’89 will be relocating back to Wisconsin from southern Indiana. She has accepted a position as a project manager in the Appleton office of Greenbrier & Russel, a technology-consulting firm recently purchased by Fujitsu. Her degree is in business administration and psychology.

Lisa Pelletier ’89 owns a fine-jewelry store, Bejeweled Images Fine Jewelry, on George Street in De Pere, special-izing in custom jewelry, gemstones and repairs. Her other career is with Belmark, Inc. as a territory account coordinator. Her degree is in art.

November. Kaufman’s father started the contest to encourage the sort of off-beat comedy popularized by his late son. Damiani performed as her character “Shelby Gratt.” Her degree is in theatre.

Beth (Micksch) Lax ’90 was promoted to senior vice president, private banking group manager for Associated Bank, Green Bay. She leads a team of private bankers who provide commercial banking, wealth management and retail banking financial services to high-net-worth customers. Her degree is in busi-ness administration and she has completed post-graduate work at Canon Trust School.

Joe Krueger ’91 produces and directs sporting events with the Utah Jazz and KJZZ-TV. He also covers the University of Utah, Utah State, and the Utah Blaze and will be directing broadcasts of the Utah State High School Football Championships. His degree is in communication processes.

Brenda (Ruhland) Schultz ’91 is a financial accounting manager with Ariens Company in Brillion. Her degree is in managerial accounting.

Ken Pabich ’91 is director of planning and zoning for Calumet County. He majored in math and environmental planning.

April (Vanden Plas) Prokash ’92 is in her seventh year as adviser/coordinator for the award-winning “Phoenix Pride” dance team. Her degree is in Spanish.

Jim Van Dornick ’92 is CEO of Community Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls. A Falls native and Vietnam veteran, he began his career with the hospital in 1972 as a purchasing assistant. He is an active advocate for UW-Green Bay’s Adult Degree Program (formerly Extended Degree), which encour-ages working adults to pursue their bachelor’s degrees.

William Berry ’94, a double major in theatre and communication and the arts, is the associate artistic director with 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.

Brian Farley ’94 is a teacher in the Pinellas County School Sys-tem, Clearwater, Fla. He earned a master’s from the University of Min-nesota and is currently pursuing National Board Certification. His degree is in French.

Brian Henrickson ’94 is a foreman with Super Excavators in Menomonee Falls. His degree is in biology.

Ken Kiefer ’94 is a contracting specialist with the Department of the Navy at Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago. His degree is in human biology.

The Battle Creek (Mich.) Knights of the International Basketball League open their 2007 season in April under new head coach Logan VanderVelden ’94 who, fittingly, studied geography. The former Phoenix standout played two years for the Knights and also overseas in Switzerland, Portugal, Japan and Venezuela, following a brief NBA stint with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brian Baker ’96 and Amy (Boll) Baker ’99 live in Milwaukee. She works for the Oak Creek-Franklin School District as the middle school choir and general music teacher, and he works as a software development consultant with Greenbrier & Russel, Inc. They both majored in music.

Susan Jenkel ’96 and ’01 is a science teacher in the Manatee School District, Brandenton, Fla. In addition, she has earned more than 30 credits toward her specialist certification in a doctoral program at Argosy University, Sarasota. She credits the “wonderful faculty” at UW-Green Bay for her inspiration and singles out Joan Thron as a mentor who “opened my eyes to the beauty within all of us.” She majored in education and earned a master’s in applied leadership for teaching and learning.

Sandra (Baker) Renick ’96 is the tour and guest services supervisor for Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee. Her degree is in com-munication and the arts.

Molly Schreiber ’96 lives in Wash-ington state where she is general manager of a Women on the Move/Curves fitness center. Her degree is in communication and the arts.

Neil Derkowski ’97 works in Waukesha for Giles Engineering Associates as an engineering technician. His degree is in envi-ronmental science.

Litwinchuk

Birr

Cuene

Bennett

Van Dornick

Classmates’ wedding ties alumni attendants recordMichael and Kristy (Polland) Bishop, both 2003 UW-Green Bay graduates, wanted a big wedding. In doing so, they happened to tie an unofficial record (Bogenshutz-Peterson, 2004) for being surrounded by friends and former classmates from UW-Green Bay. Seven grads served as wedding attendants including: Rod Kring ’03 (third from left), Jason Schmudlach ’04 (seventh from left) Kyle McClone (second from right), Josh Shaw ’03 (fourth), Jon Lindh ’04 (sixth), Fran Walczak ’03 (seventh) and Derek Kovalaski ’03 (eighth from right). For more on Michael and Kristy Bishop and their Twin Cities careers, see the alumni note on page 20.

Assistant Athletics Director Jeanne Stangel ’87 and co chair Dr. Erich Quidzinski ’88 announced a record-setting 2006 campaign for the Phoenix Fund, raising $400,000 for UW-Green Bay athletic scholarships.

Mary Quinnette Cuene ’88 a business technol-ogy instructor at NWTC, has assumed signifi-cant leadership positions in state higher education. Last July, she was elected president of the Wisconsin

Technical College System Board. By virtue of that position, she simultaneously holds appointment as a member of the UW System Board of Regents. She majored in public and environmental adminis-tration and political science.

1990sMore evidence of a prominent UW-Green Bay “alumni footprint” among the community’s rising leaders: Selected to join this year’s cohort in the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Green Bay program were numerous alumni including Kim Anders ’90 Associ-ated Bank; De Lisse Brunette ’99 Aurora Healthcare; Joseph Hoel-scher ’93 Prevea Health Systems; Joni Kolarik ’03 Fox Communities Credit Union; Mythili Nagarajan ’91 Enzymatic Therapy; Connie (Rose) Polasik ’83 nursing, WPS Prevea Health; Nancy Steffel ’90 The School That Comes to You; and Vanessa Vanderveren-Marin ’86 Aon Risk Services.

Mary (Gallagher) Damiani ’90 was a semi-finalist in the Andy Kaufman Performance Night Contest at the New York Comedy Festival in

Accepting Mayor’s Awards on behalf of their organizations for contribu-tions to Green Bay beautification and civic life were Tina Quigley ’90, executive director of Artstreet, recognized for the festival’s ongoing, 25-year contributions downtown; and Noel Halvorsen ’92, executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services, honored in the restorations category for a particularly notable rehab job on a central-city home.

Rebecca Burkel ’91 and ’93 works as an operations manager in cen-tral Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Her bachelor’s degree is in environmen-tal science and she has a master’s in environmental science and policy.

Toni Damkohler ’92, an assistant professor who teaches art and graphic communications at UW-Green Bay, had two pieces chosen for exhibit in the annual “Best of the Midwest” show at the Sioux City (Iowa) Art Center.

Tony Bennett ’92 is head men’s basketball coach at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. Previously, he was lead recruiter for his father, Dick, who stepped down last season. Bennett’s team,

winner of 11 of its first 12 games, is shooting for the program’s best PAC-10 finish in a decade. In January, the Cougars acheived a milestone with the program’s first Top 25 ranking in more than two decades.

Dimitri Mack ’92 a staff member with the Milwaukee County Private Industry Council, was quoted in a December Journal-Sentinel story on the great importance of higher edu-cation to members of the African-American community. He majored in communication.

After being featured in Inside, humorist Tom Breuer ’93 claims he had his publicist contact his high school alumni newsletter, through which he keeps abreast of “the shopworn appearance and numbing despair of people who used to spill my books in the hall.” He has yet to hear back from its editors. Meanwhile, Fair and Bal-anced, My A--, a Fox News-themed follow-up to his 2006 release Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O’Reilly, is due in bookstores this spring.

Dawn Hockwalt ’93 works in the Madison area for Convance Labo-ratories as a research assistant. Her degree is in biology and environ-mental science.

Jay Ryskoski ’93 and Lisa Peccioli Ryskoski ’93 have three children, Madison, 6, Morgan, 5, and Ariana, 1. Jay works at Beckman Coulter Inc. in Chaska, Minn. His major was human biology; hers, human development.

1� February �007 19February �007

ALUMNI NOTES ALUMNI NOTES

A newly created endowment — the Green Bay Photojour-nalism Scholarship — will annually award a tuition stipend of at least $750 to a continuing student of print or electronic photojournalism.

Former UW-Green Bay stu-dents Carolyn and Christopher Sampson say the scholarship honors the memories and career paths of their respective fathers.

Ted Campshure was a photog-rapher and photoengraver for the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Al Sampson was a photog-rapher, reporter and sports anchor with WBAY-TV 2 and WLUK-TV 11. Sampson died in 2002, Campshure last year.

Coincidentally, both men covered the hometown Green Bay Packers. During the 1940s, Campshure (right) captured shots of Curly Lambeau and NFL game action at old City Stadium. In the 1960s, Sampson (far right) worked the press box as co-host of “The Vince Lombardi Show” and play-by-play voice of Packers pre-season football.

New scholarship honors Green Bay media tradition“They were local guys who traveled far, and sent us to college, through photography,” Christopher Sampson says. “For a mid-size market, Green Bay offers major-league media opportunities. We hope that continues for tomorrow’s students.”

A UW-Green Bay faculty expert on mate selection and romantic relationships will share a Valentine’s Week message on love at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15.

Prof. Denise Bartell (above) will address the importance of love in our culture when she delivers a free commu-nity lecture at the Baylake Bank Learning Center, down-town Green Bay. Her content may surprise.

“What you’ve seen in recent history is this idea that long-time, committed relation-ships must have a high level of romantic, passionate, sexualized love in order for them to be considered ‘good relationships,’” Bartell says. “And if that type of love is not present, then this is seen as a legitimate reason to end the relationships, including marriages.”

Historically, people married for a variety of reasons, she says, with romance seldom considered an absolute pre-requisite.

Today, pop culture fuels what she views as “high and sometimes unrealistic expec-tations... that can make it difficult to sustain long-term, satisfying relationships.”

Bartell teaches courses in human development and family development. Her lec-ture — sprinkled with video and music clips suggesting the pop culture’s impact — is part of the ongoing series of “Downtown Third Thursdays” presentations in which UW-Green Bay faculty members share their insight.

The lecture is free, but seat-ing is limited. For more infor-mation or to RSVP, go to www.uwgb.edu/downtown/.

Romantic love in America? Let’s talk

Paul Gloudemans ’97 is marketing manager with Life Time Fitness in the Twin Cities. His degree is in communication and the arts.

Romi Herron ’97 is the publications editor with Northwestern Universi-ty’s Kellogg School of Management. Her degree is in English.

Marla Martinez ’97 works in Virginia for the Floyd County Department of Social Services as a social worker in the Child Protective Services Division. Her degree is in human development.

Quasan Shaw ’97 was keynote speaker at UW-Green Bay’s Kwanzaa celebration, Dec. 2. Shaw is active in youth mentoring and economic development efforts. His degree is in urban and regional studies.

Branden ’98 and Katie (McDevitt) ’03 Borremans relocated from Green Bay to Colorado Springs last June. He is the morning meteorolo-gist at the CBS affiliate, KKTV, and Katie is a marketing assistant for Air Academy Federal Credit Union. His degree is in English and hers is in communication processes.

Jason Haack ’98 was recently pro-moted to head golf professional at the Las Vegas Country Club. His degree is in art.

Sarah Patrick ’98 works in Loveland (Colo.) for the McKee Medical Cen-ter as a medical social worker. Her degree is in social work.

Pete Schmeling ’98 is the develop-ment director with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison. His degree is in music.

Graphic artist Addie (Johnson) Sorbo ’98 oper-ates Strawberry Fields Design Inc., Green Bay. Her degree is in com-munication and the arts.

Becky Buffo ’99 and Christine (Lindner) Mueller ’03 have joined the staff of the Bay Area Humane Society, Green Bay. Buffo is the new director of operations and Mueller is director of development.

Poet and author Kim (Strupp) Chinquee ’99 is an English profes-sor at Central Michigan University. Her short story “Formation” was selected for inclusion in the 2007 Pushcart Prize anthology. The pub-lication recognizes exciting new writ-ing in poetry, short stories and essays. Chinquee’s degree is in English.

Jennifer (Adamavich) Cruz ’99 is a sales associate with Guaranty Bank, Sheboygan. Her degree is in human development.

Christine Devener ’99 is a certified veterinary technician/referral coor-dinator with Packerland Veterinary Center, Green Bay. Her degree is in biology.

Erik Losby ’99 works for Spectrum Brands, formerly Rayovac, as a brand manager. His degree is in communi-cation and the arts.

Gloria Schneider Popke ’99 opened Strings n’ Things Music Studio, New London, last February with her daughter, Christine Mackey, teacher of piano and flute. The two work with students of all ages, many of whom received “firsts” at district and state solo ensembles and festi-vals. She is a general studies major.

Dan Terrien ’99, account executive at 104.3 The Breeze and 95.9 KISS FM, has earned the designation of cer-tified radio marketing consultant by the Radio Advertising Bureau. He majored in business administration.

2000sMonette Bebow-Reinhard ’00, a

freelance writer living in Northeast Wisconsin, received a master’s degree in history last year at UW-Eau Claire. Her ongoing research on the Arndt Sawmill site in Pensaukee was

influential in it receiving National Historic Site designation. She majored in history at UW-Green Bay.

Ryan Blazei ’00 is a financial analyst with Lawson Software in St. Paul. His degree is in accounting and business administration.

Erin Gabrielson ’00 is a sales manager with Sprint in Albuquerque. Her degree is in social change and development.

Carey O’Kelly ’01 works for the University of Texas at Tyler as a student develop-ment specialist. Her degree is in communication and the arts.

Angela Olson ’00 has joined US Canadian Biofuels, Inc. (Green Bay) as the director of research and compli-ance. The company is an alternative energy company specializing in ethanol and biodiesel fuel. Her degree is in English.

Aaron Richardson ’00 is a sales representative with Midwest Family Broadcasting in Madison. His degree is in business administration.

Leslie Ricker ’00 is the associate athletic director at the University of Maine in Bangor. Her degree is in communication processes.

Vince Schamber ’00 was promoted to manager with Virchow Krause & Company’s commercial business team in Green Bay. His degree is in accounting.

Barbara Schmid ’00 is a vice presi-dent and manager of Associated Bank for Shawano. Her degree is in business administration.

Sara Houwers Sixel ’00 is an art teacher and alternative learning coordinator with the Beaver Dam Unified School District. She and her husband, Jeffrey, had a baby girl, Ava, in May 2006. Sara’s degree is in art.

Jason Stachura ’00 is assistant vice president - commercial lending with Community Bank & Trust in Appleton. He majored in business administration.

Christine (Hamus) Boeder ’01 is a contact center representative with Humana Dental in De Pere. She also maintains relief positions with Lutheran Social Services and Family Services. Her degree is in social work.

Nicole (Enz) Mueller ’01 is a transportation planner with The Schneider Corporation in Indianapolis. Her degree is in urban and regional studies.

Christopher Orgeman ’01 is a licensed athlet-ics trainer with Sacred Heart Hospital/Ministry Rehabilitation Services Northern Region. He is also head trainer for the Wisconsin Woodchucks Base-

ball Club, Wausau. His degree is in human biology.

Erin Russell ’01 is an attorney in Atlanta with Dennis, Corry, Porter and Smith. She is licensed to prac-tice law in Illinois and Atlanta and was named a “Superlawyers Rising Star” for the State of Georgia in 2006. Her degree is in political sci-ence and public administration.

Kelly Ruh ’01, president of the UW-Green Bay Alumni Association, accepted a new position as CFO for both Bayside Chris-tian Fellowship, Green Bay, and Laugh Your Way America! LLC (Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage). Her degree is in accounting and business administra-tion (see feature on page 23).

Jeri Jo Vandenhoven ’01 is a chiro-practor with Chiro One in Lansing, Ill. Her degree is in human biology.

Sarah (Meier) Bauer ’02 is an English teacher in the Neenah Joint School District. Her degree is in English.

Stacey Blavat ’02 works in Chicago for Potbelly Sandwich Works as a recruiting manager. She majored in communication processes.

Natalie Heinan ’02 was recently promoted by Grant Thornton Wisconsin to senior tax associate in the Appleton area. Her degree is in accounting.

Laura (Tibaldo) Karlen ’02 is a learning facilitator with Humana, Inc. of De Pere. She majored in human development and psychology.

Jonathon Leonard ’02 is an executive assistant manager with Walgreens in Hartford. His degree is in business administration.

Michelle (Luchsinger) Monte ’02 is a self-employed professional graphologist (handwriting analysis) and is attending graduate school at UW-Oshkosh. Her degree is in English.

Bob Nienhuis ’02 married Angela Schmidt, the girl next door (at Bob Warren Hall, on the UW-Green Bay campus) and they had their first child in May 2006, Aidan Robert.Bob has been with Acuity Insurance for three years. He majored in psy-chology and human development.

Raymond Petersen ’02 is an implantation specialist with RFMS, Inc (software specialist in the floor-ing industry). His degree is in infor-mation and computing science.

Jennifer Otto ’02 works for Touchtone Medical Health (Minn.) as a mental health counselor. Her degree is in psychology and human development.

Melissa (Heinen) Schmidt ’02 is a seventh-grade language arts and science teacher in the Germantown School District. Her degree is in elementary education.

Sarah (Schram) Schnettler ’02 is an assistant marketing director with American Partners Bank in Indiana. In 2006 she received three in-house design awards from Graphic Design USA Magazine, a graphic-design trade publication. She majored in communication and the arts.

Rána (Altman) Sterzinger ’02 is the owner of Northern Dance Acad-emy in Green Bay, hoping to bring an exciting and fresh style to the classroom. She began dancing at age 7 at The Performing Arts Com-pany in Maple Grove, Minn., where she studied jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical and pointe. She has participated in many regional and national com-petitions both as an instructor and a student. Her degree is in human development with a minor in theatre.

Mike Uttech ’02 is a commercial underwriter for Citizen Bank of Northeast Wisconsin. He has a degree in business administration.

Amanda Zuelke ’02 is development director for Sunset Playhouse, a non-profit theater in Elm Grove (near Milwaukee), established in 1960. Her degree is in public administration.

Bebow-Reinhard

Sorbo

Ruh

Haack

O’Kelly

Orgeman

More than a dozen new scholarships have been created through the University’s current capital campaign. Look for more in our next issue.

�0 February �007 �1February �007

Ellie M. (Roets) Reich ’06 received the Outstanding Student Award at December commencement, presented by the Alumni Association to the top graduat-ing senior. Reich studied history and education and graduated summa cum laude. She was active in Upward Bound and various campus and community ini-tiatives emphasizing youth education.

Lindsay Rose ’06 works for Renco Machine as an accounting assistant. Her degree is in business adminis-tration.

Leslie-Ann Grom ’06 is a social worker with Unity Hospice and Palliative Care in Green Bay. Her degree is in social work.

Seth Johnston ’06 is a corporate transportation planner with Schneider National in Green Bay. His degree is in business administration.

Ashley (Geissler) Leatherberry ’06 recently married and is cur-rently a project coordinator for KI of Green Bay. Her degree is in busi-ness administration.

Cassie (Hintz) Maduscha ’06 is a Head Start teacher in the Milwaukee area with Council for the Spanish Speaking — a non-profit organiza-tion serving the Hispanic community. Her degree is in elementary education.

ALUMNI NOTES ALUMNI NOTES

Theatrical ‘I Do’ is no actAmanda McMonagle ’04 thought she and her boyfriend, Aaron VanderLogt ’04, were running an errand, making the trip from Little Chute so that Aaron could talk to a professor about an old paper.

Little did she know that Prof. Jeff Entwistle, known for his elaborate set designs, was helping VanderLogt set the stage for a marriage proposal. In advance, Entwistle supplied the furniture and the lighting, and VanderLogt a vase and long-stemmed roses for a marriage proposal near the stage of the University Theatre. That’s where the couple first met as students in Entwistle’s Introduc-tion to Theatre class in spring 2003.

A surprised and tearful McMonagle said, “Yes,” and wedding plans are in the making. Entwistle said helping with the Christmas-week surprise was a nice way to finish grading and start the holidays.

Brian Rueckl loved working with aerial photos and computer mapping when he was a public and environmental affairs student. Still, it was an absolute surprise to classmate Stacy Martin when he used a cornfield and a single-engine airplane to propose marriage.

“At first I was in shock and forgot to say, ̀ yes,’” Stacy recalls. “After I real-ized what was going on, I turned around to see Brian holding the ring.”

Brian had persuaded Stacy to take a ride with him last July 3 to photo-graph some cropland. An employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s

Farm Service Agency, he claimed he was particularly interested in overflying one area near the Manitowoc/Kewaunee county line.

A few weeks earlier, with how-to advice from his former UW-Green Bay professor, Bill Niedzwiedz, and armed with a laptop, plotting software, Global Positioning

System data, stakes, spraypaint and a tiller, Brian went to work on a five-acre corn-field owned by his boss. The intertwined hearts 125 feet across and letters 40 feet

high were clearly visible from 1,000 feet up.

Brian and Stacy have set the date

for Sept. 8

A proposal as big as all outdoors

Katherine Bessey ’03 is a campus librarian with Rasmussen (Minn.) College. Her degree is in social change and development.

Mary Basel ’03 works as a sales coordinator for KI in Chicago. She has a double major in business administration and Spanish.

Mike and Kristine (Polland) Bishop ’03 live in the Twin Cities. He works as a financial planner for Wealth Enhancement and she is an account executive for Bayard Advertising. His degree is in busi-ness administration and hers is in communication processes.

Aaron Dubinski ’03 is a customer service representative with M&I Bank in Brookfield. His degree is in communication processes.

Angela (Stangel) Duckart ’03 works in the Milwaukee area as an account coordinator for GMR Mar-keting. Her degree is in communica-tion processes.

Chris Jones ’03 has joined Bader, Rutter & Associ-ates — an inte-grated marketing services agency headquartered in Milwaukee — as an assistant account executive in the agency’s account services group. Jones was previously a media and direct marketing specialist for Brady Marketing Group. Originally from Schofield, Wis., Jones holds a degree in business administration and psychology.

Rob Rassel ’03 is an analytical chemist for Waste Management in Alabama. His degree is in biology.

Jamie (Coster) Teuteberg ’03 is a licensed athletic trainer with Ripon Medical Center. She earned her master’s degree in exercise science and health promotion from Middle Tennessee State in 2005. Her degree is in human biology.

Chris Tylka-Olesen ’03 is a case manager with Outagamie County. Her degree is in psychology.

Amber Bartels ’04 is currently a third-year graduate student at Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago. She has a double major in human biology and German.

Sara Boyer ’04 played for Club Baloncesta Majadahonda, in the women’s Spanish Professional Bas-ketball League. Her friend, Javier Mendiburu ’05, like Boyer an all-conference player for the Phoenix, is averaging 16 minutes and three points per game for MMT Estudi-antes in Spain. Boyer left the team but remains in Spain and is teach-ing English to adults and children. Other recent Phoenix players find-ing success overseas: Mandy Stowe is averaging 27 points per game for Residence in Luxembourg and had a 51-point single-game performance this season. Abby Sharlow ’05 plays for Catz in Finland. Calix Ndiaye ’05 plays for the Ulriken Eagles of Norway. Also, Kari Witkowski ’06 is using her remaining year of college eligibility while pursuing a master’s degree at Grand Valley State, playing for Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit, a former Phoenix assistant coach.

Kim Gregory ’04 is a human resources assistant for W.O.W. Dis-tributing Co., Inc. — a Miller beer distributor in Milwaukee — serving Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, and Dodge counties. Her degree is in psychology.

Megan Habermann ’04 works for Vassar College in New York as the assistant director of campus activities. Her degree is in communication processes.

Shawn Pollack ’04, a production and marketing associate for KPBS television, gives props to the Good Times Programming and Common Grounds Web sites which “he loves.” He writes: “I do what I used to do for Good Times, only for television. I plan and produce the large events/com-mercials/client projects here at KPBS that air on our stations. Had I never worked for GTP I would be lost. But thanks to some darn good training by y’all there at UWGB, I am doing just great and love my job more than I think is really healthy...” Pollack majored in communication processes.

Amanda Prust ’04 was named 2005 support employee of the year in sales and marketing for Imperial Supplies of Green Bay. She is a mar-keting coordinator. Her degree is in business administration.

Elise Reimer ’04 is a coordinator and independent distributor for Market America — a product bro-kerage and Internet marketing firm. Her degree is in English.

Derek Scheidt ’04 is an inside sales representative with KI in Green Bay. He is also the varsity boy’s basketball coach at Green Bay West High School. His degree is in business administration.

Angela (Paul) Servi ’04 is a German teacher for the Clarksville-Mont-gomery Tennessee County School District. She has a double major in German and business administration.

Andrew Williams ’04 works for UW-Stevens Point as the manager of program services and an adviser for Centertainment Productions. His degree is in history.

Jennifer Bruckschen ’05 is an independent sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics in Virginia, oversee-ing 32 people. Her degree is in business administration.

Holly Clark ’05 is a graphic artist with 4imprint in Oshkosh. Her degree is in communication and the arts.

Nick Cramer ’05 lives in Florida and is an enrollment representa-tive with University Alliance, an e-learning provider that works with nationally recognized colleges and universities such as Villanova, Saint Leo, University of South Florida and Jacksonville University. His degree is in business administration.

Benjamin Elsner ’05 works as a trainer for APAC Customer Services in Green Bay. His degree is in busi-ness administration.

Jon Felch ’05 is a production manager with J & D Tube Benders, located in Weston, Wis. His degree is in business administration.

Amanda (Gauthier) Hanson ’05 works as a birth-to-grade-three teacher for the CESA 8 School Dis-trict, Oconto County. Her degree is in elementary education.

Leslie Kuhn ’05 is in her first season as graduate assistant women’s volleyball coach at North Dakota State University. The former Phoenix volleyball player and two-time Aca-demic All-American played in Spain for a year and then was hired by first-year head coach Erich Hinter-stocker, who was an assistant coach with the Phoenix when Kuhn played.

Melissa (Borowski) Navin ’05 lives in the Cincinnati area and works for Hobsons as an associate editor. Hobsons EMT provides enrollment management technology solutions that help colleges and universities communicate with prospects, appli-cants, enrolled students, faculty, alumni and others. Her degree is in communication processes.

Deborah Nett ’05 is the member-ship and outreach director for Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust. She has a double major in envi-ronmental planning and public administration.

Kallin Anderson ’06 is an educator with SeaWorld of Orlando (Fla.). Her degree is in biology and envi-ronmental sciences.

Carolina Bacelis ’06 was chosen graduating class speaker for December commencement. The environ-mental science and biology student was an active researcher — on subjects as

diverse as local black bear popula-tions and bayshore spiders — and was president of UW-Green Bay’s Latin American student organization.

Stephanie Blavat ’06 works for the Green Bay Area Chamber of Com-merce as an account manager in the member services department. Her degree is in business administration.

Dana (Alvarez) Feld ’06 is a youth care provider with Lutheran Social Services Washington County Youth Treatment Center in West Bend. Her degree is in human development.

Stephanie Ford ’06 works in Milwau-kee for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as a tax associate. Her degree is in accounting.

Bacelis

Reich

Jones

Stephanie Mineau ’06 is an envi-ronmental health technician with the Oneida Indian Nation Environ-mental Health and Safety Division. Her degree is in human biology.

Jonathon Novak ’06 is a field rep-resentative with CQM in Green Bay. His degree is environmental policy and planning.

Nate Petrashek ’06 is attending law school at Marquette University. He was a double major in political science and public administration.

�� February �007 ��February �007

ALUMNI NOTESALUMNI NOTES

‘Grandparents University’ expects an awesome sophomore year“Grandparents U,” which earned exceptional grades last year as a first-time camp, is returning for a second summer, July 26 and 27, 2007. Whether first-timers or veterans, participants will find it a wonderful, getaway opportunity for grandparents and grandkids to take classes together. Possible offerings could include UW-Green Bay’s version of “Happy Feet” (tap dance),

as well as edible science (nutri-tion), wild animal art, forensic science, fiber arts, and birds, animals and reptiles, all taught by UW-Green Bay faculty. For more information see the Web site at www.uwgbsummercamps.com or call 1-800-892-2118.

Transcripts go onlineWith 200 transactions in the first month alone — with “hits” from as far away as China and as near as campus — UW-Green Bay’s new online transcript system is off and running. Students and alumni can order as many transcripts as they like in one session using any major credit card. The service is provided through the National Student Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization. Among the benefits are 24/7 access, secure transactions and order-status tracking. Transcript Ordering can be accessed from a link on UW-Green Bay’s Web site at http://www.uwgb.edu/registrar/.

Phoenix, Panthers and you!Join the always-sizeable alumni crowd (from both schools) when the Phoenix men host hoops rival UW-Milwaukee at 7:05 p.m. Feb. 24, at the Resch Center. Call (920) 465-2625 to reserve your $10 alumni tickets. You can warm up for the game at a compli-mentary hors d’oeuvres/cash bar reception for UW-Green Bay alumni from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Bar on Holmgren Way.

Former prez promises to be ‘southern’ ambassadorA job promotion for Andy Bottoni has meant a mid-term depar-ture. The former Alumni Association President and his wife, Kelly, and their son have relocated to Kenosha, where Bottoni commutes to the Chicago suburb of Wheeling. He is Valspar’s marketing brand manager for Quikrete coatings, cleaners and specialty brands in the United States and Canada.

“I really miss all the great people at the University, working with (Alumni Director) Mark Brunette and being active in the Association,” he says. “With any luck, as soon as we get good and settled, I’ll find a way to stay involved down here.”

Look for bigger, better Alumni Golf OutingDetails are in the making, but save the date (Friday, June 15) for the UW-Green Bay Alumni Association Golf Outing at Royal Scott Golf Course in New Franken. Cost is $75 per golfer/$300 per foursome, with course events, door prizes, silent auction, a great meal and more. It’s a scholarship fundraiser. Details are at the

alumni website.

IPod win is music to his earsJoseph Smith ‘06, Green Bay, added 31 new friends to his “circle” — the Phoenix Circle e-community for networking and staying in touch — and won the expand-the-Circle contest co-spon-sored by Camera Corner Connecting Point. New to all this? Go to www.uwgb.edu/alumni and click the Phoenix Circle icon to register. More contests are on the way.

UW-Green Bay nostalgia: The tunnels, purple-carpet elevators, long walks from the parking lots in frigid weather, rush tickets at the Weidner, and of course, The Settlement.

Faculty impact: Ann Selk (Accounting), John Harris (Management)...I’m forever indebted.

Traditional or commuter? CommuterFavorite quote: “Go confidently in the

direction of your dreams; live the life you’ve imagined,” Henry David Thoreau.

The Association: There’s no time like the present to give back to what is so near

and dear to my heart - UWGB and those it serves - whether it be through finances, time, mentoring programs, providing internship opportunities, etc.

Generosity: Total strangers once gave me a gift (in the form of a scholarship), and I think they would be pleased to know that it did not stop with one check. Their generosity was contagious. It is my pleasure to serve on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors and help promote the connection, involve-ment, and success of the University and its graduates.

Word Association with Kelly RuhPresident, UW-Green Bay Alumni Association Class of ‘01, Accounting and Business Administration CFO, Laugh Your Way America (Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage) and Bayside Christian Fellowship

Cynthia Aerts ’83 is a Registered Nurse III with the float team at Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital. She earned her master’s in critical care nursing at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Cynthia Buckles ’85 works as an RNC in neonatal intensive care for St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay.

Patty Martens ’85 is an RN for Unity Hospice, Green Bay.

Barbara Connelly ’86, works in pri-vate rehabilitation with work-related injury consultation as a nurse case manager for a private company, Bass & Babb, Green Bay.

Anita Biese ’88 is a clinical nurse specialist for St. Vincent Hospital Home Health Care, Green Bay. She attended grad school in Chicago at Rush University.

Donna Tilot ’90 is an RN for cardiac pulmonary rehab at St. Mary’s Hospital, Green Bay.

Victoria Behnke ’91 is a certified diabetes educator (RN, CDE) at St. Mary’s Hospital, Green Bay.

Jody Boes ’98 is vice president, patient care, at Door County Memorial Hospital, Sturgeon Bay.

Suzanne Behrens ’01 is an ICU charge nurse at Aurora BayCare Medical Center, Green Bay.

Catherine Heimbecher ’04 is administrator of the Heart & Vascu-lar Center at Tallahassee (Fla.) Memo-rial HealthCare.

Beverly (Banks) Kannowski ’04 is a clinical instructor with Alpena (Mich.) Community College.

Jennifer Schwahn ’05 is a nursing program adviser for UW-Green Bay. She lives in Reedsville.

High-flying healthcareJon Hagen ’04 is a graduate of the bachelor’s

degree-completion program in nursing at UW-Green Bay. He is a full-time flight nurse on

ThedaStar, a helicopter based at Theda Clark Medical Center, Neenah. He is also the part-time

chief deputy coroner for Outagamie County.

Christine Fontinel was searching for a nursing completion program that could provide solid footing. She and her family lived in five different states in four years.

After struggling to complete a traditional associate’s degree — “We would move mid-semester, and not all credits would transfer” — Fontinel found her ground-ing in UW-Green Bay’s online RN-to-BSN program.

“When I started in 2001, I was in Cleveland, but later that year moved to Maine,” she said. “In 2002 we moved to Boston and by 2004 to San Antonio. During the moves, I would take my laptop along to wherever we were stay-ing, a friend’s house or a hotel, and get online and

do my homework. I never had to stop my degree progression.”

The mother of young chil-dren, with another on the way, she was pleased there wasn’t a requirement to spend time on campus mid-semester like some other online programs.

“To leave the kids for two, maybe three weeks? I don’t think I could do it,” says Fontinel, who has since recommended the program to “many friends.”

She currently works as a pediatric intensive care nurse and a school nurse

at a military base in Texas, and has applied to a pediatric nurse practitioner master’s program.

MILITARY WIFE’S TRANSIENT LIFE? NO PROBLEM

At a glance: Nursing

For expanded alumni stories and student quotes, see the online Inside

As a followup to our fall issue focus on health-care careers, we devote space to UW-Green Bay’s Professional Program in Nursing.

UW-Green Bay’s nursing program gradu-ates more than 40 seniors per year and rates among the largest and most popular majors — yet many of its students have never set foot on campus.

That’s because, as a BSN completion program (also known as an “RN-to-BSN”) Green Bay is a leader in distance learning.

With courses both on campus and online, says Derryl Block, professor and chairper-son, the program serves three geographi-cally distinct populations: local RNs studying on campus; Wisconsin nurses enrolled in BSN@home, a UW System

consortium; and out-of-state students, coast-to-coast, enrolled in BSN-LINC.

Students are already nurses (working RNs with associate degrees) who enroll for the

upper-level courses and advance-ment oppor-tunities a bachelor’s degree pro-vides. “The

need for baccalaureate prepared nurses has never been higher,” Block says.

The reputation of the online program, in particular, is growing at broadband speed. “I give a lot of credit to the folks at UW-Green Bay and to the program,” says

Margaret Swan-Shulman ’03, whose BSN led to a master’s in forensic nursing and a job as Massachusetts medical examiner.

Educator Christine Bottkol, coordinator of nursing for Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla., is a fan, too, often referring students to the program.

A former Bellin student who took classes at UW-Green Bay, Bottkol agrees with Block about the need. She saw it firsthand when she helped lead Gulf Coast’s nursing response team after Hurricane Katrina.

“Wherever we are, we’re a community of nurses,” she says of that experience and her willingness to tout Green Bay’s offerings. “We don’t stand alone, we stand together.”

BottkolBlock

�� February �007 ��February �007

ALUMNI NOTES

To affinity... and beyond!What is an alumni affinity program? Your Alumni Association partners with nationally recognized, pre-approved companies to offer discounted products and services to UW-Green Bay graduates. Each time a graduate makes use of an affinity program, it can result in a donation to the Alumni Association from the partner company.

The newest affinity partnership is with mTeam Financial on mortgage opportunities. Call loan officer Jeremy Woods at 1-608-628-0276 or jwoods@mteamfinancial.com.

Other affinity programs:- Go Next Travel - first-class overseas trips to Europe and Asia- Bank America (formerly MBNA) - credit card, with new “world points” program and enhanced benefits- Collegiate Funding Services - student loan consolidation programs - Liberty Mutual - home and auto insurance - American Insurance Administrators - group life insurance, health insurance and financial service plans - Phoenix Bookstore - 10% off in-store and online gift and apparel purchases - Discounted rates at three Green Bay area hotels

For details, see the benefits section of the alumni web page at http://www.uwgb.edu/alumni/benefits.html

Don’t become a lost alum!New job? Change of address? Updating your alumni informa-tion is just a click away by completing the Alumni Update Form at www.uwgb.edu/alumni/services/update.htm. It only takes a few minutes and it helps ensure that you continue to receive alumni and University mailings and information. Feel free to pass along the Web-link to friends and co-workers who are UW-Green Bay graduates.

Record-setting pace for Phone-a-Thon Thanks to you, the tenth annual UW-Green Bay Alumni Phone-A-Thon is on a record-setting pace in new dollars and new

donors. Callers reached the halfway point in January; if you majored in communications, art, theatre, music and computing science you might have heard from them. February’s calls will go to alumni in business and accounting, always generous in their support of student scholarships and learn-ing opportunities. C’mon, answer

the call. As always, if you have questions, you can check out the Phone-a-Thon Web site at http://www.uwgb.edu/phoneathon or contact Director of Annual Giving Shane Kohl at kohls@uwgb.edu.

Czech, please... and Germany and China, tooThe alumni travel program is taking shape with some truly attractive options for fall 2007. Available through our “Go Next” partners:

Germany and the Czech Republic, Oct. 3-11, 2007, $1,999 per person

Beijing, China, Nov. 1-8, 2007, $1,799 per person

All prices include first-class hotel accommodations, some meals, round-trip transfers between airport and hotel, luggage handling, hotel taxes, service charges and round-trip airfare from Chicago, Detroit, Min-neapolis or several other cities. Contact the Alumni Office at (920) 465-2586 or visit the alumni website at www.uwgb.edu/alumni/travel.html

Five join ranks of Distinguished, Outstanding Alumni

Carroll Christensen Jackson MouaMicksch

Five individuals — three Distinguished Alumni and two Outstanding Recent Alumni — will be recog-nized at the annual Alumni Association awards night April 14.

Receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award are Kathleen Christensen ’73, Mike Jack-son ’76 and Wayne Micksch ’74.

Christensen, a graduate in urban analysis, is director of the Workplace, Work Force and Working Families Program with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York.

Jackson, president and chief operating officer for Supervalu Stores Inc. in Eden Prairie, Minn., is a managerial systems graduate, as is Micksch, who is presi-dent of Quality Insulation and Asbestos Removal, Inc., Green Bay.

Joseph Carroll ‘97 and Ma Moua ‘97 will receive the awards for those who, in 10 years or fewer since graduation, have

demonstrated a high level of achievement and future potential.

Carroll, a human biology major, is an associate professor of medicine at the

Medical College of Wisconsin and a lead-ing researcher on color blindness. Moua, philosophy, is an assistant attorney general with the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Visit the alumni website for event details or, if you are interested in receiving an invi-tation, email the Alumni Office at alumni@uwgb.edu, or call (920) 465-2586.

Feb. 15 “Romantic Love in America” lecture, Prof. Denise Bartell Feb. 22 Theatre opening, “Five by Tenn”Feb. 24 Alumni and Friends Reception, Men’s Basketball at the Resch CenterFeb. 24 Phoenix women say ‘Goodbye’ to PSCFeb. 24 Concert: Phoenix Chorale and ChoirMar. 15 “A Musical Journey for Life” lecture, Prof. Cheryl Grosso ‘78Apr. 14 Alumni Awards NightFor more details go to www.uwgb.edu/alumni/

Your Alumni Association has been all over the region and beyond, hoping to reconnect with YOU. Now it’s your turn… visit campus, take in a lecture, show or game; or stop and say “hello.” Come join the fun:

P.S.P.S.

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BASKETBOBBLEUW-Green Bay’s intense and animated women’s basketball coach is a fan favorite. On Kevin Borseth Bobblehead Night, when a record 5,200 fans crowded the Resch Center, more than a thousand arrived up to two hours early for the giveaway sponsored by a local soft-drink distributor.