National Guardian Life Insurance Company A (Excellent) Rating Affirmed by AM Best

Madison, Wis. (June 19, 2023) – National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is pleased to announce AM Best has affirmed its A (Excellent) rating effective May 25, 2023. This rating reflects the excellent ability of NGL to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations and further attests to its financial strength.

“We are proud to have our A rating affirmed and to be recognized for NGL’s strong capital position and operating results. It is great news for our 1.2 million policyholders* and their families. NGL’s rating further exemplifies our commitment to being a leader in the insurance industry and growing our Preneed market share as we work to serve more families and broaden our footprint,” said Kim Shaul, Interim President & CEO at NGL.

AM Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating information source. The financial strength rating is based on a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a company’s balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile.

As a longtime leader in the insurance industry, NGL is dedicated to serving policyholders and partners by offering high-quality products that are among the safest and most stable in the industry.

To learn more about NGL’s financial strength and stability visit our website, www.nglic.com. For the latest rating, access www.ambest.com.

About NGL

Established in 1909 National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is an insurance company headquartered in Madison, Wis. Licensed to do business in 49 states and the District of Columbia, NGL markets preneed and individual life and annuities, as well as group markets products. Information about NGL can be found at www.nglic.com; Facebook: Facebook.com/NGLIC and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-guardian-life-insurance-company.

*As of 12/31/2022. Ratings current as of 05/25/23. National Guardian Life Insurance Company is not affiliated with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America a/k/a The Guardian or Guardian Life.

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Lake Ridge Bank’s Jordan Casto Receives National Award

June 6, 2023 (MADISON, Wis.) – Jordan Casto, a Lake Ridge Bank Vice President-Business Banking, was recently recognized by Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) as one of their 40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders of 2023. 

ICBA’s 40 Under 40 award recognizes community-minded, innovative leaders under 40 years old from across the country who represent the future of the community banking industry. Candidates are judged on character, leadership, community involvement, and innovation. 

Casto’s very first job at 15 years old was dressing up as the mascot for the bank where his older brother worked at the time. That experience of representing the bank at parades and other events made him realize that community banks truly care about community engagement and making life better for families. It was the beginning of his belief in what banking can really mean as a career that supports neighbors and neighborhoods. 

Two recent initiatives helped Casto stand out among his peers nationally this year: 

• He researched and created protocols for handling projects that involve tax credits, enabling Lake Ridge Bank to help finance projects that serve a broader population within the community. 
   
• He created a “Get Started” guide to help prospective business owners better understand the complexities of running a business. The document outlines some of the basics for getting started more easily, including things like a typical timeline for certain aspects of business setup, how to register a new business with the State of Wisconsin, resources for bookkeeping and HR services, options for financing, and a handful of other ways to help them bridge that gap of knowledge more quickly and easily. 

Casto is an active member of Wisconsin Bankers Association and the Middleton Chamber of Commerce, where he helps plan the annual Sip, Sample & Socialize event. For the past six years, Casto has also served on the Emerging Leadership Board (ELB) at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. As a cancer survivor himself, he knows firsthand how important and impactful the work of the UW Carbone Cancer Center can be. Casto also enjoys volunteering as a coach with the Middleton Youth Hockey Association.

To learn more about all of the honorees, read the article in ICBA’s “Independent Banker” magazine. For more information about how Lake Ridge Bank can help you establish, expand, or elevate your business, contact a member of the Business Banking Team. 

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For additional information, please contact Mark Schellpfeffer at mschellpfeffer@lakeridge.bank.  

Summit Credit Union Awarded Top Workplaces in Madison, Milwaukee and the USA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2023

Media Contact:
Jason Waller
(608) 243-5000
publicrelations@summitcreditunion.com  

Summit Credit Union Awarded Top Workplaces in Madison, Milwaukee and the USA
Three employee-nominated designations for company during first 6 months of 2023

MADISON, Wis. — Summit Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative, has been named Top Workplaces in Madison, Milwaukee and the USA. These honors are judged using company-wide surveys.

“We have a strong purpose that drives our culture and engagement,” said Summit CEO & President Kim Sponem. “We hire people who work hard and care about people. Those employees work to improve our members’ lives through financial education and advice based on their needs. That’s something we are all very passionate about.”

Summit Credit Union was named one of the Top Workplaces in the USA in January. In March, Summit was named in the Top Workplaces in Greater Madison. And in May the credit union was awarded Top Workplaces in the Milwaukee area.

Nominated organizations were judged using company-wide surveys measuring employee engagement. Survey categories include communication and cooperation, development opportunities, leadership and more.

Highlighted benefits of working at Summit Credit Union include staff tuition assistance, student loan repayment assistance and helping employees pay their children’s college tuition by offering them $1,000 per semester in aid for four years. 

Offerings also include a paid Diversity Day each year that allows employees to spend a day learning about culture or race, plus birthdays off. There’s also a wellness program that includes a 24/7 wellness center, a yoga studio, a sand volleyball court and bikes at its headquarters. 

Summit is committed to creating a working environment that offers professional development opportunities while promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. 

About Summit Credit Union   

Established in 1935, Summit Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative. Summit holds $6.4 billion in assets and has more than 240,000 members and 945 employees across 55 locations throughout south-central and southeastern Wisconsin. Since 2002, Kim Sponem has been CEO & President of Summit Credit Union, formerly known as CUNA Credit Union/Great Wisconsin Credit Union. Recognized for its excellence in employee engagement, Summit was named a Top Workplace in the USA in 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Top Workplaces USA and a Top Workplace in the Madison area for 2021, 2022 and 2023 by the Wisconsin State Journal.   

For more information, visit www.summitcreditunion.com or call 608-243-5000 or 800-236-5560.    

For additional media information, visit https://www.summitcreditunion.com/about-summit/press-room or follow Summit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.    

Vierbicher named one of Best Firms To Work For

REEDSBURG, WI – Vierbicher has been named an official Best Firms to Work For according to the Zweig Group!

Vierbicher ranked at #25 in the 50-99 Employees category and came in at #28 in the Civil Engineering category. Firms are evaluated comprehensively on firm culture, workplace practices, employee benefits, employee retention rates, professional development, and more – from both management and staff perspective. Awards are given in multiple categories based on firm size and discipline.

Zweig Group’s Best Firms To Work For Awards honors outstanding workplaces at architecture, engineering, environmental, planning, construction, and related professional services (AEC) firms. Companies are recognized for their investment in the employee experience and creating an environment where their people feel valued, can make a difference, and can clearly see where their contribution fits into the overall mission and success of the firm.

“We believe this recognition reflects our commitment to the growth and success of our team,” says Rod Zubella, Vierbicher CEO. “Honest and positive feedback from employees affirms that our core values are effectively helping us work better towards creating a culture that inspires people to deliver exceptional results.”

Vierbicher, with offices in Madison, Reedsburg, Milwaukee, Prairie Du Chien, and Green Bay, delivers creative, yet proven and responsible solutions by applying the collaborative vision and expertise of our engineering, planning, and community development team.

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Wisconsin Technology Council: Holy cow! New Glarus Brewing co-founder Deb Carey to accept ‘Seize the Day’ award June 1 in Milwaukee

Deb Carey, co-founder and president of New Glarus Brewing Co., will receive the Ken Hendricks Memorial “Seize the Day” award June 1 during a luncheon at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference.

The conference at the Italian Community Center returns to the Cream City to celebrate the region’s rise as a startup and scale-up hub within the Midwest. Registration is open at witrepsconference.com or linked here.

Launching in 1992 with her brew-master husband, Deb Carey became the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. The first barrels rolled out in November 1993 — the fastest microbrewery start-up ever. Daniel and Deb have combined their business management and brewing professionalism with a philosophy based on individuality, cooperation and use of 100% natural ingredients to produce world class, hand-crafted beers such as “Spotted Cow.”

Wisconsin native Carey attended Carroll College in Helena, Mont., majoring in marketing and graphics. An entrepreneur at heart, she started her first business at 16, followed by a succession of training and hands-on experiences. Today, New Glarus Brewing ranks among the top dozen craft breweries and top two-dozen U.S. breweries of any description.

Judged on the quality of its beers, New Glarus Brewing was named a “top 10 brewer in the world” by RateBeer.com.

The award, which celebrates entrepreneurial leaders who have been crucial to Wisconsin’s economic growth, is named in honor of the late Ken Hendricks, a Beloit businessman and 2006 “Seize the Day” award winner who died in an accident in late 2007.

The Tech Council produces the May 31-June 1 Entrepreneurs’ Conference and administers the award, which has gone to entrepreneurs who have shown persistence in building their companies.

Past winners include Don Weber of Logistics Health Inc. (2004); Bob Cervenka of Phillips Plastics (2005); Ken Hendricks of ABC Supply (2006); Jan Eddy of Wingra Technologies (2007); Michael Cudahy of Marquette Medical Systems (2008); Toni Sikes of The Guild and Guild.com (2009); Bill Linton of Promega (2010); Bob Hillis of Direct Supply (2011); Kay Koplovitz of USA Network (2012); Fred Foster of Electronic Theatre Controls (2013); Craig and Lea Culver of Culver Franchising System Inc. (2014); Jim Berbee of Berbee Information Networks Corp. (2015); Mark Gehring of HealthMyne (2016); Zach Halmstad of Jamf (2017); Dude and Kerry Frank of Comply365 (2018); Sue Marks of Cielo (2019); Kevin Conroy of Exact Sciences (2020); Don Zietlow of Kwik Trip (2021) and Cory Nettles of Generation Growth Capital (2022).

“Crossroads of innovation” is the theme of the 21^st annual conference, where entrepreneurs from around the state will showcase their ideas, services and technologies. Seven panel tracks formed under three unique stages of “launch,” “grow” and “succeed” will appeal to entrepreneurs in all stages. Detailed panel information will be posted soon at witrepsconference.com.

Produced by the Tech Council, the Entrepreneurs’ Conference is among the largest and affordable events for entrepreneurs and early stage investors in the Upper Midwest. Other highlights will include:

• Diligent Dozen: Top 12 finalists from the Governor’s Business Plan Contest square off on the afternoon of May 31 
• Charles Ross, Milwaukee native and chief executive officer of International Business Innovation Accelerator, to keynote morning of June 1
• Governor’s Business Plan Contest “Diligent Dozen” awards announcements June 1 
• Innovation Showcase featuring exhibits from Wisconsin companies
• Plenty of chances to network with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors over food and refreshments, including a May 31 reception at the Italian Community Center

Sponsors thus far are: Aberdean Consulting, Affiliated Engineers, Alliant Energy, Amazon, American Family Insurance, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, AT&T, Baird Capital, Baker Tilly, BDO, Business Fitness, Center for Technology Commercialization, City of Fitchburg, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), DeWitt, Findorff, First Business Bank, Foley & Lardner, Godfrey & Kahn, HealthX Ventures, Husch Blackwell, Insperity, J.P. Morgan, Lost Boys Interactive, Madison College, Madison Development Corp., Madison Gas & Electric, Makin’ HEY! Communications, Marquette University, Microsoft, N29 Capital Partners, Neider & Boucher, Perkins Coie, Quarles & Brady, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, Ruder Ware, Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction, Technology Entrepreneurship Office at UW-Madison, Technology Innovation Center – Milwaukee, UMOS One Workforce – TechStars, University Research Park, UWM Research Foundation, UW-Madison Innovate Network, UW-Madison Office of Business Engagement, UW-Madison Office of University Relations, Venture Investors, Versiti, WE Energies, WIPFLi, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions, Wisconsin Technical College System and WiSys.

To become a sponsor, contact Angela Schlobohm at angela@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com. For more information, visit witrepsconference.com or call 608-442-7557.