Category: Member News
Learn who’s growing, changing, moving and more! Stay on top of what’s new with your neighboring businesses. We share news releases and announcements from your peers in the Madison area. Want to toot your own horn? Use our Submit Member News form to share your own stories.
Photo by Richard Hurd
SuiteDynamics COO Ben Sherman on Making an Impact as One of the Country’s Top NetSuite Solution Companies
Before joining this company, Ben Sherman made a career of streamlining and expanding businesses. Now, he plans to establish SuiteDynamics as the #1 source for honest and experienced NetSuite consultants.
More than anything else, Ben Sherman has life experience.
He was born in Sweden and spent much of his early life in Israel. He pursued higher education in the USA and Sweden. He speaks four languages (three fluently). And he has started or led multiple companies in a career that has spanned over 20 years. Now, he plans to use that varied background to help SuiteDynamics impact the ERP consulting industry.
As a co-owner and the new COO, Ben aims to streamline business operations and help cement SuiteDynamics’ place as one of the top NetSuite solution companies.
“I’ve always just been interested in improving the organizations I’ve been with, coming up with new business and marketing strategies,” he says. “Perhaps that just comes from growing up in an entrepreneurial, innovative culture. And I feel like I bring that innovation and entrepreneurship to every role.”
And Ben believes he’s working with plenty of potential at SuiteDynamics. He describes the business as a group of fresh-faced tech experts and NetSuite consultants driven to see their company thrive.
“They’re a super talented group of individuals who are loyal to the company and passionate about supporting our customer base,” he says. “They go out of their way to help customers when they’re having specific issues or about to go live. They’re new and flexible, adapting to whatever a situation requires.”
He also feels strongly that those qualities can do more than perform efficient ERP implementations, customizations, consultations, and training. Instead, they can change how clients see NetSuite solution providers and help them view implementers as long-term business partners instead of one-time service providers.
Making an Impact as NetSuite Consultants
After building businesses for over two decades, Ben has become fascinated with a company’s potential to impact society. So, in 2003, he established Outfit Ltd. This Jerusalem-based tech company employed staff and served clients from Israel and Palestine. He wanted to see if business could bring cultural enemies together.
“I quickly realized that I was able to build more genuine relationships between the two sides of the conflict through a company on a local business, grassroots level than perhaps I would have been able to do through political efforts,” he explains.
That experiment constituted Ben’s first foray into the business world. Since then, he has undertaken various leadership roles to help shape other companies into efficient teams. Along the way, he has also looked for more opportunities to make a difference through business.
For example, he helped a friend start a pizzeria and bakery in a small Panamanian village. The enterprise gave locals fresh opportunities to earn income and learn new skills. One worker, Ben says, even put his wife through college using his bakery income.
This endeavor showed Ben that business is about more than making money. It’s about improving life for employees, clients, and society. Now, he can prove this idea with SuiteDynamics and help shape a new type of NetSuite consultant.
Ranking Among the Top NetSuite Solution Companies
Ben has been interested in SuiteDynamics ever since CEO Jake Kleiner explained the company mission—to become one of the top NetSuite solution companies through the simple concepts of integrity and transparency. As COO, Ben wants to help establish an honest, hard-working NetSuite solution provider in a field where many clients feel disappointed with service.
And as a bonus, he can help several businesses grow at once.
“There is a massive demand for NetSuite implementation and NetSuite consultants in multiple industries and insufficient skilled resources to fill the need,” Ben says. “Industries have a critical need today for a single modern platform to manage their operations. And they need a true partner with the expertise to help them customize and implement an ERP platform.”
He plans for that partner to be SuiteDynamics.
To start, Ben will focus on shepherding the company through its current season of growth and scaling operations to continue meeting client needs. He has helped multiple businesses expand in the past and plans to use the same principles to guide SuiteDynamics. He also enjoys mentoring leaders and building teams, helping them identify and bolster their strengths.
And he expects to guide the company through many exciting developments in the next five to ten years.
“I believe that SuiteDynamics can not only become a leader within the ERP consultation space but can also build advanced products that support organizations,” he says. “I’m excited to be a part of solutions in the coming months and years.”
As his staff, we’re excited about that, too.
SuiteDynamics is one of the top NetSuite solution companies specializing in custom ERP implementations. Our experts can help your company determine what kind of system you want and customize a NetSuite ERP program to meet your needs. Contact us to schedule a free demo.
Photo by Richard Hurd
Wisconsin Union Theater: Danish String Quarter, an Ensemble Playing for the Love of Music with a Foundation of True Friendship, Will Perform in Madison on April 18
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2023
Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-8862
DOWNLOAD PHOTOS: https://www.kirshbaumassociates.com/artist.php?id=danishstringquartet&aview=dpk#photos
READ RELEASE ONLINE: union.wisc.edu/about/news/danish-string-quartet
DANISH STRING QUARTET, AN ENSEMBLE PLAYING FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC WITH A FOUNDATION OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP, WILL PERFORM IN MADISON ON APRIL 18
MADISON – Patrons will experience how 20 years of friendship and a shared love of music translates on stage as the Wisconsin Union Theater team concludes its 2022-23 Concert Series with a performance by string ensemble the Danish String Quartet on April 18 at 7:30 p.m. CDT at Shannon Hall in Memorial Union and at an online broadcast.
Violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin will perform String Quartet No. 12 In C Minor, D. 703, “Quartettsatz” written by Franz Schubert in 1820; String Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3 written by Franz Joseph Haydn in 1772; String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor, Op. 108 written by Dimitri Shostakovich in 1960; and Three Divertimenti for String Quartet by Benjamin Britten in 1936. Following intermission, the group will play traditional and contemporary Danish folk music, which it will announce during the performance.
In-person and virtual tickets are available online, at the Memorial Union Box Office, or by calling (608) 265-2787. University of Wisconsin–Madison students, staff and faculty, Wisconsin Union members, as well as audience members under the age of 18, can purchase discounted tickets.
Øland, Sørensen, and Nørgaard met as teenagers at a week-long summer music camp in the countryside of Denmark, becoming quick friends. Sjölin joined the group of friends in playing music in 2007. After forming their friendship, they met together to play for fun throughout the year.
“I think one of the strengths of this quartet, and I believe a lot of quartets, but this quartet, in particular, is that, as you say, we’re built on a very strong friendship because it grew out of a friendship,” Øland said in an interview with BBC Radio 3 in 2014. “We share the same passion for the quartet.”
In planning their programs, the group makes a point to only select music they enjoy playing. This joy consistently translates in dynamic ways to their audience. Nørgaard describes this approach as an evolution in their repertoire; in the beginning, they would often perform compositions that teachers told them to play and pieces that they felt they had to play. Now, they listen to one another’s ideas in a democratic decision-making process and ultimately decide on programming based on the love of playing music.
In a collective message to their supporters, they said, “Yes, playing string quartets is our job, and yes, it is hard work, but we mostly do it for pleasure, like we always did. Music is a way to hang out with friends, and we hope we can continue to hang out for many, many years.”
Madison area community members and visitors can also attend a free studio class 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on April 18 in Shannon Hall at Memorial Union during which UW–Madison students will perform in front of members of the Danish String Quartet and receive feedback. Patrons do not need tickets to attend the class.
The Wisconsin Union Theater 2022-23 season will conclude on May 4 with a performance by jazz singer and 2023 GRAMMY winner Samara Joy. While in-person tickets for this event are sold out, guests can still purchase tickets to enjoy a live, online broadcast of Joy’s performance.
Patrons can visit the Wisconsin Union Theater website to learn more about the performance and studio class featuring the Danish String Quartet.
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About the Wisconsin Union Theater
For more than 80 years, the Wisconsin Union Theater has served as a center for cultural activity in the heart of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. The Theater hosts performances in multiple locations, including Memorial Union, and has an extensive history of remarkable performances. The Wisconsin Union Theater is committed to social justice and works to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive place for all who engage with the Theater’s programming, events, and activities. The Wisconsin Union Theater is part of the Wisconsin Union, a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/wisconsin-union-theater.
About the Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee
The Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee is part of the Wisconsin Union’s leadership development program for UW–Madison students and supports the Wisconsin Union Theater’s mission of serving students through the performing arts. By helping to program the Theater’s annual season of performing arts presentations, the students learn about program curation, relationship-building, marketing, communications, budgeting, and production. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/get-involved/wud/performing-arts.
Photo by Richard Hurd
Beyond Words Productions: Art of Video Storytelling Workshop
Breakfast With Benefits – Morning Mixer (Virtual)
Numbers 4 Nonprofits
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM
RSVP: becca@numbers4nonprofits.com
Morning Mixer invites you to meet and mix with presenters and fellow attendees. The topic for May is “The Art of Video Storytelling” with Jamie Perez, Chief Storyteller at Beyond Words Productions. Numbers 4 Nonprofits hosts the Breakfast With Benefits series to allow nonprofit staff to get together, share ideas, and learn from presenters on current topics affecting nonprofits. RSVP to the email listed above.
Photo by Richard Hurd
Kraus-Anderson begins $21 million renovation project for Ladysmith School District
LADYSMITH, Wis. (April 2023) – The Madison office of Kraus-Anderson (KA) has begun an extensive $21 million renovation project for the School District of Ladysmith in Ladysmith, Wis.
Designed by Bray Architects, the district-wide project at the middle school and high school features a 22,000-square-foot remodel of academic classrooms, a 10,131-square-foot gym expansion, 2,764-square-foot media center addition, building systems replacements, security upgrades, ADA improvements and a new roof. The project also includes new parking lots, new bleachers and LED lights at the football field, and new dugouts at the softball field. Site improvements are also being completed for better water drainage.
An addition, a new roof will be replaced at Ladysmith’s elementary school.
“In 2021, KA completed an educational adequacy and facility study, along with facilitating a community task force to help build the district’s referendum plan,” said John Huenink, Kraus-Anderson’s vice president and director of education construction. “ KA also supported the School District of Ladysmith in its information campaign for an April 2022 referendum, which was successful.”
Construction is expected to be completed in summer of 2024.

About Kraus-Anderson
Established in 1897, Kraus-Anderson (www.krausanderson.com) is an integrated construction management and real estate development enterprise working independently and in collaboration with a family of companies, including insurance, mortgage and realty operations. KA continues to lead the field of regional education construction projects and is currently ranked 20th in the nation in the construction of K-12 facilities by Building Design and Construction magazine. Over the past five years, KA has completed over $1 billion in K-12 projects. KA’s comprehensive school construction services include facility analysis and budget approaches, leading to informed and successful referendum initiatives. Kraus-Anderson, an EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability employer, is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and has regional offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wis., Bismarck, N.D., and Duluth, Bemidji and Rochester Minn.
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Photo by Richard Hurd
Dane Buy Local: Soup’s On! Recap
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2023
Available for interviews
Colin Murray, Executive Director of Dane Buy Local
2801 International Lane, Suite 110
Madison, WI 53704
(608) 712-3440
colin@danebuylocal.com
www.danebuylocal.com
Madison, WI – Dane Buy Local is thrilled to announce another successful Soups On! season. This community-supported program generated $89,892 November 2022 through March 2023, selling 6,095 quarts of soup and 440 packs of FEED Bakery cookies.
“Soups On! has been a staple of the Dane County community for the past three years, and we are proud to support local businesses through this initiative. We saw a fantastic turnout and are grateful for the community support which makes it a success,” states Colin Murray, executive director of Dane Buy Local.
“I’m fortunate to interact with both Soup’s On! participants and purchasers throughout the season,” says Amy Johnson, publisher of Madison Locally Sourced. “Participants appreciate the extra support during what is a usually slower sales period and purchasers get to eat delicious soup and learn about new dining opportunities. It’s a lot of fun and a real win-win experience.”
By purchasing food from local artisans, community members not only support local businesses, but they also contribute to the local economy. This program showcases incredible talent and culinary expertise, and we hope will continue for years to come.
Thank you to Soups On! volunteers Lisa Abler, Jeff Affeldt, Chris Brock, Amy Johnson, Lauri Lee, and Colin Murray, and sponsors Arcus Communication, Bunky’s Catering, The Cap Times, Communication Concepts, Dane Buy Local, FEED Kitchens, Madison Locally Sourced, and Ulla Eyewear. Another shout out to participants Ancora Cafe + Bakery‒Maple Bluff, Banzo, Beef Butter BBQ, Bunky’s Catering, Cadre, Cafe Costa Rica, Cambridge Market Cafe, The Deliciouser, FEED Bakery, Green Owl Cafe, Jolly Frog, Kingdom Restaurant, LT’s Aloha Wagon, Madame Chu Delicacies, Melly Mel’s Soul Food, Migrants, North and South Seafood & Smokehouse‒Verona, Paoli Schoolhouse American Bistro, Rookie’s Food & Spirits, Rude Brew Kombucha, Soups I Did It Again, Teddywedgers, and Ugly Apple Cafe. And, most importantly, a heartfelt thanks to the supportive community members.
We look forward to seeing you again in November!
Dane Buy Local is affiliated with the Local Business Institute (LBI) and is part of a growing national movement of communities rallying to support their independent businesses and ensuring the opportunity to operate an independent business endures. Dane Buy Local creates a sustainable, vital local economy through collaboration, education, and promotion, as a non-profit member organization.
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