Ed Janairo Selected as Wisconsin Union’s Chief Business Officer

May 27, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            

Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Office: (608) 262-8862
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu

ED JANAIRO SELECTED AS WISCONSIN UNION’S CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER

MADISON – Ed Janairo will join the Wisconsin Union team as the Union’s chief business officer June 1.

In this position, Janairo will lead long-range financial planning for the Wisconsin Union and the allocation of financial resources in the organization. He will also supervise the Union’s financial services, human resources and business intelligence divisions.

Janairo brings more than 15 years of experience in higher education leadership. He most recently held the position of interim campus dean at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County.

Other past positions include campus administrator and associate dean for administration and finance at University of Wisconsin Colleges; business and technology dean for Lakeshore Technical College; and assistant campus dean for administrative services for UW-Sheboygan.

“Ed Janairo’s broad range of skills and experience in finance and administration will enable him to forge new, innovative paths and make an immediate positive impact,” said Mark Guthier, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs at UW-Madison and Wisconsin Union director. “Not only is Ed a talented higher education professional, but he also believes in the importance of education outside of the classroom and shared governance, two principles that we value at the Wisconsin Union.”

Janairo earned a bachelor’s degree in the program of liberal studies from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Kentucky, and a master of business administration from Morehead State University. He also anticipates earning a doctorate in urban education with a specialization in adult, continuing and higher education from UW-Milwaukee in 2021.

In joining the Wisconsin Union team, Janairo will use his experience, talent and education to help the Wisconsin Union team make a difference and fulfill the organization’s mission to welcome, engage and connect the campus community.

Wisconsin Union team members have created experiences for a lifetime and student leadership opportunities for more than a century. The Union is a membership organization that invites all, including those with no UW-Madison affiliation, to join and enjoy its services, events, activities and buildings, called Union South and Memorial Union.

“I’m excited to be part of the Wisconsin Union team and be part of UW-Madison,” Janairo said. “It’s an honor and privilege to serve in richly historied institutions and to serve such an important mission.”

For more information about the Wisconsin Union, visit union.wisc.edu.

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About the Wisconsin Union

The Wisconsin Union enhances the lives of members and visitors through recreational, cultural, educational and social opportunities. Formed in 1907, the Wisconsin Union is a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Union and its tradition of providing experiences for a lifetime: union.wisc.edu. 

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/ed-janairo.

Endres Manufacturing Wins Project of the Year Award

Endres Manufacturing Company was presented with the prestigious Project of the Year Award in May for their work on The Cosmos project in Madison, Wisconsin. The award was given by the Steel Plus Network in the “Medium Project” category. Endres is one of Wisconsin’s largest and most highly respected structural steel fabricators. Endres won the highly sought-after award over other nominees including Pittsburgh Steel, Lainco, Beauce Atlas, Rampart Steel, and Benson Steel.

One of the most complicated and largest projects ever taken on by Endres, The Cosmos is a magnificent highrise, eight-story building located in the Capitol East District on the 800 block of East Washington Avenue in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. The Cosmos, which is also referred to as the Gebhardt Building, is a 148,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that houses both office and retail space and the three-story Sylvee, a 2,500 person capacity concert venue and the location of Endres’ 2018 rocking holiday party. Endres supplied all of the structural steel as well as the stairs, railings, and other miscellaneous metals. The project consisted of 1,000 tons of steel and 5,400 labor hours.

Endres was extremely excited to be given this opportunity because being the supplier of choice for their customers is something they take great pride in. The general contractor on the project, Miron Construction, sought out Endres due to their long work history together and their confidence in Endres to get the job done right and on time. The job included a pair of 75 foot long girder trusses, one of which ended up weighing close to 40 tons. To add to the complexity, the building includes three separate tenants and all materials and labor needed to be separated by area. The concert venue, The Sylvee, is the largest tenant and uses space from the first to the third floor. Frank Productions, one of the largest concert promoters in the US, located their new offices there. Lastly, Gebhardt Development owns and leases a bank of offices at the top level of the structure. There were a variety of miscellaneous metals required such as catwalk and chain-link fence framing, and internally lit handrails around the darkened concert venue. The concert venue included unique challenges such as sound isolation connections requiring special materials and design. While it was a very challenging project, it provided a great sense of satisfaction and pride upon completion.

The Steel Plus Network Awards Ceremony has been a tradition for the last 25 years. Steel Plus Network is a business network bringing together the most dynamic fabricators and suppliers of structural steel from all across North America.

Thysse: We Can—Do It Together

For Immediate Release

WE CAN—DO IT TOGETHER
The Community of Oregon Unifies Through Art Installation

Brooke Barney
Thysse
608.249.6951

OREGON, WI, May 22, 2020 — After campuses made a nationwide decision in March to close, Maddie LeBrun, Oregon native working through her last semester of undergrad at St. Norbert College, returned home.

In light of the pandemic, Maddie resolutely believes that art can serve as an instrument for healing, encouragement, and public understanding. Because of the sudden inaccessibility of printing presses, her printmaking class switched gears from letterpress to public text-based installations, prompting the creation of her hand-painted WE CAN series, initially installed at Firefly Coffeehouse.

“Art is especially important right now because it can be a contribution when we have nothing else to give” stated Maddie LeBrun. “We place so much of our identity and value on ephemeral titles—the jobs we have, the places we go, the people we talk to—that most of us feel lost when we can’t maintain those routines. These days we wake up in the morning and we can’t always do whatever we want, but we can still choose to make something good, and we can still choose to make something for others.”

“I’d like to thank Jeanne and Uriah Carpenter at Firefly for housing my original work,” continues Maddie, “Thysse for reaching out to print posters for the community, and my family for graciously working around my studio endeavors, even (and especially) when they take up the entire kitchen table.”

Today, this message of hope and unity can be seen in the windows of residents and businesses throughout Oregon’s Village.

“We at Firefly Coffeehouse are absolutely committed to supporting both the arts and education, and view our very public role downtown as a place to build community” said Jeanne Carpenter, Owner, Firefly Coffee House and Village President. “We are delighted to showcase Maddie’s original work and thank her for brightening Oregon’s spirits while the world is paused.”

Poster prints are provided free to the public by Thysse and available at all three Oregon Kwik Trip locations as well as Bill’s Food Center.

WE CAN—DO IT TOGETHER

About the artist

Maddie LeBrun is a designer and illustrator from Oregon, Wisconsin. She loves lettering, late nights spent in-studio, and the color yellow. Her public work is continually featured across campus as she works part-time as a poster designer for the St. Norbert College Art Department. Maddie’s most recent personal work uses a traditional alphabet to share her steadfast love for the earth and the belief that living a more sustainable life is within reach for everyone. You can learn more about Maddie and see more of her work on Instagram @mlebrunstudio

About Thysse

Thysse is a third-generation, innovative company in Oregon, WI, specializing in visual communication. We are a design, printing and manufacturing company and we have the imagination and tools to customize projects, whatever they may be. We think about how your story is being told through your direct mail, your catalog, your fleet vehicles, your apparel, the sign outside your door, and the design of the lobby inside your door. We are where you go with your brand. For more information about Thysse, please visit www.thysse.com.

Monona Bank Supports Contributes $82,300 to 19 Area Non-Profits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 20, 2020

Contact:
Mark Schellpfeffer, 608-223-5141
mschellpfeffer@mononabank.com

Monona Bank Supports Contributes $82,300 to 19 Area Non-Profits

(MONONA, Wis.) – Monona Bank announced today it will donate $82,300 to 15 area food pantries, and four other Madison-area non-profits who are working to assist our neighbors in need during the COVID-19 crisis. The donation was made possible through the bank’s “Strength in Neighbors” campaign which was initiated by a $20,000 grant the bank received from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s (FHLB Chicago) COVID-19 Relief Program.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in requests for COVID-19 assistance, specifically asking for help in providing meals for area residents,” Paul Hoffmann, President & CEO of Monona Bank, said. “As a locally-owned community bank with close ties to many non-profits in our communities, we are in a unique position to notice the needs facing our communities quickly,” Hoffmann added. “Monona Bank knew they needed to get involved, especially since we believe we are only truly successful when the communities we serve prosper.”

Hoffmann and the Monona Bank Board of Directors quickly decided to create a “Strength in Neighbors” campaign to help our neighbors survive the COVID-19 crisis. With so many qualified groups asking the bank for assistance, the bank decided to apply for the FLHB Chicago grant. But Monona Bank wanted to do more and increased its total contribution to $82,300 through a combination of bank, board, and employee contributions. “Our Board leadership was outstanding in immediately donating their own personal funds and encouraging others in our bank to give generously,” Hoffmann added. To make even more funds available, the bank also redirected funds they normally would have spent on various community and bank events which were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

The hardest part for the bank was deciding where to donate the grants due to the numerous worthy requests the bank had received for assistance. “We kept hearing the pressure on our local food pantries was incredible, so we focused our funding in this one key area that we knew would have significant impact on our neighbors,” Hoffmann said. Based on stats from the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, Monona Bank’s donation to area food pantries will provide more than 192,000 meals for Dane County area families.

Monona Bank chose 15 local meals-related non-profit organizations to support including:  Goodman Center Food Pantry, St. Vincent de Paul, Middleton Outreach Ministry (MOM), St. Stephen’s Food Pantry in Monona, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southwest Wisconsin, The River Food Pantry, FEED Kitchens, Dane County Humane Society, NewBridge Senior Services, Oregon and Brooklyn Area Food Pantry, Belleville Food Pantry, Sauk Prairie Food Pantry, Northwest Dane County Senior Services, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Cottage Grove Food Pantry, and the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens.

In addition, the bank decided to support Forward Community Investments (FCI) in their campaign for Nonprofit Emergency Capacity Building Grants, Common Wealth Development, the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center and Operation Fresh Start.

About Monona Bank (www.mononabank.com)

Monona Bank is a locally owned and managed bank with over 160 employees at nine locations in an around Dane County. Monona Bank believes that “together, we prosper.” Founded in 1991, Monona Bank believes there is “Strength in Neighbors” and is committed to making our communities great places to live, work and raise a family.

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M3 Becomes First Wisconsin-based Member of TechAssure

MADISON, WI – M3 Insurance has been named a new member of TechAssure, the international nonprofit association of insurance and risk management experts for technology-related risks, effective immediately.

“A partnership with TechAssure is a natural fit for M3,” said Brad Reitzner, Vice President of Sales – Property & Casualty. “TechAssure allows us to network and share best practices with the leading insurance brokers in sectors like technology, life science, cyber, etc. We look forward to supporting the network’s mission of delivering best-in-class insurance advice and program design to the area’s most innovative companies.”

TechAssure is an invitation-only organization, comprised of the top performing brokers in the tech-risk space. This partnership allows M3 to tap into a global network of insurance brokers that specialize in the technology and life science sectors, as well as cyber risks, and gain access to an unparalleled body of intellectual capital and resources that no other broker can bring.

“Madison, WI has been emerging as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the country over the past few years,” said TechAssure Executive Director, Garrett Droege. “M3 has one of the best reputations in the industry and has the talent and resources to be the brokerage of choice for innovative firms in and around the Silicon Prairie.”

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ABOUT M3

M3 is a top 50 insurance broker and risk management firm in America. They are leaders in the products they represent and the industries they serve. M3’s people are an extension of your team, providing world-class resources to help you manage risk, purchase insurance, and provide employee benefits. And their focus on community builds better places to live and work.

ABOUT TECHASSURE

TechAssure is a unique consortium of risk management experts serving innovative industries, such as technology, telecommunications, life sciences, clean tech, as well as the venture capital and private equity firms that fund them.   Comprised of over 30 specialist firms located in strategic locations across the world, TechAssure members collectively serve over 5,000 tech-industry clients and represent over $10 Billion in premium volume.    The association also produces a proprietary annual benchmarking report for the industries it serves. TechAssure is currently celebrating its 20^th year.