Dane Buy Local Announces New Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2023

Contact:
Curt Fuszard, Dane Buy Local Board President, (608) 345-5147, curt.fuszard@reachachild.org

DANE BUY LOCAL ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dane Buy Local is pleased to announce that Paula Severson will begin serving the association and its members in the role of Executive Director commencing October 1, 2023. Dane Buy Local is extremely fortunate to have Paula fill the role vacancy after learning that Colin Murray, an integral part of Dane Buy Local since the association’s inception in 2004, and Executive Director since 2013, shared that he would retire on September 30, 2023.

Paula brings a wealth of experience to the Executive Director position, having previously served as Executive Director of the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce and in a variety of roles for a major trade organization. “Paula’s skill set is perfectly aligned with our commitment to serving independent businesses in Dane and contiguous counties,” says Curt Fuszard, President of the Dane Buy Local board. “In serving our membership, Paula will continue to focus on our core principles of collaboration, education, and advocacy. She is a passionate, inspiring leader.”

In anticipation of her new role, Paula Severson shares, “I’m humbled to lead such an amazing organization. The local businesses Dane Buy Local serves are owned by our friends and neighbors. They work hard and give back to their employees and community. I can’t wait to tell their stories and share the value of buying local. I will strive to ensure Dane Buy Local’s business members have access to the association’s tools and resources to help the businesses be successful.”

Curt adds, “Dane Buy Local embarks on this new chapter with gratitude—for Colin Murray’s contributions, and enthusiasm for our future under Paula Severson’s capable leadership.”

About Dane Buy Local:

Dane Buy Local is a local business association dedicated to supporting and promoting locally owned and operated businesses in Dane and contiguous counties. Since its inception in 2004, the organization has grown to serve over 580 business members, making it a leading force in promoting the benefits of buying local to foster a thriving local economy. For more information, visit danebuylocal.com.

StartingBlock wins 2023 SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Phase 2

StartingBlock + 7 Partners are winners of the Phase 2 2023 SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. You can read the official announcement from SBA here.

Why this matters:

• SBA recognizes the entrepreneurial strengths of the Madison region.
• The prize money allows us to align our programming with regional strengths.
• We will be able to expand our programmatic reach across the state.
• We are bringing Federal dollars to Wisconsin to support local startups.

What’s next:

• We will launch the Wisconsin HardTech accelerator next spring.
• We will be focusing on Advanced Manufacturing and on Food, Bev and Ag.

Our Ecosystem Partners include:

• WiSys
• The Madison Black Chamber of Commerce
• The Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce
• MadRep
• Madison College
• The Wisconsin Law School’s Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic
• The Center for Technology Commercialization 

Vogel Bros. Building Co.: Hickory Hill Academy Expands to Offer Enhanced Educational Opportunities

MADISON, WIS. – Hickory Hill Academy is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its highly anticipated new building expansion. A ribbon-cutting ceremony, which took place Tuesday, September 19, 2023, marked a significant milestone for the school. The expansion, designed to provide a more comprehensive educational environment, adds an impressive 50,000 square feet of cutting-edge facilities.

Read more here

New WPS Health Insurance network helps self-funded employers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
DeAnne Boegli
Vice President of Communications
608-512-5754
deanne.boegli@wpsic.com

New WPS Health Insurance network helps self-funded employers
Companies across Wisconsin now have a more robust network choice

MADISON, Wis.—Sept. 19, 2023—WPS Health Insurance, powered by Auxiant, is partnering with Health Payment Systems (HPS) to create an integrated network of health care providers for employers choosing its self-funded, or Administrative Services Only, group health plans. Group members’ claims will access the HPS network of providers first and, if not in-network, will then go to the WPS Statewide Network, creating a statewide broad network solution.

The HPS Network includes 96 hospitals and 27,000 individual providers while the WPS Statewide Network has 165 hospitals and more than 63,000 individual practitioners. These networks will work together to give employers across Wisconsin even more health care provider choices for their employees.

The new partnership includes HPS’ consumer financing tool, the PayMedix SuperEOB^®. Members who visit an in-network PayMedix provider get credit up to their out-of-pocket (OOP) maximum, regardless of credit history, with the option to pay over time without any interest charges or fees.

“This new network choice gives our self-funded group health customers a better way to meet the needs of their employees and their families,” WPS Vice President of Health Insurance Economics and Business Development Jeremy Ott said. “Our customers will have access to a broad network of health care providers and to the patient financing PayMedix brings. Adding HPS/PayMedix to our network makes getting health care easier for our customers.”

“’We look forward to working with WPS to bring a more cost-effective, statewide health plan that can save employers and their employees money,” HPS/PayMedix CEO Tom Policelli said. “In addition, including the PayMedix consumer engagement and patient financing solution for HPS providers ensures patients aren’t avoiding care due to cost.”

The new HPS Network paired with the WPS Statewide Network will be available to select self-funded group health plan customers for the 2024 plan year.

About WPS Health Insurance^®

As one of the largest health benefits providers in the state, Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation (WPS Health Insurance) offers a variety of services and coverage with Preferred Provider Organization health plans for individuals, fully insured and self-funded group health plans for employers, and Medicare supplement insurance plans. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, and with employees throughout the state, WPS Health Insurance is deeply committed to Wisconsin and its residents. Visit wpshealth.com for more information.

About Auxiant

Auxiant is an independent third-party administrator with more than 200 full-time employees and offices in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Madison, Wis., and Milwaukee, Wis. Auxiant has been in business since 1982 and is dedicated to providing its clients with the best possible service. Auxiant specializes in customization, cost control, health management, and technological tools for self-funded clients and members. Auxiant is known for its innovation and technology, constantly evolving to meet the needs of its clients.

About Health Payment Systems, Inc.

Health Payment Systems (HPS) is a privately held PPO network in the state of Wisconsin. HPS is the parent company to PayMedix, an EOB consolidation tool that serves all contracted providers and enrolled members. The PayMedix single-statement billing helps families combat confusing and unaffordable medical bills, while its guaranteed payment model eliminates provider collection costs and risk. HPS is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To learn more, visit Health Payment Systems.

###

One City Schools to Open Child Care Center for its Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For comments or more information, contact:
Kaleem Caire
Founder and CEO
Email: kcaire@onecityschools.org
Mobile Phone: (202) 997-3198

Gail Wiseman
Chief Operating Officer/External Relations
Email: gwiseman@onecityschools.org
Mobile Phone: (608) 514-6119

One City Schools to Open Child Care Center for its Staff
The center will offer affordable childcare for infants and toddlers for One City Staff

Madison, WI (Thursday, September 14, 2023) – Today, One City Schools announced that it will begin offering affordable on-site child care for children of its employees beginning in October 2023. One City will pilot its new staff-only center this school year at its Pleasant T. Rowland Leadership Campus located at 1707 W. Broadway in Monona, Wisconsin. The new Gail and Gordon Derzon Early Care Center will enroll children ages 6 months to one year old. Children who are two, three and four years old with parents that work for One City can already enroll in One City’s preschool which serves children from across Dane County. The project is made possible through a $100,000 grant from the Roots & Wings Foundation, a leading funder of child and family wellbeing in Dane County.

One City founder and CEO, Kaleem Caire, shared his organization’s reasons for offering expanded child care specifically focused on its staff. “Each year, we have team members who bring beautiful new children into the world but are unable to find available and/or affordable care for their infants and toddlers. We operate a highly sought-after 5-star preschool with an outstanding, stable and experienced staff. We decided it would benefit our staff, their children, our three schools and the 400 children we teach to offer on-site child care for infants and toddlers. Doing so will enable teachers and staff to keep working and teaching with us while also giving them peace of mind that their children are being well cared for.”

Caire added, “We are deeply grateful for the tremendous and timely support of the Roots & Wings Foundation. We appreciate what they are doing to expand access to high quality early learning opportunities in Wisconsin. It also feels great that we are able to extend child care opportunities to our staff, and provide it at a rate they can afford.”

Bryce Pickett, One City’s Executive Director of Early Education, said One City will open its center next month with one lead teacher, an assistant teacher and six infants and toddlers. The funding provided by Roots & Wings will enable One City to hire staff and purchase equipment and materials to set up the center. One City currently offers all staff a 25% discount on tuition at its preschool for their first child and 10% for their second child. With the 25% discount, One City staff will pay $255 per week for infant care and $240 per week for one-year-olds. Tuition payments, along with the Roots & Wings investment, will cover the full cost of operating the new center.

Pickett said, “As with everything we do at One City Schools, we hope to be an example for other employers and educational institutions who would like to offer the same benefit for their employees. We share everything that we do at One City so others can learn with us and from us. We look forward to sharing how this works with our colleagues and other schools across the country.”

One City’s new infant and toddler center is named after Gail and Gordon Derzon, two longtime and strong supporters of One City Schools. Both are lifelong supporters of early childhood and K-12 education, college access, and health equity in Wisconsin and internationally. Gordon Derzon served for 26 notable years as the president and CEO of the University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics. Mr. Derzon has also served on the Board of Directors of One City Schools since 2016.

Click here to download a copy of this press release.

###