Taliesin Preservation: Culinary Work Study Participant

Taliesin Preservation of Spring Green, WI is looking for Culinary Work Study Participants to join the 2024 Culinary Field School program from April through October. The Field School is embedded into the operation of the Riverview Terrace Café as a seven-month work-study employment located at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center.

Would you like to experience farm-to-table learning while staying on the Taliesin estate, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin home? Field School participants live in shared housing for the duration of the program and work paid shifts at Taliesin’s Riverview Terrace Café. Participants support catering for on-site events, maintain a kitchen garden, assist local farms and food processors, and participate in classes led by an in-house chef and guest experts.

There is a $3,000.00 up-front fee to cover program expenses. Participants who complete the program will be refunded $1,000.00 of the fee.

Participants earn $17.25 per hour while working assigned part-time café shifts. If this sounds like the right work-study program for you, apply today!

ABOUT TALIESIN PRESERVATION

As stewards of the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, our dual mission is to preserve the cultural, built, and natural environments that comprise the Taliesin property and to conduct educational and cultural programs that provide a greater understanding of his architecture and ideas. We are different from other historic sites because we are not satisfied with just being a museum. We want the estate to stay filled with life.

There is an energy here that captures and engages people. And the staff, without exception, are creative people who care passionately about their work and are full of ideas. We are a small organization, and, as such, we offer a lot of flexibility and opportunity for people to develop within their areas of interest–and we are invested in their success!

The Field School naturally builds on this by using an approach to food that integrates ecology, art, craft, community, and region.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CULINARY FIELD SCHOOL PARTICIPANT

As a Field School Participant, you are part of a program that draws its inspiration from Wright’s organic vision that art, community, agriculture, and learning are integrally connected with the land. You share rural housing on the Taliesin estate, grow your own food, and partake in communal meals-immersing yourself in the experience.

Taliesin’s Riverview Terrace Café menus feature ingredients mainly sourced from the surrounding Driftless region. While working at the café, you survey product origin, kitchen fundamentals, proper food handling, read and create recipes, menu planning, service systems, and vendor relationships.

Besides your paid work, you participate in hands-on learning through curriculum activities which include cultivating a kitchen garden on the estate, guest lectures, culinary sessions, individual study, and special event hosting.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR A CULINARY FIELD SCHOOL PARTICIPANT

-Keen interest in learning by doing.
-Full commitment to participate in both educational activities and paid work.
-Open to working with all foods, including all types of meat.
-Passion for preparing local, sustainable foods and being an ambassador for a seed-to-table curriculum.

Mike Solt Joins Bank of Sun Prairie as Vice President, Business Solutions Manager

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2024

Contact: Jimmy Kauffman, President and CEO,
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Bank of Sun Prairie
608.837.4511 ● jimmy.kauffman@bankofsunprairie.com
www.bankofsunprairie.com

Mike Solt Joins Bank of Sun Prairie as Vice President, Business Solutions Manager
1,600+ Businesses and Nonprofit Customers from across Dane County Benefit from Banker’s 20+ Years in Market

Sun Prairie, Wis.— Bank of Sun Prairie welcomes Mike Solt, as new vice president, business solutions manager. Solt will lead the business solutions department helping business and nonprofit customers streamline cashflow, manage payments, insure large deposits, and proactively monitor fraud.

Solt has worked in banking for more than 20 years, most recently as vice president, market manager for Associated Bank. He graduated with a degree in business management from Cardinal Stritch University. Solt serves on the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County, volunteers for Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS), Second Harvest, Habitat for Humanity of Dane County and Operation Ruck 22, an organization bringing awareness to veteran suicide. He also serves as treasurer for the Sauk Prairie Wrestling Club.

“We are excited Mike has joined our team. He brings the perfect blend of banking leadership, business lending and business development,” shared John Loeffler, Bank of Sun Prairie’s chief retail officer. “He will lead Bank of Sun Prairie’s business solutions department with a laser focus on helping our business and nonprofit customers succeed.”

Solt is based in the bank’s Main Street headquarters in Sun Prairie. Bank of Sun Prairie is a locally owned, full-service community bank with $749.6 million in assets and five branches in Sun Prairie and Cottage Grove, Wis. Its mission is to be trusted advisor for families, businesses and communities offering a complete range of services, while delivering fair returns for stockholders. Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender.

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Iconica Names New President

Change is inevitable, and at Iconica, we embrace it as an opportunity for growth and evolution. We’re excited to share a significant milestone in our journey. Jim Pienkta, CEO and President, has decided to transition away from his role as President while maintaining leadership as CEO, and we are thrilled to announce the promotion of Mike Walters, former Vice President, to the position of President.

Having joined as an entry-level project manager 12 years ago, Mike’s journey is a testament to his dedication, growth, and the values that define Iconica’s culture. This transition reflects our commitment to fostering talent from within. In his new role as President, Mike will take the reins of day-to-day operations, while Jim, as CEO, will continue to guide our overarching strategy and long-term goals.

We express our gratitude to Jim for his outstanding leadership as President of Iconica and look forward to his continued guidance as CEO. Please join us in congratulating Mike on his well-deserved promotion to President. We eagerly anticipate the innovation and success that will unfold under his leadership.

About Iconica: 

Located in Madison, Wisconsin, Iconica provides full-service architecture, engineering, and general contracting. Offering fully integrated solutions or individual services, Iconica has refined a process that eliminates uncertainty and streamlines commercial building projects. Whether tasked with a small remodel or a large complex commercial building, Iconica closely collaborates with clients, subcontractors, and vendors to provide results that support project goals. We apply every lesson learned on the job to the next, impacting each client’s business, One Revolution at a Time. https://iconicacreates.com/

Kraus-Anderson Companies’ years-long succession plan promotes Peter Diessner to Chief Executive Officer

Bruce Engelsma remains Chairman

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (March 7, 2024) – Peter Diessner has been named chief executive officer of Kraus-Anderson Companies, Inc., the holding company for KA’s 127-year-old family of companies.  Diessner has been chief operating officer of KA Companies since 2023.  He succeeds Bruce Engelsma who has been CEO since 1997.  Engelsma remains chairman of KA Companies and will continue to serve on various committees within the enterprise, which includes KA Construction, KA Realty & Development, KA Insurance and KA Financial Services Group. 

Diessner’s appointment to the top leadership role is a seamless transition and natural progression of many years of intentional and thoughtful planning for the family-owned company. 

“This third generation of leadership comes at a time of continuing prosperity at Kraus-Anderson,” said Bruce Engelsma, KA Companies’ visionary leader, who joined KA in 1975 and has served as chairman and CEO for 27 years.   Engelsma’s father, Lloyd, led the company from 1937 until his death in 1997. 

Each of KA’s family of companies works independently and together to achieve KA Companies’ continued growth and prosperity. 

“You can see the results all around us,” said Engelsma. “New and growing regional offices and areas of expertise; a robust properties portfolio; redevelopment and new development activities; longstanding clients and tenants along with exciting new opportunities — these are among the many synergies emerging as our people work together to build KA’s brand and the communities we serve.”

In his new role, Diessner will join and lead the executive leadership team at KA Construction, one of the nation’s premier commercial general contractors and construction managers, as it continues to strategically grow and expand.  The company has operations in nine cities, including the opening of new regional offices this year in Fargo, N.D. and Phoenix, Ariz.  Managing $1.4 billion in construction, its vast portfolio in numerous building sectors comprises education, healthcare, commercial, hospitality, offices, retail, housing and mixed-use developments, as well as buildouts and special projects.

Diessner will serve as CEO and continue to serve as president of KA Realty & Development.  KA Development provides comprehensive development services for KA’s real estate portfolio and third- party owners.  In the past five years KA Development has completed over 700,000 square feet of development and multi-family housing, including 1,275 apartment units.

KA Realty owns and manages a portfolio of 5.73 million square feet of more than 70 commercial real estate properties throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. 

As CEO, Diessner will also oversee KA Insurance, the fifth largest privately held insurance brokerage in Minnesota and a national leader in risk management services; and KA Financial Services Group, which manages over $300 million in financing related to KA Realty’s portfolio of properties and provides treasury management for all the KA entities.

Diessner, an attorney, joined KA Financial Services Group in May 2018 as director and was named vice president in February 2019.  In April 2019, he became president of KA Realty & Development to provide high level oversight of the company’s existing and prospective portfolio of real estate, as well as financial analysis for KA interests and partners. He was named COO of KA Companies in March of 2023.  Prior to joining KA, Diessner was a Twin Cities real estate attorney first at Fredrikson & Byron and then at Speeter & Johnson.  He focused his practice on transactions and disputes involving real estate.

Diessner received his J.D. from the William Mitchell College of Law and his B.A. in Financial Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College.  He is on the board of the Children’s Theatre Company.

“Kraus-Anderson maintains an extraordinarily high level of collaboration and innovation throughout our companies and teams,” said Diessner.  “I’m excited about new geographic horizons as we continue to grow and the opportunities for our people to engage in personal and professional development.”

About Kraus-Anderson Companies

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 and services, including facilities assessment, K-12 pre-referendum planning, strategic facility planning, sustainability and insurance operations. Kraus-Anderson, an EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability employer, is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. and has regional offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wis., Fargo and Bismarck, N.D., Duluth, Bemidji and Rochester Minn. and Phoenix, Ariz.

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Casey Liakos Joins The QTI Group as Vice President of Executive and Professional Search

Madison, WI – March 06, 2024 (The QTI Group) – The QTI Group (QTI), the Madison-based staffing and human resources consulting firm with expertise in industrial, administrative, professional, and executive recruitment as well as compensation consulting, announced the appointment of Casey Liakos to Vice President of Executive and Professional Search.

In his role, Liakos will oversee QTI’s Executive, Professional, and Board of Directors Search Team as it continues to expand and partner with companies across Wisconsin and the Midwest to recruit for high-level executive roles. Liakos is excited to join a team that can broadly address talent and people needs, with staffing, recruiting, and consulting solutions that bring value to clients.

Liakos brings 14 years of staffing and talent searching experience to QTI, with just over six years experience as president of a local talent acquisition firm, where Liakos was named the 2020 InBusiness Small Business Executive of the Year. A Wisconsin native and an avid Badgers, Brewers, and Packers fan, Liakos’ industry expertise and local connection are the perfect combination to drive QTI forward.

“I see The QTI Group as a cornerstone in the Madison community. I have a passion for connecting with people and connecting people to one another, which has driven my entire career. I believe The QTI Group is the best place for me to continue to grow in the industry and support my community,” says Liakos.

QTI’s new leadership is the result of thoughtful preparation as the company positions itself for growth and success in 2024.

About The QTI Group

Founded in 1957 as a small staffing agency, The QTI Group has grown to be a full-service, privately owned human resources firm. QTI’s key service areas include staffing, professional, technical, and executive search, and HR consulting. With a QTI has a people first focus and a commitment to helping business reach their full potential through people, The QTI Group is headquartered in Madison, WI and has four branch locations in Wisconsin.

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