VanBuskirk Joins M3 as Account Executive

Madison, WI – James VanBuskirk recently joined M3 Insurance as a property and casualty account executive. In this role, consults with and advises small market clients on the design, implementation and management of their business insurance coverage.

James is a licensed property and casualty insurance agent in Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Prior to joining M3, James developed and managed a start-up insurance agency in the Washington, D.C. area which focused on commercial insurance for small businesses and personal coverage for high net worth individuals.  In June 2018, James sold his agency in preparation to move to Wisconsin. He is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA (Master of Business Administration) program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In his free time, James enjoys spending time with his wife and giving back to our community by delivering meals to elderly and home-bound individuals with Independent Living’s Evening Meals on Wheels program. He is also an active volunteer with the Ironman Wisconsin event as well as Catholic Charities of Chicago and is a member of the University of Maryland Alumni Association.

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About M3

M3 is the largest insurance broker and risk management firm in the state of Wisconsin. As a top 50 broker in America, we’re leaders in the products we represent and the industries we 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 our focus on community builds better places to live and work.

Christa Schonscheck Joins State Bank of Cross Plains as In-House Portfolio Manager and Trust Officer

October 21, 2019, MADISON, Wisconsin— State Bank of Cross Plains (SBCP) welcomes Christa Schonscheck, CFP®, APMA®, CRPC®, CLTC® as an in-house investment portfolio manager and trust officer.

Schonscheck works in collaboration with the bank’s entire wealth management team to help customize the investing experience and provide local management of funds. In this unique melding of roles, she serves customers both behind-the-scenes through research and fund management and face-to-face through client meetings to answer questions about why specific funds are chosen for individual portfolios.

“I’m very passionate about financial literacy,” explains Schonscheck. “Financial planning requires a dialogue. Everyone at every stage of investing should feel welcome to ask questions and fully understand how the process works. My goal is to analyze the complexities of each unique financial situation, create a strategy, and have a collaborative conversation about the next steps. I want everyone to feel comfortable, included, and empowered regarding their finances.”

Schonscheck not only brings seven years of experience in all areas of wealth management, she has also worked diligently to advance her financial education, recognized as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor (APMA®), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®), and Certification in Long-Term Care (CLTC®) professional.

In addition to her work at State Bank of Cross Plains, Schonscheck and her husband own a small business providing pet boarding. She also serves as a volunteer for Lucky Mutts Rescue and competes with her Australian Shepherd in conformation in American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, and Australian Shepherd Club of America.

“Christa has a great combination of experience, accreditation, and technical ability to perform all the day-to-day back-office work paired with the personality to provide great customer service during interactions with our clients,” shares Mark Drachenberg, CFP®, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager for SBCP’s Wealth Management Division. “I’m excited to have someone with her impressive experience and ability on our team!”

The Wealth Management Division at State Bank of Cross Plains is headquartered in the Madison office and provides a full spectrum of business and personal financial services, including:

• Comprehensive financial planning services
• Retirement income management
• Risk management (insurance)
• Education funding
• In-house investment portfolio managers
• Trust and Estate Administration
• Business Continuation and Succession Planning

Anyone can work with the wealth management team at State Bank of Cross Plains. Specifically, customers do NOT need to bank at SBCP or live or work in the bank’s service area. For more information about the financial planning and trust services available through the SBCP Wealth Management Division, visit sbcp.bank or call (608) 826-3570.

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State Bank of Cross Plains is known for our modern, progressive approach to supporting businesses and consumers by offering services more typical of larger financial institutions in an environment that values one-on-one personal relationships and community involvement. Thanks to our recent merger, State Bank of Cross Plains is a $1.3 billion institution, offering a full range of business and personal financial services including business, real estate, and consumer lending, as well as wealth management and financial advisory services. We now also provide Crop Insurance and Ag Lending Services. SBCP has 15 convenient locations in Dane, Rock, and Green Counties. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.

For additional information, please visit sbcp.bank or contact VP-Marketing Director Darin Tessier at 608-826-3514.

Naviant, Inc. Names New President & CEO

Media contact: Jen Hein, 608-848-0873, jhein@naviant.com

Naviant, Inc. Names New President & CEO

October 16, 2019 Madison WI & Middleburg Heights OH – Naviant, Inc. based in Verona WI has named Michael Carr the new President & CEO.  

“Michael has been instrumental in the development of our vision, mission, values, business strategies, culture, and financial discipline.”, says Mike Suter, the former President & CEO. Suter founded Naviant in 1986, and with the help of a strong executive team, has grown the organization into Hyland Software’s #1 OnBase & Brainware Partner for Capture & Commercial Excellence.

President Carr says, “I am looking forward to the future of Naviant where our continued success will allow us to impact more clients, grow individual careers for our employees, and make significant contributions to the communities we call home.”

In addition, Elizabeth Skolaski will assume an elevated role as the Executive Vice President & COO of Naviant. Skolaski says, “Our continued investment in the right strategies, partners and people have allowed us to grow and serve more clients, and create opportunities for staff to flourish in new roles.”  Since 2007, both Elizabeth and Michael have worked collaboratively in Executive Leadership roles to help Naviant achieve growth goals and become a top partner within the enterprise content management industry. Mike Suter will remain the Founder & Owner of Naviant and is committed to continued investment and growth in the Verona WI-based company.

About Naviant
Business processes and solutions that empower better and faster decisions are what we do best. As a nationally-recognized document management solutions integrator and business process consulting organization with over 30 years of experience, our clients do more with less by streamlining processes and gaining visibility into the information they need to make better decisions. As a long-standing key partner of Hyland Software, Naviant helps organizations operate more efficiently using the OnBase software platform, Brainware intelligent capture platform, Kryon Robotics Process Automation platform. Naviant is a top-tier partner for OnBase, a single enterprise information platform for managing content, processes, and cases, that combines ECM, case management, business process management (BPM), records management, compliance, and capture functionality on a single platform. In addition, Naviant also partners with Kryon Systems for Robotics Process Automation (RPA) technology to enable organizations to drive business agility and efficiency by offloading repetitive high-volume work to a digital workforce (aka software robots). Process focus. Excellence.

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NGL mourns death of John D. Larson, retired NGL President & CEO

National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL) is mourning the death and celebrating the life of John D. Larson, retired NGL President & CEO who died on Sunday, September 29, 2019.

Larson was an integral part of NGL for nearly 50 years. Joining NGL in 1969, John was promoted to various senior leadership positions until becoming president in 1974. He was also Chairman of the NGL Board of Directors beginning in 2004 and appointed Chairman Emeritus in 2017.

“John left behind a legacy at NGL of caring for people, a commitment to Madison and profound integrity in all his dealings. He loved NGL and his community. He will be missed,” said Knut A. Olson, NGL President & CEO.

David G. Walsh, Chairman, NGL Board of Directors said, “John’s leadership and ceaseless effort was instrumental in leading NGL to continued success. The NGL Board of Directors are grateful for John’s sound business advice and valued counsel. He was a valued member of our Board and our community. He will be missed.”

In July 2019, the John D. Larson Scholarship Fund was established at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business in honor of Larson and his many years of service to NGL. The merit-based scholarship is awarded annually (up to four years provided the recipient is enrolled as an undergraduate) to an incoming freshman who has been accepted to the Wisconsin School of Business.

Prior to joining NGL, Larson was active duty with the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate and served in Okinawa, Japan from 1966-1969. He continued to serve a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard for nearly 30 years, during that time he retired as Assistant Adjutant General for Readiness & Training for the State Area Command with the rank of Brigadier General.

About NGL

Since 1910, National Guardian Life Insurance Company (NGL), a mutual insurance company, has been located 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; Blog: https://nglic.blog/

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C.D. Smith Construction Announces Dr. Tim Schigur As Director of Educational Markets

C.D. Smith Construction is pleased to announce that Dr. Tim Schigur has joined their team of facility planning and construction management professionals as the Director of Educational Markets.  Dr. Schigur has more than 20 years of professional experience in education, which includes time as a teacher, principal and Superintendent of schools. His extensive executive level management experience includes work in successfully developing long-term facility plans and passing both operational and capital facilities referendums designed to improve the learning environments and learning experiences for students and staff.

C.D. Smith Construction Senior Vice President Kevin Hickman commented on the addition of Schigur to their leadership team by stating “Dr. Schigur is a proven, successful leader with extensive knowledge, skills, and abilities in leading and improving K-12 schools.  We are very pleased to have him join our dedicated Educational Markets team at C.D. Smith Construction and have no doubt that he will be successful in supporting our clients.”

Dr. Schigur commented on his new role with C.D. Smith Construction, stating “I feel very fortunate to be provided this opportunity to work for such a great organization, and with a group of highly dedicated professionals.  Among the many things I liked about leading a school district was working with others to find ways to make schools even better for students, teachers, and the community. This exciting new position provides me an opportunity to do that on a daily basis with a group of incredibly well-established professionals here at C.D. Smith”. 

C.D. Smith Construction, a Wisconsin-based facility planning and construction management firm with offices in Madison, Milwaukee and Fond du Lac, has extensive experience in planning and constructing educational projects of all size and complexity.

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