Participating golfers enjoyed one of the season’s last perfect days. With temperatures in the mid-70s, sunshine warming the greens and a backdrop of stunning fall foliage, University Ridge Golf Course was the place to be on October 6. Special guest Ahman Green golfed with the Charter Communications foursome, and all teams enjoyed hole games sponsored by Sara Investments, Wegner CPAs and Nei-Turner Media Group. A tailgate cookout rounded out the event with awards presented to our Corporate Citizenship winners — read about them in the 
following pages. Thank you to all who attended, and we hope you join us next October.


WINNING GOLF TEAMS:
1.    Park Towne & Madison Capital Investment (54)
2.    WPS Health Insurance & TRICOR Insurance (56)
3.  Famous Faces Team (59)

4th Annual Corporate 
Citizenship Awards
We are pleased to present the five winners of the 4th annual Corporate Citizenship Awards, celebrated at the Corporate Report Wisconsin Golf Outing last month.
Companies were asked to describe their excellence in one or all of the following areas:

Environment: positive programs in place such as pollution reduction, recycling, and energy-saving measures.

Community involvement: philanthropy, any foundation the company supports, community service projects, educational outreach, scholarships, employee volunteerism, etc.

Employee relations: wages relative to the industry, benefits paid, wellness/health programs, education/employee development, family-friendly policies, parental leave, team management, employee empowerment, etc.

Diversity: percent of minority and women among employees, managers and board members; outreach programs, support of minority populations with other programs.

Customer service: quality management programs, quality awards won and customer satisfaction.
After careful review of all 17 submissions and a lengthy grading system based on the above, our judges were faced with the difficult task of selecting just five winners for 2011. The winners are lauded in the next few pages, with descriptions of just a sampling of their award-winning corporate citizenship. We’d also like to thank the following companies who submitted impressive nominations for this year’s consideration:

4 Imprint
Automation Components
Blackhawk Bank
Charter Business
CUNA Mutual
Insperity Time & Attendance
MPC
Prehn Cranberry Company
Robert W. Baird
Summit Credit Union
Sysco Foods
WPS Health Insurance

Meet the Judges
Kathryne Auerback helped develop and launch the Edgewood College Sustainability Leadership Graduate Program in the School of Integrative Studies. She is an instructor in that program as well as in the School of Business, where she serves as the Director of Program Development. In this role, she supports program and curriculum development, quality evaluation and analysis, undergraduate and graduate program growth and retention, and community building among students and alumni. She serves as the vice chair on the Board of Directors of REAP Food Group.

Kathryne has over 20 years of strategy, corporate responsibility, sustainability, marketing and public relations experience, most recently as principal at Generation Strategy LLC and previously as vice president at Madison Environmental Group, Inc. She earned her MA and MBA degrees from UW-Madison.

Barbara Krause is Publisher of Nei-Turner Media Group, Inc. Under her management, Nei-Turner was named the “Best Publishing Company to Work For” in 2009 from Publishing Executive magazine, due to its own initiatives in the areas of employee relations and community involvement. Nei-Turner Media Group regularly contributes to local charities and has won awards for its dedication to promoting tourism in the Lake Geneva area. Barbara also serves on the Marketing Committee for the Walworth County Visitors Bureau.

Marie Rohde is editor of Corporate Report Wisconsin. She was a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for more than 30 years. She left the newspaper in 2009 and has been a freelance writer for a number of news organizations including Bloomberg News, WisPolitics.com, Milwaukee Magazine, the Chicago Tribune and AARP. She has written extensively on legal affairs, government, business, environmental issues and construction.


Miron Construction Company, 
Neenah
Environment/Employee Relations
This family-owned company has a long record of efforts that demonstrates their commitment to public philanthropy, employee well-being and protecting the environment. Recently, Miron Construction implemented a partnerships with Cool Choices, a non-profit, to encourage environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The Cool Choices program is framed as a game called iChoose where employees receive points for taking on more sustainable behaviors, from car pooling to watching less television. Point levels are based on the potential dollar savings associated with the action, as well as degree of difficulty. There are monthly prizes for individuals as well as team prizes. And to help motivate participation, Miron donates sustainability grants to local charities, as selected by the winning teams. 75 percent of Miron’s 330 eligible employees participated, and 85 percent of those reported taking at least one sustainable action. It is estimated that participation in the Cool Choices program has saved 17,000 gallons of gasoline, 450,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and 600,000 gallons of water. On-site, in 2009 Miron eliminated plastic water bottles from their facility, preventing an estimated 58,000 bottles from going to the landfill annually.

Miron’s corporate office features a free, state-of-the-art fitness center with locker rooms, and immediate access to the Fox Cities Friendship Trail, a local walking/biking system. A part-time wellness coordinator also teaches on-site exercise classes, lunch-n-learns and leads fitness challenges throughout the year.

Community Involvement
Last year, Miron employees donated 13,000 pounds of gently-used items to Goodwill in celebration of Earth Day, which is more than 10 times the typical corporate effort. Miron also has strong connections with a variety of school-based initiatives, including efforts in conjunction with the construction of multiple LEED certified schools, support of student-led environmental initiatives at local elementary schools, and ongoing efforts to expose students to sustainability concepts using their facilities as teaching tools.

Tri-North Builders, 
Madison and Fitchburg
Environment
Sustainability has been a primary focus of this organization for more than a decade, responsible for constructing more than 18 LEED certified buildings and many other sustainable projects over the years. Additional notable efforts include exceeding minimum standards in their industry, designing an office building that is 20 percent more efficient than the standard, and purchasing materials and products within 500 miles of their job sites.  After 150,000 miles, vehicles are replaced with more efficient models. Tri-North also has a mandatory fuel mileage requirement of 25 to 30 mpg for company cars and those who receive a car allowance.

Community Involvement
Tri-North Builders supports its community by donating time, labor and money to organizations that focus their efforts on children and the disabled. And the company is committed to using local and minority contractors on every project in order to strengthen the local economy. Their recent 30th anniversary event commemorated their third decade in business by giving back to the local community. The event featured an appetizer competition between five local chefs and a silent auction, which raised $14,000 for each of four local charities: United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Dane County, Variety-The Children’s Charity of Wisconsin, The Urban League of Greater Madison and REAP Food Group.

Employee Relations
It is Tri-North’s goal to create a family atmosphere for employees. Employees are encouraged to voice concerns in this open working environment. Training sessions and social events are scheduled throughout the year, including an employee appreciation party. The company also established Little Builders in 1997, an on-site daycare center for the children of employees. Little Builders cares for children from the ages of infant to five years old, in a 2,500-square-foot facility with an outdoor play area. Parents can work with the confidence that their children are nearby and well cared for.

The Madison Concourse Hotel 
and Governor’s Club, Madison
Diversity
The Madison Concourse Hotel has created a workplace that is accepting and supportive. Its staff is 54 percent female and 46 percent male, with females comprising 70 percent of its management staff. Non-white employees make up 35 percent of its staff. The Hotel takes on the full expense, including hourly wages, for employees to take an English as a Second Language course. The “Where in the World” program also celebrates the diversity of the staff and helps to educate employees about their co-workers’ origins. Each month one employee’s home country is selected, and highlighted with food representing that culture. It initiates conversations that lead to deeper acceptance of diverse backgrounds.

Customer Service
This company takes great pride in providing the highest possible standard of service to its customers. A dedicated customer service manager responds to every comment card, and continuous efforts are made to improve service and amenities.  The establishment has consistently earned high ratings and reviews on numerous travel websites, including Expedia, Priceline, TripAdvisor and Hotels.com. 2011 awards include “Madison’s Favorite Hotel” by the Isthmus, “Best Hotel for Guests” from Wisconsin Bride magazine, “Madison’s Best Hotel” from Madison.com’s Star of Madison Awards, and a silver medal in Madison Magazine’s reader poll. It is estimated that return guests comprise 20 percent of the Hotel’s business.

Community Involvement
An annual Children’s Holiday Party is attended by approximately 300 children and benefits local organizations including the Boys and Girls Club, and the Bayview, Bridge Lakeport, West Middle and Lussier Community Centers. Hundreds of certificates are donated annually to non-profit organizations. The “Hotel with a Heart” program was started 14 years ago by an employee with a disabled grandchild. This program gives away a special night with a room and dinner to families caring for a person with special needs, while Respite Care cares for their loved one. This unique program has helped more than 300 families, with approximately 20 nights given away each year. The Hotel is also a member of the Patient Lodging Program with the American Cancer Society, putting patients in rooms when they travel to Madison for treatment.

Michels Corporation, 
Brownsville
Environment
This company understands that a successful business is not only one that makes money, but one that also makes the world a better place. This family-owned company holds environmental protection in high regard, and developed an internal organization to ensure expectations are met for each project. To commemorate Earth Day this year, the company partnered with Trout Unlimited to restore the Onion River in Sheboygan County. Other long-standing associations with wildlife and environmental groups include Adopt-A-Highway, Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Green Tier Advisory Board, and many others. And in the area of recycling, Michels implemented single-stream recycling this past July to reduce the amount of waste entering landfills.

Diversity
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Michels’ Human Resources Department consistently works to ensure its workforce is highly qualified and reflects the diversity found in the communities where they operate. Michels has explored a Wisconsin Department of Transportation mentor protégé with Minority Business Enterprises, Women’s Business Enterprises and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. The executive leadership is involved on the ‘front lines’ of these efforts. When provided the opportunity to work in our near native communities, Michels has worked closely with its customers to provide employment opportunities.

Employee Relations
Last year, the workforce at Michels numbered more than 4,500. A competitive pay structure and job-related education and training helps attract good workers and help them succeed. Its Human Resources department promotes many initiatives that encourage personal well-being, including healthcare hotlines and wellness reimbursement plans. Other ongoing benefits and programs help address other employee priorities. And a Code of Business Ethics further holds this organization to high standards in operations and customer service: It is the goal of Michels Corporation to attract employees who act ethically and with conviction, and to be known as a company that exemplifies honesty — with Core Values of integrity, trust and respect.

Standard Imaging,
Middleton
Customer Service
Standard Imaging manufactures and distributes radiation calibration and quality assurance instruments for the healthcare industry. Its emphasis on the customer is exemplified through the operational, product and export awards received, which include a win this year of Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies Award. One main area of customer focus is the development of custom products. Even though the profit margins are usually not as healthy as released products, Standard Imaging welcomes the challenge, as they often lead to new applications and markets. And most Standard Imaging products come with a two-year warranty in an industry where one year is standard practice.

Environment
The company’s green initiatives start with its facility. A new, 27,000-square-foot building was strategically located on a city bus route, and on bicycle and pedestrian trails. Geothermal heating and cooling, solar panel generated electricity and other energy efficiencies support its commitment to green. Standard Imaging uses only local suppliers where applicable. Nearly 60 percent of the company’s key strategic suppliers are based in Wisconsin, which keeps jobs, sales, wages and taxes within state boundaries, while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gases. The company also recycles materials and waste, where possible, with a recycling bin provided to each employee for material collection.

Employee Relations
Standard Imaging’s efforts in employee relations and diversity are clearly enviable, with fewer management layers, a casual dress code and researchers located around the globe. A unique, year-round work week can be utilized, where employees work eight-and-a-half-hour days Monday through Thursday and a six-hour day on Friday. The company’s monthly profit sharing plan shares a portion of any profit with each employee. Employees are also treated to a free lunch each month that a new record sales level is achieved. The company also covers 90 percent of medical and dental insurance for each employee, and unused sick days become vacation days. Tuition is also reimbursed.

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