Annual Meeting and Recognition Program
Each year, the Oshkosh Chamber recognizes businesses and individuals that have made a significant impact on our city. The Annual Meeting and Recognition Program also provides Oshkosh Chamber members with a progress report of the organization.
The 104th Annual Meeting was held November 1, 2011 at the Oshkosh Convention Center. The following individuals and businesses were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the community:
Dennis and Karlene Leatherman, Alberta Kimball Community Service. The Leathermans began managing the Oshkosh Farmers Market in 2009. To ease the workload and expand the market’s presence, they developed a committee to work with volunteers and conduct community outreach. It was, however, a relationship forged with Kris and Sarrah Larson of Becket’s that resulted in the Farmers Market’s move to North Main Street this past year.
The Farmers Market’s success since that move has been phenomenal. The number of vendors rose from an average of 50 to 102. The Oshkosh Police Department estimates that nearly 10,000 people visit the market weekly, and vendors have confirmed seeing four to five times as many customers as previous years. Downtown merchants are also reaping rewards, as Farmers Market visitors stop for coffee and breakfast and check out merchandise in the stores.
The Leathermans get no financial reward from running the market, and yet they are willing to do anything it takes to make the market a success.
Darlene Darrow, Ambassador of the Year. Darrow has been an Ambassador since 2009. Between her busy schedule as a real estate agent for FirstWeber Group, she makes time to welcome new Oshkosh Chamber members, attend ribbon cuttings and work the registration table at Business After Hours. She also has volunteered for the Chamber’s Operation Thank You event and shares her extensive knowledge of Oshkosh with EAA AirVenture visitors by volunteering at the Oshkosh Information Booth on the convention grounds.
Nicole Peterson, Outstanding Chamber Volunteer. Peterson, a teacher at Oshkosh West High School, has shared her knowledge as a member of the Oshkosh Chamber’s PR/Marketing Committee. As a teacher who is passionate about finding ways for schools and businesses to partner, she is instrumental in the Chamber’s Partners in Education (PIE) Council. PIE’s goal is to strengthen partnerships between the business community and school district. Peterson also has been integral in developing a marketing plan for WISCareers, an online career planning program.
In addition, it is safe to say that the Oshkosh Chamber Holiday Parade would not be the success it is without Peterson, who coordinates all parade entries and develops an efficient system for dispersing floats and bands up North Main Street for guests to enjoy. She also gathers student volunteers to help the evening of the parade.
Jim Janes, Distinguished Service Award. Janes served as chairman of the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors during the 2008-2009 fiscal year. During his year as chairman, he led an exploratory committee to begin study of economic development functions in Oshkosh and remained on the committee until its work ended earlier this year. Also, under his leadership, the Oshkosh Chamber began its reaccreditation process through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber was later awarded reaccreditation with five stars, the highest honor a chamber can earn.
Janes is best known for his passion for politics. He has chaired the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee for several years, develops questionnaires for local candidates and leads candidate forums. He also is among a delegation of local business people who travel to Madison and Washington D.C. each year to meet face-to-face with elected officials.
With a background in accounting, Janes also established the Oshkosh Chamber’s first Audit Committee and served as its first chairman.
Bill Wyman, Lynne Webster Leadership Award. Wyman graduated from Leadership Oshkosh in 1992 and since has been an integral part of many projects and programs that make Oshkosh a better place to live and work. As president of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, he spearheaded the proposal to build Pollock Community Water Park, which opened in 2004. He also is well-known in Oshkosh for renovating The Waters to give the Oshkosh Yacht Club a home and the community a lake-front option for weddings, meetings and parties.
Wyman also was a founding member of Pride of Place, which worked to beautify Oshkosh and led the project to light the Main Street Bridge. In addition, he serves as chairman of the NeighborWorks Steering Committee, which leads neighborhood revitalization efforts on Oshkosh’s east side.
Jacob Shapiro Elementary School and the Oshkosh Community YMCA, PALs Award. The partners, who have had a partnership for more than 10 years, are especially proud of their mentoring program that pairs students with YMCA staff. In its second year, the program pairs a positive adult role model with children who are in need of companionship and friendship.
Through the partnership, the YMCA has developed health and exercise stations for students during parent meetings at the school and during YMCA family nights. The partnership also allows the YMCA to try new programs and initiatives with students from Jacob Shapiro to determine which programs would be most beneficial to elementary school children.
Oracular, Small Business of the Year. Oracular has been in business in Oshkosh since 1988, with lines of business that include Oracle, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, RedPrairie, Microsoft and hosting and managed services. Oracular has done especially well with adapting to meet business needs as technology changes exponentially. As information technology budgets tightened, Oracular built a data center at its Ohio Street location to offer more options in hosting and managed service needs.
Oracular also developed a Supply Chain Management practice around RedPrairie technology. This practice not only helped grow Oracular’s business, it also led to international projects. In addition, as smartphone use and mobile web searches have grown at a staggering pace, Oracular expanded to help businesses increase their mobile presence.
Miles Kimball Company, Stephen Mosling Commitment to Education. This past year, Miles Kimball Company became involved with WISCareers, an online program that provides information to students about careers and colleges. Through their membership in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Margie Harvey and Corrie Hearn shared the importance of WISCareers to the organization and were instrumental in garnering a $2,000 donation from SHRM to WISCareers.
Miles Kimball also collaborates with PALs partner, Franklin Elementary School, by providing children school supplies and volunteering to tutor students.
Margie Harvey, Woman of Achievement. Harvey, vice president of human resources at Miles Kimball Company, serves on the Oshkosh Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors and the UW Oshkosh Business Success Center Board of Directors and chairs the Winnebago Conflict Resolution Center. She also has served on New North committees and the Fox Valley Technical College Advisory Board.
She contributes to her profession by serving as the workforce readiness director and director-elect of the Wisconsin Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). She also has served on the Oshkosh Chamber’s Partners in Education (PIE) Council and presents business and human resource seminars for the Oshkosh Chamber.
At Miles Kimball, she strengthened the company’s culture of continuous improvement, innovation and life-long learning by assisting in implementing the Kimball’s Improvement in EXcellence System (KIXS) 10 years ago, a program that is still a critical component to the company’s success. She also has helped Miles Kimball achieve many accolades, including the New North Workplace Excellence Award, the B2B Wellness Award, the National Wellness Council of America Safety Award, and the Blyth Safety Award.
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