Welcome to the Eau Claire Chamber Blog

Blugold Radio announced that Angela Flannery has been hired as sales manager, and Matt Selvig will be stepping onto the court with Blugold Athletics. They both bring unique skill-sets to the table and will be valuable assets to Blugold Radio’s mission of delivering professional radio produced by UWEC students and Chippewa Valley community members. Flannery will be using her extensive background in business to build new connections between Blugold Radio and businesses throughout the Chippewa Valley. Selvig brings extensive experience working with WOGO (WWIB’s sister station) doing sports broadcasting and six years announcing Eau Claire Express Baseball games.

Applications are being accepted for three positions on the Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) Board of Trustees. The open positions include one member who is an elected official and two additional members. Successful candidates will serve three-year terms beginning July 1, 2017. Applications are due by 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27. Send applications to Lauren Sullivan, Chippewa Valley Technical College, 620 W. Clairemont Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54701. There are a number of requirements all candidates must meet in order to be eligible for Wisconsin Technical College System district board membership. Candidates must be residents of the technical college district, must submit an application/affidavit with a completed questionnaire and at least two written references, and must attend a district board appointment committee public hearing in person to be interviewed. The hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 20, at 1 p.m. at the CVTC Business Education Center in Eau Claire.

Chippewa Valley Technical College students will have greater opportunities for paid internships thanks to a $107,476 grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and Affiliates. The grant is part of a combined $2.1 million awarded to 16 two-year colleges across six states to create 1,000 paid internships. To fund creation of paid internships for low-income students, Great Lakes started the Career Ready Internship Grant in 2013, making grants available to four-year colleges. Great Lakes has now expanded the grant program to two-year colleges. Grant funds will cover internship wages and other related expenses. CVTC will partner with employers in its 11-county district to create over 100 internship positions and will also build an internal system to recruit students, match them with available internships and provide them the support they need to succeed. The new internship opportunities will begin as early as spring 2017, with full availability this summer.
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Licensed clinical social worker Alicia Dean, recently joined Family Medicine as a psychotherapist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Dean holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Winona State University and a master’s degree in social work from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. For the past six years, she has served as a social worker in the Emergency Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Dean will provide behavioral and mental health treatment and support during a patient’s clinic appointment, if needed.

Nurse practitioner Dawn Mrozinski recently joined the Radiation Oncology Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. She completed her master’s degree in business administration from the Minnesota School of Business, Globe Education Network in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Mrozinski is a member of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association and the Oncology Nursing Society. She is certified by the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation. Previously, Mrozinski served as the director of the Clinical Research Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire.

Royal Credit Union (Royal) has named Jean Zimmer mortgage operations manager. In this role, she is responsible for planning, organizing, and overseeing all activities of the Home Loan Processing and Closing Department. She also ensures that all real estate processing and closing operations are in accordance with established policies and legal requirements. Zimmer has roughly 30 years of experience in mortgage lending, including the past 6 years with Royal. She started with Royal in June 2010 as a Home Loans Operation Coordinator, for which she was responsible for researching and implementing changes due to adjustments in compliance regulations.

​Physical therapist Tanner Tryon recently joined the Rehabilitation Services Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Tryon earned his doctor of physical therapy degree from Des Moines University in Iowa. He received his bachelor’s degree in health promotion from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Tryon is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association.

The American Cancer Society, the nation’s largest voluntary health organization, has announced that Douglas Hoffer, assistant city attorney for the City of Eau Claire, has been selected to its Wisconsin Leadership Board. In this role, Hoffer will join 22 other volunteer leaders in advancing the Society’s lifesaving mission in Wisconsin. The Society’s Wisconsin Leadership Board is a volunteer leadership group that works to increase the success of its efforts to save more lives from cancer. Board members serve as ambassadors in their communities, building relationships with key corporate partners, health systems, advocacy leaders, and other community stakeholders who can impact the Society’s fundraising and mission goals.

Prevea Urgent Care, located at the Prevea Chippewa Falls Health Center recently opened and will offer walk-in care for minor illnesses and injuries including cold or flu symptoms, earaches, sprains, minor fractures, cuts, infections, asthma and more. Prevea Urgent Care will be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and holidays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. No appointments or referrals are necessary. Visitors also will be able to view wait-times at Prevea Urgent Care, at www.prevea.com/urgent. With the opening of Prevea Urgent Care on Jan. 9, urgent care services at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital will transition to Prevea Urgent Care, which is located just across the parking lot from the hospital.

For an eighth consecutive year Mercury Marine has presented Zacho Sports Center of Chippewa Falls its prestigious Service Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Award for 2016. Mercury Marine’s Service CSI Program measures the satisfaction of consumers after having service work done on their Mercury outboard or MerCruiser Sterndrive or inboard. Zacho Sports Center won the Service CSI Award for its ongoing commitment to providing exemplary customer service, based on the responses of customers who had warranty work performed at the dealership during the past year. A total of 144 out of 5000 North American dealers qualified for the Service CSI Award for 2016.  Zacho Sports Center was the only dealer in northwest Wisconsin to receive the award and with a score of 98/100 ranks in the top one percent of all Mercury dealers. Zacho Sports Center is one of only 25 dealerships in the United States that has received this award 8 or more consecutive years. Zacho Sports Center is locally owned and operated by Damin Zacho and Mike Emberson.

Dana Cash, M.D., recently joined Family Medicine at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Cash earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. She earned her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Cash completed her residency in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Previously, Cash provided primary care medicine for 8,000 marines and sailors at Camp Lejeune. She is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Board of Family Medicine.

Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) has been named a Military Friendly School for 2017. This is the fourth consecutive year CVTC has earned the designation. The Military Friendly School designation by Victory Media is awarded to the top colleges, universities, community colleges and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace military students and ensure their success in the classroom and after graduation. The list serves as a resource for service members and military families seeking education and has played a significant role over the past seven years in advancing best practices in supporting military students on campuses across the country.

Nine business and technology programs at Chippewa Valley Technical College have received accreditation, providing assurances of program quality and positive student outcomes. The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) recently announced full accreditation for CVTC associate degree programs in accounting, business management, administrative professional, human resources, marketing management and supervisory management, plus the information technology software developer, mobile developer and network specialist programs. To gain accreditation, a program must meet a set of rigorous standards and criteria, including leadership, strategic planning, measureable assessments and faculty and staff focus. A three-member team from ACBSP visited the CVTC campus in September for a three-day review of the programs. CVTC must provide quality assurance reports every two years and undergo a new review after 10 years to retain accreditation.

Charlie Johnson and Mike Botten both recently joined the Low Voltage Contractors (LVC) sales team. Johnson joins LVC with a diverse work background and a variety of unique personal interests including 30 years in the National Guard and property management of 13 rental units. An industry veteran, Botten joins LVC with a background rich in fire alarm and security sales.  Most recently, Botten was with a company very similar to LVC and, as such he was familiar with the company through industry events and organizations.
 

Woita & Associates announced that David Hopkins, RICP® and principal of the firm, has obtained his Certified Financial Planner TM certification. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP ®, Certified Financial Planner TM and CFP ® in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. The certification is a standard of excellence based upon Education, Examination, Experience, and Ethics administered and regulated by the CFP Board. The CFP Board is a non-profit organization acting in the public interest by fostering professional standards in personal financial planning through its setting and enforcement of the requirements for CFP certification.

Royal Credit Union (Royal) recently received a 2016 Best Practices Award from the Credit Union Journal. Royal received the award for its project management initiative. Fourteen credit unions received the award for a variety of achievements including improving efficiency, cutting costs and enhancing member service. Royal’s project management initiative is run by a committee charged with providing a practical framework and prioritization of projects. The initiative has helped manage Royal’s resources and provides better communication for key stakeholders.

Royal Credit Union (Royal) has named Karlee Wallin small business lending officer. In this role, she will assist the vice president–business lending manager with overseeing and administering the small business lending program. She’ll also be responsible for developing and managing small business loans and services relationships for existing and new members. Wallin began with Royal in September 2006. She started in the Business Lending Department as a business loan representative; however, for the past six years Wallin has been a business loan analyst. Through her 15 years of experience in the banking industry, she has accumulated Shockproof Credit College certificates in Commercial Business C&I Credit Decisions and Commercial Real Estate Credit Decisions.

Physician assistant Erica Gyorfi recently joined the Orthodpedic Center at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Gyorfi earned her master’s degree in the physician assistant program from Barry University in Miami, Florida. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology at UW-La Crosse. Gyorfi is board-certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants. Gyorfi will see patients in Hand and Upper Extremity Services in the Orthopedics Center.
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The Women’s Giving Circle, a fund of the Eau Claire Community Foundation, has announced its Circle Advisory Team. At the Annual Meeting of the Women’s Giving Circle, the members elected the following individuals for the 2017 leadership positions: Circle Advisory Team Chair Jill Prushiek, Circle Advisory Team Co-Chair Sarah Stokes, Circle Advisory Team Secretary Karen Eisenbarth, Education and Programs Team Chair Petey Ahneman, Education and Programs Team Co-Chair Jennifer Hanson-Bremer, Grants Team Chair Sherry Macaul, Grants Team Co-Chair Jeanne Peterson, Membership/Outreach Team Chair Pat Markin, Membership/Outreach Team Co-Chair Marianne Klinkhammer and Circle Advisory Team Past Chair Sue McIntyre. In order to join the Women’s Giving Circle, members contribute at least $250 a year. Part of their contribution supports grants to local nonprofit organizations that run programs benefiting women and/or children. The other portion of the contribution is used to build an endowment at the Eau Claire Community Foundation for future grants.