Awards:
Special Commendation - Start-Up Leadership
Northern Great Lakes Regional Visitor Center
Merit award for leadership role creating a $7 million start-up enterprise with local, state and federal partners which provides a regional tourism center for the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world. Over 100,000 annual visitors become a part of history, retracing routes of the native peoples, old voyageurs, immigrants, or the fur traders' far flung travels along local rivers and lakes. The history of the region is very much the history of America and the center is the gateway to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
The Center features a regional History Center and Archives, gift shop, art gallery, theater, and a five-story observation tower offering a panoramic view of Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands Region.
Construction began in 1995 and the Center opened in May 1998, combining elements of history, natural resources, and visitor information under one roof. The Center operates through a unique federal, state and local partnership.
Special Commendation - Creation of LLC Law
State Bar of Wisconsin
Merit award for creating, developing and enacting the limited liability company law, as new vehicle for business formation in the State of Wisconsin. A limited liability company (LLC) is a relatively new business entity, at least in the United States. Its basic features are that its owners have limited liability for the entity's debts and obligations, similar to the status of shareholders in a corporation, and its income and losses are normally passed through to the owners as if it were a partnership.
An LLC is a statutory creation. That is, unlike general partnerships which developed under common law, an LLC, like a corporation, is created by filing a document (usually called Articles of Organization) with an officer designated by state law.
Business entities that bear strong similarities to limited liability companies existed in some European countries. Today every state and the District of Columbia have passed statutes allowing the formation of limited liability companies.
CEO Commendation - Enterprise Growth
Midwest Airlines
Recognized by CEO and senior corporate team for role leading and engaging policy makers at all levels of government and across the political spectrum and for working effectively with opinion leaders in affected communities across the state which resulted in a $1 billion corporate expansion by Midwest Airlines.
Identified as "the most energetic, thorough and entrepreneurial person the senior leadership had worked with" and for "demonstrating great enthusiasm and commitment to the project and not being deterred by it's difficult and complexity". Commended as a "dedicated advocate and at the same time an effective communicator, bringing people together to produce a shared commitment to a common goal and recognized for strategic thinking and creativity."
"It helped greatly that Michael is smart, because the technical aspects of property taxation that pertained to airlines were neither clear nor intuitive, and he learned the system and its effects inside and out. Ultimately, after two legislative sessions and a successful challenge in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, we were successful and completed our investment in 15 new Boeing 717 aircraft. Mr. Bright’s contribution was critical to our success."
Featured Professional of the Week
InBusiness Magazine
In Business magazine is the premier business-to-business publication in the Greater Madison region, celebrating more than 33 years of editorial excellence. The nationally-acclaimed editorial department provides readership news, analysis and in-depth profiles of the companies and people shaping the business community.
In Business magazine also introduces new businesses in the marketplace and honors the stakeholders who built the business community with awards programs and special events.
Our glossy publication is direct-mailed monthly to position-qualified, management-level business executives, nonprofit executives and government officials and is sold on selected newsstands.
Special Commendation - Reintroduction of Wild Elk
Conservation Leader Martin Hanson - in partnership with The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Elk were common throughout Wisconsin prior to human settlement, but the last native elk were reportedly killed in 1886. An effort was made in 1914 to reintroduce elk that been brought in from Yellowstone National Park. These elk, released to the wild in 1932, did not survive due to illegal hunting.
In the 1980s the state began to explore the feasibility of restoring an elk heard. Opposition from some groups kept a release from occurring at that time. However, thanks to the persistence of the Wisconsin Elk Study Committee, and an influential grassroots effort inspired by conversation leader Martin Hanson, public support for a release gained momentum.
Financial support came primarily from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, appointing Michael Bright to lead the effort. Massive volunteer fundraising efforts and private donations supported the herd reintroduction.
During the winter of 1994-95, 25 elk were captured from private land in Michigan. After health testing and a three month quarantine, the animals were brought to Wisconsin in May of 1995 and spent time in an acclimation pen. Then, on May 17, 1995, a small group of top government officials, conservation leaders and tribal members released the elk into the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. After an absence of 110 years, wild elk once again roam the wild lands of Wisconsin.
The core area of the Clam Lake elk range consists of 288 square miles of mixed conifer, upland hardwoods and cedar swamps entirely within the Great Divide Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Surrounding the core range is another 824 square miles of buffer range. The buffer range is a mix of National forest, county and state for- est, and private lands.
The goal is to expand the Clam Lake herd to 1400 elk—about 1 to 2 elk per square mile of elk habitat. Since their initial release, the elk herd has shown excellent progress.