Southwest Tech Presidential Blog

The following article first appeared in the May 3, 2012, Fennimore Times as part of the “Buzz About Town” series. It is reprinted here with permission from Fennimore Times Editor Rob Callahan.

Buzz about Town is “a rotating column written by me; Fennimore resident and uber sports fan Steve Lendosky; SWCAP Business Development Director David Vobora; Fennimore Schools Superintendent Jaime Nutter; and Fennimore resident, mom, and dietitian Chris Swan.”

May 2 was the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Foundation’s annual “A Day for Southwest Tech.” It’s a day when staff members and volunteers spread out across Southwest Tech’s five-county district to renew friendships and solicit donations in support of our service to students and the public. Thank you to our donors as well as to the staff members and volunteers who participated. As yet, I do not know the exact number of donors nor the value of the cash and in-kind donations received, but every penny is heartily appreciated and will be well spent in accordance with the wishes of the donors.

Donations help us keep the quality of our career and technical education programs high and the cost to students reasonable. Students win each and every time someone gives us money for a scholarship, food for our food pantry, steel or supplies for our welding program, equipment for our electromechanical technician program, or some other gift.

But donors win too! They are not compelled to give to the Southwest Tech Foundation or any other charitable organization. But people around here are generous and many choose to support our mission for reasons that are as varied as the people themselves. Some give because Southwest Tech helped them or a loved one start or perhaps restart a career, others give because their support or the support of their company helps fill the supply of skilled workers, others give in memory of a deceased family member or student whose life was somehow touched by Southwest Tech, others to support students from their home town, and so on.

Sheri and I support the Southwest Tech Foundation for several reasons. We would not have had the careers or the lifestyle we have enjoyed without the help of a slew of teachers, schools, colleges, and universities. Giving is a way for us to express our gratitude and to “give back” to public education. We also give to named scholarships to honor the achievements or to memorialize the lives of colleagues, board members, friends, or others we have gotten to know. And finally and most important to me, I give to support teachers, students, and learning. I have so much respect for teachers, love for students, and amazement at the magic that happens when these two get together in Southwest Tech’s classrooms and laboratories, how could I not support them?

Fund-raising by the Southwest Tech Foundation goes something as follows. We meet and develop a relationship with people possessing an affinity for Southwest Tech, for public post-secondary education, for the Southwest Wisconsin region, for the Fennimore area, or for something else related to the College. As we get to know them better, we seek to identify their charitable interests, and then simply make them aware of opportunities to provide support to the Southwest Tech Foundation in a way that matches their interests.

At its core, good fund-raising is about building relationships and finding those win-win opportunities that allow a donor to joyfully fulfill his or her charitable desires while providing support for the students and/or public stakeholders served through Southwest Tech‘s programs. For example, if we learned that a Viola area farmer enjoyed supporting Kickapoo High School graduates, we might suggest a contribution to a scholarship for Kickapoo High School graduates in one of our agriculture programs.

We have several ways of identifying and getting to know people with an affinity for Southwest Tech. A Day for Southwest Tech is one way. Besides visiting old friends and past donors, we visit people and companies we hope to get to know better. We also launched a phonathon last month.  This project involved current students telephoning alums to reconnect, get up-to-date contact information, and share information about the College and its current directions. We also identify people with an affinity for Southwest Tech via the many professional and personal networks of our friends as well as board and staff members.

Southwest Tech Foundation donors “win” in other ways as well.  First, nearly all gifts to the Southwest Tech Foundation are tax deductible. Second, we offer recognition opportunities for donors who choose not to be anonymous.  For example, in 1998, Fred W. Lenz established the Lenz Family Endowment to provide a scholarship to one graduating senior from each of the 30 high schools within the Southwest Tech District in perpetuity. The College recognized this transformational gift by naming our meeting and conference space the “Lenz Center.” Donors who give $10,000 or more are recognized with a plaque on the Donor Wall near our front entrance. All donors are recognized as members of our gift club and in our annual report.

Bev Loy placing the Stan Hollmann Memorial Scholarship tile on Southwest Tech’s Donor Wall.

My first “A Day for Southwest Tech” was fun! It’s a joy to talk to friends with an interest in Southwest Tech. Of course I have to end with this, if we can create a win-win match between your charitable giving interests and an opportunity to support Southwest Tech, please let us know!

Last week I attended the District Boards Association quarterly meeting in Wausau, WI. As is the Association’s practice, the meeting involved and included a tour of the local technical college, Northcentral Technical College. Because I do not get up that way often, I also took advantage of the opportunity to visit Nicolet Technical College in Rhinelander, WI.

Nicolet Technical College, like Southwest Tech, is one of the smaller colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS). Also like us, they serve a largely rural district with Rhinelander, population about 8,000, being their largest city. It was fun seeing their beautiful Lake Julia campus. As I was taking the tour, we met a couple of staff members moving office items across campus in preparation for the commencement of renovation that will make their campus even more useful and attractive. Based on what I saw and heard, they are doing tremendous work in service to students and the public in the far north and central part of our state.

I also enjoyed seeing Northcentral Technical College’s Wausau campus and nearby Agricultural Center for Excellence. NTC has been one of the fastest growing technical colleges in the United States and it is easy to see why given their entrepreneurial and customer-focused culture; relevant, engaged, and engaging program array; commitment to collaboration with schools, businesses, and communities; and the attractiveness and exciting technology incorporated into their facilities.

The District Boards Association meeting featured Southwest Tech in several ways. Heather Fifrick, Foundation Manager, gave a wonderful presentation titled “Southwest Tech Foundation: Student Housing and Special Projects” as part of a three-person panel discussion on the work of technical college foundations. This panel discussion constituted the professional development portion of the program and was aimed at helping WTCS districts board members (and me!) better understand the role and contributions of our foundations.

Rita Luna, Karl Sandry, Candace Wetter, Scott Butchen

Candace Wetter’s entry into the WTCS’s Futuremaker Video Competition was shown along with those of two other finalists at lunch on Friday. Candace, who is a senior at FennimoreHigh School and a student in Fire Science and General Education at Southwest Tech, placed second in the statewide competition. Congratulations Candace and all the Futuremakers from around the WTCS who entered a video!

You may find Candace’s video and the other entries by clicking here.

l to r. Rita Luna, Rhonda Sutton (Board Member), Scott Butchen, Dean Isaacson (Board Member), Candace Wetter, Karl Sandry, Russ Moyer (Board Member), Duane Ford, Don Tuescher (Board Member)

Her parents, Nicki and Gary Wetter, were in attendance along with Southwest Tech staff members Rita Luna, Fire and EMS Supervisor; Karl Sandry, Lab Assistant and Fire Instructor; and Scott Butchen, Fire Instructor.

Southwest Tech board member Russ Moyer is the current Vice President of the District Boards Association. It fell to him to run the business portion of the program because President Pat Costello was unable to attend. The District Boards Association summer meeting on July 19-21 will be at Deer Valley Lodge, Barneveld, WI. The entire Southwest Tech community and I look forward to their visit to our campus, and I know that Russ is excited about their visit to his community and farm.

It was a productive trip north. I learned a lot from my visits to Nicolet Technical College and Northcentral Technical College, from the college foundations panel presentation, as well as from the meetings and individual discussions with board members and fellow presidents, Libby Burmaster and Lori Weyers. It is always helpful to visit other technical colleges, see their facilities, discuss collaborations, and learn how they go about the business of serving students and the public. We in higher education are always ready to either share or to “copy and steal everything” that works well. Thank you to the District Boards Association and to our friends at Nicolet Technical College and Northcentral Technical College.

Last week I completed a nine-hour golf techniques class  taught by Scott Kennedy, Golf Course Management Instructor, as well as some of the members of the Charger golf team. What a joy it was to be back in a classroom! It was fun being a student again. And, I believe I achieved my learning goal, which was to gain sufficient proficiency so that I would not embarrass myself playing some of the charitable golf outings around the District this summer. Those are great opportunities for me to get to know people better as well as to promote Southwest Tech.

It was also a pleasure to watch one of our many talented teachers practicing his craft with great skill. Scott, like so many of our instructors, has passion for his subject and a wonderful ability to transmit knowledge and skill to his students with precision, care for each of them as an individual, and humor. Thank you to him and to all Southwest Tech’s equally talented instructors! Thank you, too, to the members of the Charger golf team who assisted; what a delightful group of students they are.