Have you ever participated in a poverty simulation? If not, I highly recommend it. My wife and I are fortunate to have a friend and fellow Rotarian, Betsy Rozelle with CAP Services, who provides these simulations here in Northeast Wisconsin and so we went at our first opportunity.

Photo by Steve Schapiro, Minnesota Public Radio

We spent just over three hours on the Lawrence University campus one night this past November with roughly 70 other people. Some of these were professors or administrators with the university but most were students who wanted to learn more about poverty. Kudos to those students who participated.  This experience will change their lives forever.  Out of the 70 participants, most were individuals like us who came to learn. A select few acted as community resources. They were trained in advance of the simulation.

As participants arrived, we were given roles to play during the simulation. Each person “became” an adult in a “family”. Each family “came with” a packet which contained a profile, a set of assets and a budget.  No two profiles were the same.  Around the edges of the large room where the simulation was held were community resources, such as a bank, a school, a couple of agencies, a workplace, and many others. Each of these resources were staffed by one or more people.  (more…)

Last week, we took the kids on a day-long fieldtrip to Reed School, a historic, one-room school house east of Neillsville in central Wisconsin. The day involved the kids – and adults – reliving what a typical school day was like in 1939.

Reed School

As we sat in the old-time desks with holes where ink wells used to be, learned about the history of the school and watched as the kids went through their lessons, I discovered several key lessons that are still relevant today.

Community is important
For one-room school houses, the community was extremely important: the school needed their support to operate and school was a center of community activity. For Reed School, the community came together to rebuild the school within 8 months of it burning down in 1915.  An incredible feat, since the new, almost 2-story building was build of concrete and brick — and they didn’t have the construction equipment we have today.  The new building then served not only as a center of education for their children, but parents and neighbors were so deeply involved that the school became a center of community life. Parents and others gathered for regular school performances and other activities while also working together to maintain the building. (more…)

This is a reprint of an article I wrote for Insight on Business, an excellent business publication dedicated to the 100,000 or so businesses in The New North (Northeast Wisconsin) from their October 2011 issue:

Tips from a technophile

Here’s a simple way to pick a meeting date among busy people

One of Da Vinci's Doodles

Time management tools

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Reality TV. The mere mention can produce a visceral, less-than-positive reaction: Shallow. Waste of time. Zero intellectual or entertainment value. Garbage. Indicative of all that’s wrong with America. Or is it?

Reality TV Shows

If you look a little deeper there are some positive business principals you can take from reality shows – well most of them anyway. (I have yet to come up with anything redeemable from Jersey Shore or Temptation Island).

1) Save the Drama

When you think reality TV, you usually think drama – conflict, fighting, loud voices, and hurt feelings. If you’ve ever watched The Apprentice, Survivor or The Bachelor, you know that drama rarely advances someone’s cause. It just makes you look stupid and causes the others to vote you off the island first. Also true in business – save the drama. Remain calm, find amiable solutions to issues, speak rationally and stay away from the dramatic. (more…)

While sustainability may initially bring thoughts of green energy and recycling to mind, it’s also about supporting your local community. Times being as they are, lending a hand to fellow members of your community is as important as it has ever been.

Helping the communities in which we live

You can start by donating your unwanted items to reputable charities and services, such as:

If you have general items to donate, excessaccess.org will match your items with nonprofits in your area that can pick them up.  Of course, St. Vincent de Paul and Goodwill are great local options as well.

For used eyeglasses, Lions Clubs will make sure your old glasses go where they can be used by those in need.

Gently used shoes can be donated to Soles4souls or Donate Your Old Shoes which will send them to disaster zones and other locations around the world.

Men’s suits and ties can be given to Careergear, which matches business clothing to the disadvantaged across the country. You can also contact the Men’s Wearhouse to find out how to participate in their annual August clothing drive to collect men’s business suits for charities. The Men’s Wearhouse also has a list of charities partnered with the store for this drive on their website. You can contact an organization on the list if you are unable to donate at the store during September. (more…)

Sustainable development practices — conserving energy, reducing carbon emissions and protecting natural resources – are increasingly becoming ‘the norm’ for businesses and individuals. However, if you’re just getting started or are looking for additional ways to implement sustainability, here are a few simple ideas for business and at home.

Benefits outweigh costs for many sustainable best practices

For businesses, the following areas are a good place to start considering sustainability, after making energy efficient upgrades, according to the Small Business Administration:

Green Power and Renewable Energy

Businesses can consider purchasing energy produced from renewable resources or potentially installing renewable energy equipment at their facilities (e.g., wind turbines).  Government incentives may be available to help offset the cost of adding such renewable energy.

Green Design

Energy-efficient design and construction does not necessarily cost any more than standard design and can produce both energy and cost savings. Building Design Guidance from Energy Start can help businesses manage the process. Locally, construction companies Miron Construction and Boldt can help companies with sustainable design. (more…)

This is the fifth article in our series entitled Managers: The Good and the Bad.

The Everyday Evangelist is Inspiring, like some Quarterbacks

Twenty years ago, in 1991, it was quite a novelty for someone to have in their title the term “Evangelist”.  Even today, it is perhaps misleading to label a person an Everyday Evangelist because, despite the good intention (typically), this term smacks of religious origins.  Many of us who’ve been in Corporate America for a few years, however, either know or know of such a person, either with or without the term evangelist in their title.  They are the few who believe so strongly in a cause that their vision spreads like an infection.  They inspire loyalty, perseverance and a great sense of purpose and sometimes belonging. (more…)

In our last post on this issue, we discussed sustainability, which is about providing the best for people and the environment—now and for the indefinite future. Several organizations in the Fox Valley have put forth a commitment to sustainability by implementing such practices in their operations or by offering sustainable products to their customers.

Heading Toward Sustainability?

Recently, many companies have implemented wind energy into their operations through installation of wind turbines. This free-to-use, sustainable form of energy is being used at:

SCA, which installed four 100-foot-tall, 20 –kilowatt wind turbines at its Service Excellence Center in Menasha, Wis. Along with the 115 solar panels on the roof, the new turbines are delivering approximately 2 to 2 ½ months of the facility’s annual electrical power needs.

Menasha Corporation installed five wind turbines for electrical generation at its office and manufacturing complex on the southwest side of Neenah, along Highway 41. The turbines are producing enough power to provide for the basic office needs for the company’s headquarters building and Menasha Packaging. (more…)

The StreetBall Tournament hosted in the City of Neenah, Wisconsin – officially titled StreetBall 3-on-3 (www.streetball3on3.org) – is now 20 years old.  It was the brainchild of then Future Neenah Executive Director Randy Stadtmueller and is carried on today by the current Executive Director Amy Barker with her excellent staff.  What does an event like this mean for Neenah and the surrounding communities?

StreetBall's 20th Anniversary

• Hundreds of teams create meaningful competition.
• Exercise for the Mind, Spirit and Body (Yes, I borrowed that from the YMCA.  Thx.)
• An economic impact in the $100′s of thousands annually for the community.
• International awareness.  The website generates interest from virtually every state in the U.S. and in 40 countries as well.

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While you may think the phrase “Think Global, Act Local” is about the environment, it really goes beyond that.  At its core, it is about sustainability, which is defined as providing the best for people and the environment—now and for the indefinite future.

For most of us, putting sustainability into action in practical terms will mean doing something in the community – which means we will “Think Local, Act Local.”

So what are some of the ways we can impact sustainability in our community?  What are some ways local companies and organization are implementing sustainable practices?

In the next few posts, we’ll discuss both – and hopefully provide you with some ways you can increase sustainability in your local community.

Let’s start with the most obvious way to think local, act local: recycling.  While it is probably something you do already, it never hurts to review some of the basics and find new ways in which to use old items. (more…)