Communication Week 2011
The Division of Communication at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point is proud to welcome back to campus 16 outstanding alumni for Communication Week 2011 on October 3-6. This special event will allow current students to interact with former UWSP communication students who have achieved great success in their professional careers. The returning alumni will serve as guest speakers in more than 25 different communication classes over the four-day period. They also will meet with students outside of the classroom and with members of student organizations to share insights and offer career advice.
Monday, October 3rd
Patrick Casey - Public Relations Specialist, The Boldt Company, Appleton, WI
As a student, Patrick was a reporter for The Pointer, a member of PRSSA, a DJ for WWSP-90FM and a new student orientation leader. He completed internships for the UWSP Men’s Hockey Team and Red Shoes PR in Appleton. His work in the marketing department at The Boldt Company’s corporate headquarters has included writing and editing copy for news releases and a variety of marketing, advertising and business development materials. He runs corporate social media channels and is developing a corporate blog and crisis communication manual for this large sustainable construction services firm with 12 offices throughout the United States.
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 1 (Introduction to Public Relations)
3:35-4:50 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 2 (Introduction to Public Relations)
Brett Christopherson - Sports Writer and Digital Content Producer, The Post-Crescent, Appleton, WI
Brett worked as a staff writer and sports editor for The Pointer. His work at The Post-Crescent since 2003 has given him the opportunity to cover high school, college and professional sports. His primary beats have included the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers – a Class A minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers – and University of Wisconsin athletics. He has covered the Green Bay Packers at the Super Bowl, the UW football team at major bowl games and the Badgers basketball team at Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Brett has been a contributing writer for the Packer Report, serves as a co-host of “Clubhouse Live” – a weekly sports talk show with Packers players as frequent guests – and produces a weekly high school sports show streamed on www.postcrescent.com. He has won numerous awards from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and the Associated Press Sports Editors for his stories and columns.
9:35-10:50 a.m. – Room 301 CAC
Visiting Communication 221/Section 1 (Basic Journalism: Newswriting and Reporting)
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Room 301 CAC
Visiting Communication221/Section 2 (Basic Journalism: Newswriting and Reporting)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 300 CAC
Visiting Communication 192/Section 2 (Creating Media Narratives) &
Communication 221/Section 3 (Basic Journalism: Newswriting and Reporting)
Erin Olson - Founding Director, Central Wisconsin Resiliency Project, Stevens Point, WI 
Erin completed internships with the American Cancer Society and the United Way of Portage County as a UWSP communication major. She also coordinated weekly meal preparation at the Salvation Army Hope Center as the Student Social Justice Coordinator at Newman University Center. After her graduation, Erin completed a year of service at AmeriCorps*VISTA, where she helped develop a volunteer program for the YMCA of Greater Seattle. She worked for the Campus Kitchens Project, a national student-led hunger relief organization, from 2004-2009 and ultimately served as the group’s national program director overseeing nine local programs. Erin returned to Stevens Point in 2009 and at the Central Wisconsin Resiliency Project, an AmeriCorps program, she works to address sustainability issues throughout the region. She is active in the United Way of Portage County and the Central Rivers Farmshed, a volunteer organization that works to promote the local food economy.
8-9:15 a.m. – Room 237 CAC
Visiting Communication 273/Section 1 (Reasoning and Criticism)
9:35-10:50 a.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 345/545 (Small Group Communication)
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1-1:30 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Laura Williams - Product Marketing Specialist, Nekoosa Coated Products, Nekoosa, WI
As a student, Laura served as treasurer and president of PRSSA and completed an internship at Riverview Hospital in Wisconsin Rapids. In June, 2010, she started her full-time position at Nekoosa Coated Products – a carbonless paper manufacturer and specialty synthetic substrates converter. In that position, Laura coordinates the company’s public relations, marketing, social media, website content and advertising. She is a member of the Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society, the Monteverdi Master Chorale and the board of directors for the Miss Wisconsin Rapids Area Scholarship Pageant.
11-11:50 p.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time”
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 1 (Introduction to Public Relations)
3:35-4:50 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 2 (Introduction to Public Relations)
Tuesday, October 4th
Tim Blotz - News Anchor/Reporter, WMSP –TV – Fox 9, Minneapolis, MN
Tim began his broadcasting career at WWSP-90FM, where he worked many hours in the news department. He was a student senator, an active member of the SGA Finance Committee and was a recipient of the Chancellor’s Leadership Award. Tim’s reporting has taken him from the Chippewa treaty rights struggle in northern Wisconsin to the Gulf War, the Balkans conflict in Sarajevo, Jeffrey Dahmer’s doorstep, and into the fires that destroyed portions of Los Alamos, New Mexico. He has been a television news anchor in Green Bay, Milwaukee and Albuquerque. He is now a reporter and weekend anchor for Fox 9 in Minneapolis. Tim is the winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award for writing and multiple Emmy Awards for his work as an anchor and reporter. He has run his own documentary production business and served as the communications officer for the Lt. Governor of New Mexico. Tim completed his master’s degree this summer in strategic communication at the University of Minnesota.
10-11:50 a.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 1 (Media Production I)
1-2:50 p.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 2 (Media Production I)
3-4:50 p.m. – Room 300 CAC
Visiting Communication 333/533 (Case Studies in Public Relations) &
Communication 356 (Media Production Workshop)
4:50-5:20 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Bret Lemoine - News Reporter, WFRV-TV, Green Bay, WI
Bret completed an internship at WTMJ in Milwaukee and served as a news producer and the general manager of Student Television while at UWSP. He won numerous awards, including the James Schuh Scholarship, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Journal Foundation/Walter Jay and Clara Charlotte Damm Fund Scholarship and the Division of Communication’s “Who’s Who in Communication Award.” Bret served as a U.S. representative at a foreign correspondents’ program sponsored by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki, Finland. He worked as a reporter and weekend anchor/producer for WMBD-TV in Peoria, Illinois – where he won two top awards from the Illinois Broadcasters Association for his work. He now reports in Wisconsin’s Fox River Valley for Channel 5.
10-11:50 a.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 1 (Media Production I)
1-2:50 p.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 2 (Media Production I)
3-4:50 p.m. – Room 300 CAC
Visiting Communication 333/533 (Case Studies in Public Relations) &
Communication 356 (Media Production Workshop)
4:50-5:20 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Lindsay Meyer - Business Banker, Investors Community Bank, Stevens Point, WI
Lindsay completed an internship with UW Extension while attending UWSP. She also participated in a Leadership Works! Program on campus and served as treasurer for Student Impact. After her graduation, Lindsay completed a two-year internship with CRUa, a nonprofit Christian organization, where through training and mentoring she helped college students build leadership skills. She then worked for five years at M&I Bank, where she started as a bank teller but quickly moved up the ranks to manage her own branch. Lindsay began her new job as a business banker for Investors Community Bank in August, 2011.
11-11:45 a.m. – Room 202 CAC
Visiting Communication 200/Section 1 (Communication Theory)
1-1:50 p.m. – Room 202 CAC
Visiting Communication 200/Section 2 (Communication Theory)
2-2:30 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Wednesday, October 5th
John Clark - Director of North American Marketing, TGW Systems, Inc., Spring Lake, MI
John was involved in many different organizations on campus including WWSP-90FM, The Pointer, Student Television, SGA and the men’s soccer team. He had a summer internship with an advertising agency, volunteered at the UWSP News Service and served as an assistant coach for the UWSP women’s soccer team. John is a seasoned marketing, public relations and corporate executive with more than 15 years of broad hands-on experience in writing, advertising, design, trade show and event planning, public/media relations, websites, lead generation and management. He held communication management positions at Dematic Corp and Provia Software before joining TGW – a global material handling automation company based in Michigan. His work has allowed him to develop and maintain corporate identities, manage large (over $1 million) marketing budgets, launch new products and oversee all aspects of external communication for substantial companies.
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 300 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 1 (Introduction to Public Relations) &
Communication 336 (Communication and Promotional Strategies)
3:35-4:50 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 2 (Introduction to Public Relations)
5-5:30 p.m. – Legacy Room DUC
Visiting UWSP’s PRSSA Chapter Meeting
Tim Coghlin - Head Coach of Men’s Hockey, St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI
Tim Coghlin has put his considerable communication and leadership skills to work in collegiate athletics. As a student, Tim captained the men’s hockey team at UWSP to its first NCAA Division III championship in 1989. He was a two-time All-America selection as a defenseman and three-time NCHA selection. He later served as assistant coach with the Pointers when they won the national title in 1993 and finished runner-up in 1992. Tim has served as the head hockey coach for the St. Norbert College Green Nights for 18 seasons, compiling a 390-106-40 record. He has led his team to 12 NCAA Division III Tournaments, seven Frozen Four appearances, two national championships (in 2008 and 2011) and three national runner-up finishes. Tim’s five NCAA title game appearances are the second highest total in Division III history.
9:35-10:50 a.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 345/545 (Small Group Communication)
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1-1:30 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Kirk Howard - Owner/President/Creative Director, Kinziegreen Marketing Group, Wausau, WI
Kirk studied communication at UW-Stevens Point as both an undergraduate and graduate student. His professional career began as a tour guide and public affairs assistant with the Hamm’s Brewery in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He then moved to Olympia Brewing Company’s corporate headquarters as a publications editor and photographer. After returning to Wisconsin, Kirk served as a senior editor/speech writer at Wausau Insurance Companies and corporate communications manager at Marathon Electric prior to purchasing Kinziegreen in 1986. His company is celebrating its 45th year of providing advertising, marketing, public relations and interactive services to regional and national companies.
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 300 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 1 (Introduction to Public Relations) &
Communication 336 (Communication and Promotional Strategies)
3:35-4:50 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 230/Section 2 (Introduction to Public Relations)
5-5:30 p.m. – Legacy Room DUC
Visiting UWSP’s PRSSA Chapter Meeting
Chris Keller - Digital Audience Development Specialist, Madison.com, Madison, WI
While at UWSP, Chris was an active member of The Pointer, WWSP-90FM and SGA. He also worked with Student Television. Since his college days, Chris has served as editor of two weekly newspapers and as a reporter, assignment editor, assistant sports editor and online content editor at daily newspapers, covering aspects of every major beat. He now helps lead digital audience development efforts for one of the leading newspaper websites in the country – Madison.com, an online service that features local news, blogs, forums, community pages, classified advertisements and the websites of the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times. Chris also is active on social media platforms such as Twitter and Tumblr.
9:35-10:50 a.m. – Room 301 CAC
Visiting Communication 320 (Multimedia for Journalists)
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 301 CAC
Visiting Communication 221/Section 3 (Basic Journalism: Newswriting and Reporting)
Brian Posick - Sports Director, WIBA Radio, Madison, WI
Brian served as sports director and station manager at WWSP-90FM. He broadcast the station’s first Pointer men’s hockey game and covered the team throughout the country as it won its first NCAA Division III championship in 1989. After graduation, Brian served as sports director of WSAU Radio in Wausau for 16 months before being hired as an afternoon sports anchor and daily talk show host for WIBA in 1991. He served as his station’s play-by-play announcer for UW women’s basketball for eight seasons, while also broadcasting high school Football and Basketball Games of the Week. From 1999-2002, he broadcast UW hockey games on Wisconsin Public Television before taking over as the radio play-by-play voice of the Badgers hockey. Brian is beginning his 10th season in that role this fall. He has been the sports director at WIBA since 1996 and in 2001 gained additional duties as sports director of WTSO – Madison’s first all-sports station. Brian has interviewed many of the greatest sports figures of all time and is recognized by his peers for his expertise. He has been a Heisman Trophy voter since 1997 and a John Wooden Award voter since 2001. Brian just concluded a three-year term last year on the Hobey Baker Award Committee.
9:35-10:50 a.m. – Room 301 CAC
Visiting Communication 320 (Multimedia for Journalists)
11-11:50 a.m. – Room 333 CAC
Visiting Communication 100 (Introduction to Communication Study)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 301 CAC
Visiting Communication 221/Section 3 (Basic Journalism: Newswriting and Reporting)
Thursday, October 6th
Laurie Frahm - Associate Producer, Becker Communications, Inc., Schofield, WI
Laurie served as assignment editor and later as program director of Student Television at UWSP. She completed internships with WKOW-TV in Madison and the UWSP Department of Theatre and Dance. Her project for the dance program – an hour-long documentary – earned Laurie two awards in the Greater Wisconsin Media Communications Association International (MCA-I) video competition. She also won the James Schuh Scholarship, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Journal Foundation/Walter Jay and Clara Charlotte Damm Fund Scholarship and the Division of Communication’s “Who’s Who in Communication Award.” Laurie has been an associate producer with Becker Communications for nine years working with a wide variety of clients on media productions. She has served as secretary of the MCA-I and at the local level as both president and communications director of the organization’s Greater Wisconsin Chapter.
10-11:50 a.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 1 (Media Production I)
1-2:50 p.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 2 (Media Production I)
3-3:30 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Angie Heuck - Director, Saint Michael’s Foundation, Stevens Point, WI
Angie earned her master’s degree in communication at UWSP in 1994. She has an extensive background in marketing and communication. Before becoming Saint Michael’s Foundation Director earlier this year, Angie served as senior manager of marketing communications at Joerns Healthcare in Stevens Point. She previously owned her own marketing communications company, Advantage Communications & Design, for eight years where she worked with numerous Central Wisconsin businesses developing and implementing marketing and communication plans. Angie has served on several local not-for-profit boards and committees, helping to cultivate growth, coordinate fundraising activities and raise money for special appeals. She recently served on the board of directors for the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin and Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum. At the foundation, Angie is responsible for developing, managing and granting charitable support for Ministry Saint Michael’s Hospital as well as meeting the health needs of the local community.
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 385 (Provider – Patient Communication)
1:15-1:45 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
2-3:15 p.m. – Room 204 CAC
Visiting Communication 390/590 (Introduction to Health Communication)
Vickie Mrotek - News Anchor, WSAW-TV, Wausau, WI
Vickie served as an anchor and producer for Student Television at UWSP. She also worked part-time at three local radio stations – WDLB/WLJY, WMGU-FM and WIZD-FM. While completing her coursework, Vickie began working as a part-time reporter for WSAW-TV – Channel 7. She became a full-time member of the news team shortly after her graduation. Vickie (who long-time viewers remember by her maiden name – Vickie Jacobitz) worked throughout the 1990s as a news reporter and anchor. She then left broadcasting for more than a decade to pursue an award-winning career in sales and recruiting. She now is back at Channel 7 anchoring the news at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Her husband, Erik (also a UWSP communication graduate), anchors the station’s 10 p.m. broadcast.
10-11:50 a.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 1 (Media Production I)
1-2:50 p.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 2 (Media Production I)
3-3:30 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time
Bryan Piepenburg - Media Services Manager/Senior Producer, Becker Communications, Inc., Schofield, WI
While a student, Bryan worked as a director for Student Television and was president of Hyer Hall. His broadcasting career started with an internship at WAOW-TV in Wausau. Bryan moved through the ranks there as a full-time employee, starting on the floor crew and eventually ending as the assistant production manager for the station. Before joining Becker Communications – a full-service marketing communications company – Bryan worked at WSIU-TV, a public television station owned and operated by Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale. His responsibilities at SIU included producing a bi-weekly public affairs program, station underwriting and managing on-air fundraising efforts for the two television stations and two radio stations operated by the university. Bryan’s work at Becker Communications has allowed him to produce media related projects for numerous local, regional, national and international customers across a spectrum of industries. He received the Division of Communication’s Alumnus of the Year Award in 2003.
10-11:50 a.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 1 (Media Production I)
1-2:50 p.m. – Room 112 CAC
Visiting Communication 253/Section 2 (Media Production I)
3-3:30 p.m. – Room 227 CAC
Networking Time