2012 Rainmaker Awards!

Rainmaker
In our line of work, this does not describe someone trying to produce rain through an artificial means.  At Kolb+Co., it has greater meaning and rewards associated with it.  The definition of rainmaker that best fits our firm is:  A person who brings in new business, or whose influence can institute progress, or ensure success.  (This definition was taken from Dictionary.com.)  In 2003, the Kolb+Co. Rainmaker program was founded to help our professionals hone their business development skills.  Over the last 10 years, the program has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its self.  This week, we celebrated the top Rainmakers in our firm for 2012 and awarded them with trophies and gift cards at our Annual Firm Update.

Congratulations to our nine Rainmaker Award winners for 2012!

Managers, Seniors, Staff & Support
Bronze:  Matt Pluster
Silver:  Casey Malek
Gold:  LeAnne Foster

Senior Managers and Directors
Bronze:  Ginny Gribble
Silver:  Jenny Kramer
Gold:  John Kielich

Shareholders and Professional Salespersons
Bronze:  Jim Wagner
Silver:  Keith Kamperschroer
Gold:  Steve Spector

The Selection Process
The Kolb+Co. Rainmaker program is point-based, and employees earn points by completing Rainmaker activities.  Activities include writing a full page newsletter article for our Adviser publication or an outside publication, attending a networking event, giving a presentation and being on a board or committee of a trade or professional association.  As you can see, the activities encourage employees to develop and sharpen their networking and professional skills from the moment they start at our firm.  This also helps Kolb+Co. grow our business and increase market presence.  At the end of the year, the employees with the most points are the ones selected to receive Star Rainmaker Awards.  

Who is Eligible?
This is the neat part of the program.  The program breaks the Rainmaker Awards into three categories based on an employee’s level within the firm: Shareholder and Sales Professional; Senior Manager and Director; and Manager, Senior, Staff and Support.  Typically, a shareholder will be out giving more presentations, writing more articles, and attending more networking events than a staff that is just starting with the firm.  This gives each employee a chance to win an award and creates a friendly rivalry within each category.  There was a friendly rivalry at the Shareholder and Sales Professional category between Steve Spector and Keith Kamperschroer this year.  Steve Spector claimed the title this year, but Keith was not far behind.  Next year it could be Keith or someone could beat them both!

Employees at each category can earn Bronze, Silver, or Gold level Rainmaker Awards.  That is 9 Rainmaker Awards handed out each year!  In addition to the recognition of being a top Rainmaker for the firm, each award recipient received a gift certificate.

Take Your Points to the Bank!
Not only do we have an annual Rainmaker Award ceremony, but the employees can use the points they accumulate throughout the year to purchase a plethora of items at “The Kolb+Co. Store.”  Employees can cash in their points for professional or casual clothing, caps, bags, accessories, outerwear, clothes for their kids, and many other items. 

The Rainmaker program is very popular among all the employees.  They are rewarded for improving their skills and helping Kolb+Co. build market presence.  Thanks to everyone that participated in the Rainmaker program this year!  This program would not be successful without the help of each and every one of our employees!

New Hires and Familiar Faces Are All Here!

Last November, we celebrated all of Kolb+Co.’s current new hires, and noted we were also looking forward to January when the firm would welcome back our seasonal employees and interns.  That time is here and the firm kicked off busy season with even more employees than we initially wrote about.  Between late December and these first few weeks of January, the firm has welcomed many additions to Kolb+Co.!   Please join me in welcoming the new hires and interns listed below:

New Hires and Returning Interns

Amy Becker – Accounting Associate/Payroll Specialist
Robert Sykes – Accounting Associate/Payroll Specialist
Jennifer Shotola – Seasonal Tax Specialist
Rechell Willis-Broughton – Seasonal Tax Processor
Tom Novotny – Tax Intern (returning for his second busy season)
Nic Papke – Auditing and Accounting Intern (returning for his second busy season)
Jacky Roloff – Auditing and Accounting Intern (returning for her second busy season)
Ali Wilkins – Tax Intern (returning for her second busy season)

New Interns

James Boutelle – Tax Intern
Matt Evanoff – Auditing and Accounting Intern
Nate Greene – Auditing and Accounting Intern
Ben Latendresse – Auditing and Accounting Intern
Kim Olson – Tax Intern
Amanda Senkbeil – Tax Intern
Matthew Walter – Auditing and Accounting Intern

Welcome everyone!

To welcome all the new hires and provide a little perk to all Kolb+Co.’s existing employees, the Human Resources Department provided everyone with personalized, engraved business card holders.  They are quite sharp looking!  And for those employees who do not have a need for business cards, they received personalized, engraved pens.  Thank you Joy Duce and Meredith Gregory for starting off busy season in style!

Stay tuned for future blog posts on the additional perks our employees receive to help keep them motivated and happy during the busiest time of the year at our CPA and business advisory firm!  Once again, we welcome all the new hires and familiar faces to Kolb+Co.!

Kolb+Co. 2013 New Hires, Returning Interns, and New Interns!

Professional Networking Through LinkedIn

As important as social media is today, it is difficult to determine what platforms are crucial for business use–what is just another fad and what will stand the test of time?  It is hard to believe, but the social media platform LinkedIn, launched back on May 5, 2003, has proven to be that long-standing tool.  After the first month, it already had a 4,500 member network.  Now fast-forward almost 10 years to September 30, 2012, LinkedIn has a documented 187 million members in its network and is considered the largest online professional network in the world!

Kolb+Co. business professionals have been a part of this network for many years.  During that time LinkedIn has changed and evolved, and we thought it would be beneficial to bring in a “guru” to help us continue to leverage the tool.  This week, Wayne Breitbarth, author of The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success, presented to our employees on how to strategically use LinkedIn for networking, research and business development; the recent changes and new features available; and how to optimize LinkedIn’s business functionality for your personal goals.

Wayne presented for two solid hours on Tuesday morning, discussing topics such as profile strength, the connections continuum, advanced people searching, best practices for posting updates, how to optimize key words in your profile and searching, tips on joining groups, strategic messaging options, and how to bring these tools together to get a meeting with a new prospect.  Each employee in attendance also received a copy of Wayne’s book to help them with the “how to’s” on updating their profiles and using LinkedIn.  The feedback from the attendees was all very positive.  I had one person tell me that it was a great session and everyone in the firm should have been required to attend!  Among the numerous resources we received, Wayne provided the link to his website that houses helpful documents, tips and video clips.  Check out www.powerformula.net/free/ for these tools.

We would like to thank Wayne Breitbarth for coming to present at our firm.  It has been another helpful experience for our employees as they continue to hone their skills in professional networking.  If you would like to follow our company or connect with some of our employees on LinkedIn, please click here.

Adding Significance to Your Success in 2013

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to not only reflect on the successes of the prior year, but also strategize on how to gain from those successes and continue to build and grow from them.  While maintaining our longstanding traditions of client, employee and community commitment, we embarked on a journey of streamlining and realigning processes; breaking into new social media avenues; adding new service line specializations; and updating our tagline and brochures to better align with our continued service and support of our clients, employees and community.

In 2011, Kolb+Co. implemented a Lean Six Sigma (Lean) process in our tax department.  The process worked so well that in 2012 the firm continued the implementation of the Lean process in the auditing and accounting, and retirement plan services practices.  The on-screen review process the tax department utilizes not only saves the company time and money, but it also helps the planet!  Kolb+Co. hopes to continue to build on these efficiencies and transition additional practice areas in 2013.

This was a year of learning opportunities at Kolb+Co., both for employees and for the community.  The firm has always been committed to personal and professional development, but in 2012 the firm realigned the educational focus to include more soft-skill training.  These sessions included information in such topics as crucial conversations, correspondence training, dining etiquette, and health and fitness sessions, in addition to their regular technical training sessions.  Looking outward, the firm hosted its second annual International Seminar that was free to attend.  Kolb+Co. also continues to publish a monthly e-newsletter, The Adviser, to provide timely and relevant information.  New for 2012, the firm hired a state and local tax senior manager to lead the SALT practice.  Kolb+Co. held its first state and local tax seminar that was led by Kolb+Co.’s new state and local tax senior manager.  With the positive feedback received from all these activities, Kolb+Co. hopes to continue these and other sessions in the future.

2012 Waukesha County Executive Award for Business of the Year

With the support of the employees and the community, Kolb+Co. continues to be recognized as a leader in business and the workplace.  Kolb+Co. was honored this year by receiving the MMAC’s “Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence and Flexibility,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s “Top Workplace Award,” and the 2012 Waukesha County Executive Business of the Year Award.  These awards prove that the employees trust Kolb+Co. to help them grow their careers and meet their professional goals.  The Kolb+Co. culture follows the belief that a happy and satisfied workforce translates to superior client service.

Again this year, Kolb+Co.’s Volunteer FORCE (Focus on Revitalizing Community Engagement) committee facilitated numerous events for employees, friends and their families.  Some of the organizations the firm was able to assist were the Next Door Foundation, Hope Center, The Women’s Center Inc., UPAF, Children’s Hospital, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Ronald McDonald House, United Way, the Boy’s & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, among many others.   Kolb+Co. also hosted its third annual firm-wide Volunteer FORCE Action Day in May.  Employees worked hard at the Hunger Task Force Farm and Fish Hatchery to help clean up the fields and trails, plant seedlings and package boxes of food for those in need.  (Please see Covered in Dirt for more information.)

In 2012, the firm increased their digital presence with the creation of a new mobile website and their first blog, The Kolb+Co. Element.  (Thank you to all of the wonderful readers that have helped make this blog a success!)  Through the blog, Twitter and Facebook, the firm has been able to facilitate communication between our employees, alumni, students and our community.  The Kolb+Co. Element specifically provides insight into the people, places and experiences that create the culture encompassing Kolb+Co.  Most of what you are reading about today has been a blog post at some point during 2012.

The firm updated its tagline to better align the firm’s communications with the continued service and support provided to Kolb+Co.’s clients, employees and friends.  The new tagline, “Add Significance to Your Success” came from internal and external discussions where it became apparent why the employees chose their profession and Kolb+Co. as their employer.  The most common response was that Kolb+Co. employees get the most satisfaction from helping others.  The story behind the tagline is not new; it is a better representation of the firm as a whole.  Kolb+Co. employees aim to help clients build on their successes and realize their significance.

For 2013, we hope to continue in helping our clients, employees and the community achieve their goals and overcome the challenges that may lay ahead.  As we look to the future, the outlook is a positive one because of the strong foundation that has been created.  Thank you for all of the support you have provided us in 2012 and we hope to have an opportunity to help you Add Significance to Your Success in 2013!

United Way Day of FUNdraising!

Who would not want a chance to throw a pie into their boss’ face?  On December 21, 2012, every employee at Kolb+Co. had that opportunity and many more!  Our last FORCE Volunteer event of the year was a Day of FUNdraising for the United Way in Waukesha County.  The Friday before the holiday break, Kolb+Co. employees had a fun, casual day that helped raise money for a great cause.

Bake Sale – Everything’s a Dollar!
Who doesn’t love treats?!  The training center at Kolb+Co. was set up with an assortment of donated baked goods that employees could purchase.  In addition, a snack cart made its way around the office throughout the day with pre-packaged baked goods for sale.  The Friday before the holiday weekend was chosen for the event date so employees would be able to purchase cookies, brownies, puppy chow, peppermint

Snack Cart!

bark, pies, cakes, etc., to share with their friends and family over the holidays.  The bake sale was a huge success, thanks to all of the employees who donated and also purchased the items.

Free Jeans Day
To show appreciation for the employees continued support of the community and the United Way program, Kolb+Co. offered employees the opportunity to wear jeans, free of charge.  Hello Casual Friday!

Can You Guess How Many?
Back by popular demand, Kolb+Co. hosted multiple guessing game contests.  For $1 per guess, employees had a chance to guess the number of M&Ms, Starburst or miniature Snickers in each container.  The lucky winners walked away with containers full of these candies!

Raffles
50/50 Raffle – Each raffle ticket was $1.  The proceeds of the raffle were split evenly between the winner and the United Way.  The raffle collected $74, so one lucky winner walked away with $37.  We may not all be able to win the half billion dollar jack pot, but it’s something!

50/50, Super Bowl, &
Pie in the Face
Raffles!

Super Bowl Raffle – For $1 an employee could pick an NFL team at random.  If that team wins the Super Bowl, the employee wins $10.  I guess we shall see who wins this one on February 3^rd!
Pie in the Face Raffle – $2 for one ticket or $5 for three tickets gave an employee a chance to be selected to throw a pie at a shareholder during our April 15^th luncheon.  An employee name has been drawn, now which lucky shareholder will be selected by the winner?  I hope the shareholders know to be extra nice to this employee during busy season!

Silent Auction
This was another great opportunity to help the United Way.  Many employees donated new or handmade items for the silent auction.  These items were on display in the training center (next to the bake sale) so employees could stop by and bid on items throughout the day.  There was an impressive list of items donated.  Among these donated items were two coveted shareholder parking spaces for one week in February 2013; gift cards to Starbucks, Cousins, Marcus Theaters, and Park Side 23; handmade mittens; bottles of wine; a doggie gift basket; holiday decorations; pies and cakes; handmade greeting cards; among many other wonderful items.  The hot item of the day was a growth chart ruler that could be hung on a wall to measure a child’s growth.  The husband of a senior tax manager handmade this for the auction.  The bidding war for this growth chart ruler continued up to the last seconds of bid time!  The silent auction helped raise over $540 for the United Way.

Qdoba Burrito Bar!
For lunch, the employees enjoyed a catered Qdoba Burrito Bar with all the fixings.  Jalapeños were even brought in for those who requested them.  Yum!  The lunch was provided by Kolb+Co., but employees had the opportunity to make an additional donation to the United Way at this time. 

At the End of the Day
This was a truly successful FORCE

Qdoba Lunch!

Volunteer event.  With the help of the employees and shareholders at Kolb+Co., the company raised an additional $1,220 above the annual campaign contributions for the United Way!  This was the first United Way Day of FUNdraising event, but with the great feedback from the employees, this will certainly not be the last.  Thanks again to all of those who participated in the United Way Day of FUN and truly helped make this day a success!

Stay tuned to see what lucky shareholder gets a pie in the face at the April 15^th luncheon!

Get ready to play the Feud!

Kolb+Co. Family Feud
December 13, 2012

“It’s time to play Family Feud.  All the way from Brookfield, Wisconsin the Plum family – Ready for action.  Playing against the Ochre family! – On your marks!  And now your spicy host, Kerri Nowicki.”  This was the exciting intro to our most recent Rainmaker session, Kolb+Co. Family Feud.  At the end of every year, the firm hosts a training session recapping all our services lines.  The goal of this session is to help teach everyone at our firm about the different services Kolb+Co. provides to better assist their clients.

Educating about service lines has the potential to be dry and boring, but this game show format added an element of fun and plenty of audience participation.  Ten employees were selected to participate on the family teams, ranging from staff to shareholder level, across the different areas of the firm.  The teams were set and the team names were chosen.  Energized Plum and Ochre are the firm’s colors, so it was thought that they would make great family team names.  Kerri Nowicki, Kolb+Co. Director of Marketing, was selected to play the spicy game show host.  To further enhance the session, the firm provided pizza and salads from Glass Nickel Pizza Co. in Brookfield.

As the game played out, the audience interaction increased.  Audience members were shouting and cheering for the different answers, just like the TV Family Feud game.  Service departments were excited to support their team participants and held up personalized signs during the game to cheer on their colleagues.  The game provided a lot of camaraderie, yet provided a great opportunity for people to learn about the firm’s services.  Some lucky individuals at the firm even received signed pictures used during the game featuring one of the winning team’s members.  Both teams received fabulous prizes for their participation.  The winning team walked away with Rainmaker Star Certificates and a very nice stainless steel Kolb+Co. water bottle.  The other team also walked away with useful Kolb+Co. office supply kits, and everyone took home knowledge of the different service lines that they did not have previously.  All the questions used during the game were made available to the employees to review after the Kolb+Co. Family Feud session ended.  Thank you to all the participants in the Family Feud Rainmaker session and all the other sessions the firm has hosted this year!  They could not have been a success without the help of each and every employee at Kolb+Co.!

In 2013, the Rainmaker program itself is getting a makeover and is being rebranded as LEAD – Leadership, Education and Development.  The Rainmaker program creators listened to the employees suggestions on what they thought would be most beneficial to them for cultivating business development skills, soft skills training and technical expertise.  The first LEAD session of the new year will focus on LinkedIn and how to successfully utilize this tool to grow your professional network.  Wayne Breitbarth, author of Power Formula for LinkedIn Success, will be coming in on January 8^th to teach this session.  Stay tuned for that exciting recap.  There will be a lot of useful information gained in that session!  If there are any suggestions for future LEAD sessions, please leave your comments below.  Please leave any comments you may have regarding the Kolb+Co. Family Feud as well.  We would love to get your feedback!

Knowledge Share

Keeping up with the latest federal and state law updates takes a lot of work.   Fortunately, Kolb+Co.’s professionals are dedicated to monitoring these changes and sharing their knowledge with clients and the community.  Our firm regularly hosts luncheons, webinars, roundtable sessions and seminars that are free for the public to attend.  This past week, the firm held a state tax seminar, “Time to Face Your State Tax Exposure,” that provided a high level overview on how states are administering income, sales and use tax regulations and how that can impact Wisconsin-based businesses.

Brian Kelley, state and local tax senior manager, was the featured presenter.  The first half of the seminar discussed state income tax topics. This discussion helped the audience understand state income tax from the government’s perspective.  After a short tax election update from Neil Keller, Kolb+Co.’s head of tax, Brian discussed sales and use tax, the future of the tax, and a gave a brief Wisconsin unclaimed property update.

As the presentation concluded, the attendees were invited into the Kolb+Co. lobby for networking and refreshments.  The speakers and other Kolb+Co. professionals were on hand to answer any questions that the attendees had from the seminar.  As guests leisurely perused up the appetizers and selected their beverages, the conversation began to flow.  The networking that was planned to wrap up at 7 p.m. actually went until 7:30 p.m.  You can’t rush great conversation!

Once again, Kolb+Co. had a fantastic response to this seminar.  The feedback received was excellent and our guests not only walked away with valuable information, they also made new connections or rekindled old ones.  Kolb+Co. is always trying to find new ways to share knowledge that helps our clients and the community.  If you have any topics you would like to learn more about, please feel free to leave a comment below.  We would love to hear from you!

52 in 52

The 52 in 52 Interview Series was started this year by Tom Boudreau from R&R Insurance Services, Inc.  By leveraging his connections, he set a goal to interview 52 Wisconsin subject matter experts in 52 weeks because he wanted to provide additional ways his clients could continue to build their businesses.  With a wide array of topics, ranging from working with multiple generations in the work place to strategies for managing OSHA issues, he is definitely on track.  What an innovative way to gain knowledge on a collection of topics!  Last week, Jim Brandenburg, a tax shareholder at Kolb+Co., had the honor of being selected for one of Tom’s interviews.

Jim was invited to discuss “What You Need to Know About Year-End Tax Planning.”  Tom explained that he felt the topic was timely because he was hearing concerns from clients about year-end tax planning and uncertainties related to the election results.  He thought Jim would be the perfect person to discuss this subject given Jim’s history.  Jim, with 30+ years of experience, writes articles published in Kolb+Co.’s award winning news letter, The Adviser, under his own segment called Capital Corner.  (Check out this week’s article “Twas the Night before Cliff-mass!”)

Tim and Jim touched on a number of topics during the interview.  They included:
+     What year-end tax planning looks like;
+     Bush tax cuts, Fiscal Cliff, and the anticipated outcome;
+     Potential tax rate increases if Bush tax cuts not renewed;
+     What other tax items/changes should be reviewed;
+     Uncertainties on AMT exemption and the Research & Development credit;
+     What tax implications arise as ObamaCare moves forward?  (.i.e., 9% Medicare surtax and 3.8% surtax on unearned income); and
+     Significant tax changes planned for 2013.

Please check out the video to learn more!  Jim also provided Tom with links to additional information they discussed. Use the following links for information on 2012-2013 Tax Guide, IC-DISC and R&D tax credits,

Jim pointed out that this is the time of year that can really affect what a person’s tax liability will be.  If a person or business properly plans now, when it comes time to file the tax return next spring, they will know what to expect and not be hit with an unwanted surprise! 

The 52 in 52 Interview Series is a great way to get information on a variety of topics.  We hope this series continues to be successful and thank Tom Bourdeau for inviting Jim Brandenburg to participate in this inventive series.  Stay tuned for our next blog recapping the State and Local Tax Seminar we held here at Kolb+Co. this week!

Kolb+Co. Wins Business of the Year Award!

Kolb+Co. has won numerous workplace and business awards over the past few years.  Recently, Kolb+Co. was presented with the 2012 Waukesha County Executive Award for Business of the Year.  This program seeks to recognize organizations in the private, public and non-profit sectors that contribute to the continued success of the County and its citizens.  The criteria used by the independent panel of judges to select the award winners included:

• Customer Satisfaction;
• Promoting Equal Opportunities;
• Leveraging Resources; and
• Community Initiatives.

Customer satisfaction has always been a priority at Kolb+Co.  From the 14 shareholders to the first impressions ambassador (Kolb+Co.’s receptionist), all are trusted to be integral members of the client service team.  Kolb+Co.’s focus on client retention expresses the effort the entire firm puts into building and maintaining relationships with clients.  Because of this commitment, over 60 percent of its largest 30 clients have been with the firm for more than ten years.

Kolb+Co. Awards

As our nomination stated, “Kolb+Co. knows that happy employees are good employees.”  The firm invests the necessary time and resources to provide the employees the tools they need to succeed and the opportunity to grow within the company.  This includes not only technical development training, but also a dedicated human resources department, a mentoring program, volunteer initiatives, and numerous opportunities that allow employees to bring friends and family to workplace events.  Because of this commitment, Kolb+Co. has received 13 awards in the last 4 years that were based on surveys completed by employees.  Some of these awards include the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s 2012 Top Workplaces, Accounting Today’s 2011 Best Accounting Firm to Work For and the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.

In this economy, Kolb+Co. has continued to follow the principle of “work smarter, not harder.”  By leveraging resources, this is exactly what they did.  One of the ways Kolb+Co. accomplished this was by investing in a process called “Lean CPA.”  This process helped the firm map out the current state of workflow, the ideal future state of workflow and realigned their processes and structure to fit this new mold.  The firm started with the tax department in 2011 and the audit and accounting department followed suit in 2012.  An added benefit to the process was that the firm was able to reduce paper consumption by fifty percent through simple changes like on-screen review instead of printing draft returns.  This not only helps the business, but helps the environment.

2012 Waukesha County Executive Award for Business of the Year

The last category, community initiatives, is part of the Kolb+Co. identity.  As seen in many of The Kolb+Co. Element blog posts, the employees are willing to give back to the community.  Everyone is encouraged to participate in community and professional organizations and are compensated for the time they spend attending and taking leadership roles in the organizations.  Kolb+Co. employees are also encouraged to participate in community initiatives though the Volunteer FORCE (Focused on Raising Community Engagement) program.   This program has helped many local area non-profit organizations since its inception.  Stay tuned for a recap of our next FORCE Volunteer Event – Day of FUN for the United Way in Waukesha County.

“We are so honored to have been selected as Waukesha County’s Business of the Year.  There are countless organizations within Waukesha County that demonstrate a keen sense of responsibility toward the well-being of the County.  It is our privilege to be recognized amongst these great organizations,” stated Tom Luken, president of Kolb+Co.  It was truly an honor to receive the 2012 Waukesha County Executive Award – Business of the Year.  Please click here to watch a short video that was played at the award ceremony.  Thank you to the community and all the employees, family, and friends of Kolb+Co. who have helped make this possible!

Thanksgiving – A Time to be Thankful and to Give Back

As we approach Thanksgiving, it gives us a chance to reflect on all the wonderful things that have happened over the last year.  At Kolb+Co. the start of the holiday season helps remind us that we need to support our community as much as the community supports our firm.  Volunteerism, community participation and charitable giving are part of Kolb+Co.’s culture, and our employees have had a chance to participate in at least 11 Kolb+Co. FORCE Volunteer activities so far in 2012.

We have supported the Next Door Foundation with a book drive; The Women’s Center Inc. with a diaper drive; the Hope Center serving meals to the homeless; the Hunger Task Force Farm & Fish Hatchery planting 7,000+ tomato and cucumber seedlings, spreading wood chips, and packaging over 520 care packages of food; Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin working as “tabulators” for the Dave and Carole’s Miracle Marathon; United Way collecting funds to support the local non-profits; the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center collecting items and donations for veterans; among many others.  In the last week, Kolb+Co. has also donated to the  American Red Cross disaster relief effort to help those effected by Hurricane Sandy and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin.  In honor of this Thanksgiving season, our November FORCE activity was to participate in the Ronald McDonald House, “Lunch 2 Go” program.

Karla’s family is one of the many families that have benefited from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin which provides a home away from home for families with children seeking medical care.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin (RMH) provides a home away from home for those families that are trying to help their child through serious medical issues.  Located across the street from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, it has provided refuge for over 33,000 families in need since its inception in 1984.  Among the many initiatives offered to help the families that stay at RMH is the “Lunch 2 Go” program.  This program provides boxed lunches for the families visiting sick children, so they do not have to spend money on a meal and can spend more time with their family in the hospital.

Jenny Kramer, tax senior manager, was the FORCE committee member in charge of the “Lunch 2 Go” program to provide lunches for RMH families on November 14^th.  Jenny was joined by Lanae Dolan, Ginny Gribble, Cheryl Aschenbrener, Kelly Dix, and Kelly’s mom, Sue Moore, at RMH after work on Tuesday, November 13^th for lunch preparation.  The group arrived with supplies in hand and ready to make lunches.  The team was able to work in the house kitchen packaging the food for the families to have for lunch the next day.

While packaging the lunches, they were able to talk with one of the families staying at RMH.  The woman expressed her gratitude to the Kolb+Co. team for preparing lunches for them.  When I asked Jenny how she felt about the event and the experience with the family, she stated, “That’s why we do it.  It makes someone’s situation a bit easier, and they really appreciate it.  It’s also pretty easy for us to do.”  Jenny also mentioned that she was happy that she got to see the facility.  “It is a great place for families that are away from home with a sick child.”

Montana’s family is one of the many families that have benefited from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Easter Wisconsin which provides a home away from home for families with children seeking medical care.

The Kolb+Co. team made 45 lunches for the families in need.  It was a successful event, and there is another “Lunch 2 Go” FORCE Volunteer event scheduled for December 3^rd.  The FORCE Volunteer committee has one more event scheduled for December, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee’s St. Nick Wrap Party on December 8^th.  This event is open to employees, families, alumni and friends of the firm. If you are interested in participating, please email info@KolbCo.com, and ask for more information regarding the St. Nick Wrap Party.  There are already 12 people registered to help wrap gifts!  This is a wonderful time of year to help those who are in need celebrate the holidays.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we here at Kolb+Co. thank you for your continued support and wish you the very best holiday season.