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Telisa Yancy named president of American Family Group

Yancy, president of American Family Direct, begins the new position on Jan. 1, 2023

Telisa Yancy, president of American Family Insurance Direct, has been named president of the American Family Insurance Group of companies. Yancy’s appointment reflects the organization’s ongoing focus on growth, innovation and customer preference.

This position was previously held by CEO and President Bill Westrate who succeeded Jack Salzwedel upon Salzwedel’s retirement at the end of 2021. Naming Yancy to this position is a return a structure the company has had before. Westrate served as president beginning in 2017, before moving into the CEO role in 2022.

Yancy joined the organization as a marketing director in 2009, leading a major rebranding effort for American Family Insurance and subsequently becoming Marketing Vice President and then Chief Marketing Officer. In 2019, Yancy was named Chief Operating Officer, and in 2021, she became president of the organization’s direct sales channels, which include insurance companies CONNECT, Homesite and The General.

Yancy has been recognized for her leadership skills, marketing expertise and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. These honors include a Silver EFFIE, Ebony Magazine Power 100, AdAge Woman to Watch, GlobalMindeED Inclusive Leader Award and multiple inclusions in Savoy Magazine’s most influential Black Executives. She serves on the boards of directors for National Public Radio and Deluxe Corp. Yancy is a graduate of the University of Illinois and earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business.

Yancy brings her vast experience to this new role, in which she will oversee the group’s direct and agency business operations. In addition to the direct sales companies, American Family Group includes American Family Insurance and Main Street America Insurance which sell and service products through exclusive and independent agency owners, respectively.

“Telisa’s strong focus on evolving customer preferences, combined with her broad and deep organizational experience, position her to lead operations across the diverse American Family Insurance Group,” said Westrate. “She’s built strong relationships with our agency owners and distribution partners, and has clearly demonstrated the flexibility, resilience and innovative thinking needed to lead during an ever-changing business and economic landscape.”

Yancy’s new role will begin Jan. 1, 2023. Westrate will remain CEO.

About the American Family Insurance group
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family Insurance has been serving customers since 1927. We inspire, protect and restore dreams through our insurance products, exceptional service from our agency owners and employees, community investment and creative partnerships to address societal challenges. We act on our belief in diversity and inclusion by constantly evolving to meet customer needs and preferences. American Family Insurance group is the nation’s 13th-largest property/casualty insurance group, ranking No. 251 on the Fortune 500 list. The group sells American Family-brand products, primarily through exclusive agency owners in 19 states. The American Family Insurance group also includes CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance, The General, Homesite and Main Street America Insurance. Across these companies the group has more than 13,000 employees nationwide.

WPS Health Solutions: Navy Petty Officer First Class Matthew Kuzicki saluted for Operation Fan Mail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
DeAnne Boegli
Vice President of Communications
608-512-5754
deanne.boegli@wpsic.com

Navy Petty Officer First Class Matthew Kuzicki saluted for Operation Fan Mail
Program is sponsored by WPS Health Solutions and the Green Bay Packers

MADISON, Wis.—Nov. 15, 2022—The Green Bay Packers and WPS Health Solutions paid special tribute this week to Navy Petty Officer First Class Matthew Kuzicki and his family in conjunction with the Nov. 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Operation Fan Mail, the program that recognizes military families and veterans at each Packers home game, marks its 16th season in 2022.

Kuzicki grew up in Sobieski, Wis., about 20 miles from Lambeau Field. The green-and-gold gene has been passed down for generations in his family. He grew up a Packers fan, with early cherished memories of his family gathering at his Grandpa Ed’s house to watch the games together. When the Packers went to Super Bowl XXXI in 1997, Kuzicki collected every newspaper clipping possible and got a Packers Super Bowl Champion hat, which he still has all these years later.

Kuzicki joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 in 2005, making 2023 his 18th year of service to the country. During his service, he has completed five tours that have taken him to several countries including Cameroon, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, Sicily, Guam, and more. He will begin his sixth tour in February. He has earned four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals and the Afghanistan Campaign medal. He has also been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal. Currently, he is stationed in Gulfport, Miss., and is serving with the Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 13.

Kuzicki attended Sunday’s game with his wife, Danielle, his parents, Mike and Marie Kuzicki, as well as his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Joyce and Mike Maszka, who nominated him for Operation Fan Mail. As the honoree for Operation Fan Mail this week, Kuzicki received four tickets to the game and a $150 Packers Pro Shop gift card, courtesy of WPS.

The program, which debuted in 2007, is designed to honor families with a member who is on active duty or a member who is a veteran. The Packers and WPS Health Solutions will host a family at each 2022 season home game and recognize the members on the video boards during pregame activities. A total of 153 individuals, families, or groups have been recognized through the program since it began.

The Packers and WPS Health Solutions invite interested families, or friends of eligible families, to submit an essay, 500 words or less, on why a particular family should be saluted this year. Families intended for recognition are those that have a member serving on active duty, or a member who is a veteran. The family member can be a spouse, mother, father, son, daughter, or sibling.

Essays can be sent to Operation Fan Mail, P.O. Box 10628, Green Bay, WI, 54307-0628 or online at operationfanmail.com.

About WPS Health Solutions^®

Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation (WPS Health Solutions), founded in 1946, is a nationally regarded benefits administrator for a variety of U.S. government programs and a leading not-for-profit health insurer in Wisconsin. WPS Health Solutions serves active-duty and retired military personnel, seniors, individuals, and families in Wisconsin, across the U.S., and around the world. WPS Health Solutions, headquartered in Madison, Wis., has more than 3,100 employees. Within the enterprise, there are three divisions: WPS Government Health Administrators, WPS Military and Veterans Health, and WPS Health Insurance/WPS Health Plan/EPIC Specialty Benefits. For more information, please visit wpshealthsolutions.com.

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Apparel Company Iron Joc and Wisconsin Union Launch a Clothing Line Collaboration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 15, 2022

Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-8862

READ RELEASE ONLINE: union.wisc.edu/about/news/iron-joc-wisconsin-union

APPAREL COMPANY IRON JOC AND WISCONSIN UNION LAUNCH A CLOTHING LINE COLLABORATION

MADISON – The Wisconsin Union team and University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus-owned and Wisconsin-based Iron Joc Performance Gear and Apparel have launched a line of Iron Joc’s performance clothing with the Union’s iconic, trademarked Terrace chair sunburst image exclusively online and at the Badger Market at Memorial Union in Madison, Wis.

The Iron Joc and Wisconsin Union collaboration includes seven clothing selections with the trademarked Terrace sunburst chairback image on the left sleeve or back, including hoodies, t-shirts, a polo shirt, and a racerback tank top. The Iron Joc and Wisconsin Union teams anticipate changing the available types of performance apparel throughout the year.

Iron Joc’s apparel includes exclusive fabric, called Enduretech, which features woven-in nano-silver technology that aims to eliminate odor-causing bacteria. The Iron Joc team weaves in the nano-silver technology to prevent the technology from washing or fading and uses lightweight, four-way spandex material designed for fast drying as well as sweat and water-wicking.

Iron Joc Founder and CEO Paul Hanson shared his thoughts on the new venture saying, “We are very excited to be working with the Union team and to be offering customers our gear with the special sunburst image. The University of Wisconsin–Madison is important to us, and we are thrilled to work with our brand ambassador, Braelon Allen, to promote this relationship.”

Sales from this new clothing line, in part, help support the Wisconsin Union’s ability to host more than 1,000 events each year, offer activities, maintain its buildings Memorial Union and Union South, provide dining options in downtown Madison, and provide student leadership opportunities for hundreds of students annually.

UW–Madison students in the Wisconsin Union’s clubs and committees that make up the Wisconsin Union Directorate plan most of the Union’s events, providing the students with hands-on leadership and professional development opportunities as well as academic stipends of up to 80% of in-state tuition for some student leaders. The Wisconsin Union is a non-profit organization.

“The purchase of apparel in the Wisconsin Union and Iron Joc collaborative clothing line makes a difference in the lives of UW–Madison students,” Wisconsin Union Deputy Director Susan Dibbell said.

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About the Wisconsin Union

The Wisconsin Union enhances the lives of members and visitors through recreational, cultural, educational and social opportunities. Formed in 1907, the Wisconsin Union is a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Union and its tradition of providing experiences for a lifetime: union.wisc.edu.  

About Iron Joc Performance Gear and Apparel 

University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus Paul Hanson created Iron Joc because he believed in the ability to create performance apparel that offers permanent odor protection, lasts, is moisture-wicking, and is comfortable. To combat odor-causing bacteria, the company uses Enduretech technology inside every piece of Iron Joc clothing, which is a fabric designed with bacteria-fighting nano-silver technology and is exclusive to Iron Joc. To learn more about Iron Joc, visit ironjoc.com.

Shine United Named Best Place to Work in 2022 by Outside Magazine

Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Focus: Advertising, public relations, and marketing
Number of employees: 47
Average salary: Unspecified
Vacation time: Ten days of PTO to start

Perks: Half-day summer Fridays, free lunches, a full bar for “beer-30s,” flexible work hours and hybrid work-from home schedule, annual all-expenses-paid company gatherings, 100 percent of health insurance covered, an outdoor adventure incentive program, unlimited sick time, and a paid weeklong-plus sabbatical after 10 years that covers up to $10,000

What makes it great: “We live what we work. Anything that feeds that passion is encouraged, celebrated, revered. Need a coffee shop hangout to change up the scenery? Done. Need an afternoon hike in the big outdoors to get those creative juices flowing? See you later. Need an offsite collaborative get-together with your team? Make it happen. Shiners not only get paid to work on awesome outdoor brands but get paid to go be in the outdoors! You truly can’t beat that.”

Read the full article here