Jeff Fleming, the well-traveled PR guy and one-time aide to former Mayor John Norquist, left his job as VP of public relations for the Zizzo Group. Fleming declined to discuss his reasons, citing undisclosed legal matters, but there have been rumblings of trouble at Zizzo. Fleming has moved to Howl Fire, a new PR agency that is a local branch of the Minneapolis-based Red Circle, a Native American-owned advertising agency that specializes in casino marketing. Milwaukee’s Potawatomi casino has a majority ownership in Howl Fire, which, observers say, has been snatching up advertising and PR folks from agencies around town.
Not every Journal Sentinel reporter who took a buyout chose retirement. Former Waukesha reporter Dave Doegejumped ship to the Business Journal, which has been notably more aggressive under Editor Mark Kass. Doege will cover the legal industry, small businesses, politics and the economy. Doege’s wife, Gretchen Schuldt, is another former JSscribe and a Milwaukee Public Schools budget analyst who writes a blog, Milwaukee Rising,that often heaps criticism on the daily paper. Speaking of buyouts, former JSreporter Jamaal Abdul-Alim used his $10,000 windfall to improve conditions in Milwaukee’s central city, donating $2,500 each to four groups he believes do an exemplary job with kids: My Home Your Home, Saleem Karate-Do, Clara Muhammad School and Running Rebels.
Does it seem like everyone is an author now? Kevin Doy Burton, a local psychiatric technician turned writer, has his first book out. It’s a science fiction novel, Emanon, inspired by the mentally ill patients with which he worked. And Bruce Forciea, a Wauwatosa chiropractor and professor at Moraine Park Technical College, recently published Unlocking the Healing Code: Discover the 7 Keys to Unlimited Healing Power. Then there’s Pewaukee resident Dave Durand, author of PerpetualMotivation,who recently placed 56th in a list of the nation’s 100 top leadership minds compiled by the newsletter, LeadershipExcellence, and is available for hire by anyone lacking leaders. On a more whimsical note, Wauwatosa native Jessica Howell penned Lilly Lu and the Pink Tutu, a children’s book about a little girl who falls in love with ballet but must overcome her own clumsiness.
The Milwaukee firm Plunkett Raysich Architects has become an expert in church design. PRA won a national design competition to build a new chapel for Minnesota’s Martin Luther College. The 150-year-old school was impressed by the firm’s previous projects, including Waukesha’s Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and David’s Star Lutheran Church in Jackson.
The Milwaukee Rep’s staging of the three-play British comedy, The Norman Conquests, directed by Rep artistic director Joe Hanreddy, won a rave review from The Wall Street Journal in January. “An uproariously funny, wholly successful piece of work,” wrote theater critic Terry Teachout.
Some local painters are making money in a new field, creating works for restaurant bathrooms. Then there’s painter, poet and grungy man about town Bob Watt, who had a work hanging in the women’s bathroom at Palomino, where some wag tagged it with an anarchy symbol. Always the opportunist, Watt retitled the piece “Tagged with Anarchy.”
Milwaukee Community Sailing Center named Pewaukee’s John Ruf its Sailor of the Year. Not even an automobile accident in 1998, which left him paralyzed from the waist down, could keep him away from his love for sailing. Ruf is off to Beijing this summer to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games.
Luck be a lady, tonight. Three local ladies recently scored on “Wheel of Fortune.” Mequon’s Gena Beckers, a fifth-grade teacher at St. Boniface in Germantown, appeared Jan. 23, winning $39,700; West Allis yoga instructor Carrie Smith won $15,250 on Jan. 6; and Cristi Winkler, an administrative assistant in West Bend, walked away with $47,800, including a trip to Bermuda, following her Jan. 18 show.
Where are they now? Former dancer and choreographer Susie Bauer is now a VP at Robert W. Baird, managing Section 529 college savings plans and other investments. And former Milwaukee Rep artistic director John Dillon, gone since 1992, has been very busy. He has been an associate director of Tokyo’s Institute of Dramatic Arts, a senior contributor to American Theatre magazine, an artist-in-residence at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and has staged plays all over the world, including England, Russia and Egypt. Even a cancer scare (he battled throat cancer 10 years ago) couldn’t slow him down. Currently, Dillon runs the theater program at Sarah Lawrence College. What does he miss most about Milwaukee? “Custard,” Dillon says.
