UW-Green Bay Alumni Rise to the Distinction of Distinguished and Outstanding at Annual Alumni Awards Dinner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2025

The University’s 2025 best of the best to be recognized in March along with Larry and Kathy Treankler who will receive the Honorary Alumni Award

Green Bay, Wis.— The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will recognize a number of outstanding alumni and two honorary alumni at the 2025 Alumni Awards dinner on Thursday, March 27, 2025 in the Phoenix Rooms in the University Union. The event will begin with a reception at 5 p.m. and is followed by dinner at 6 p.m. The program will begin at approximately 6:40 p.m. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased through UW-Green Bay Alumni Awards. For more information, contact the UW-Green Bay Alumni Office at 920-465-2074 or alumni@uwgb.edu.

The Alumni Awards highlight UW-Green Bay graduates and other individuals who have made special contributions to UW-Green Bay, their communities and professions. The 2025 Distinguished honorees are Randy Charles ’87 and Wendy Wimmer ’97. Receiving the Outstanding Recent Alumni Awards for 2025 will be April Garza-Leon ’14 and Jose L. Villa ‘16. Larry and Kathy Treankler, active community leaders who have tirelessly supported UW-Green Bay through their respective businesses and the Green Bay Athletics programs, will receive an Honorary Alumni Award.

Receiving 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Randy Charles ’87 co-founded Port City Bakery in 1989. Best known by its trade name AK Pizza Crust, he became president of the company in 1991 and CEO in 2011. AK makes custom pizza crust for pizza assemblers, restaurant chains, and foodservice distributors throughout North America. In 2021, Port City acquired the assets of Pep’s Pizza Co., formerly known as Hansen Foods, Inc. Pep’s is a pizza manufacturing company based in Green Bay, and owns several pizza brands, including Pep’s Drafthouse, Legit, and Luigi’s. Port City operates four production facilities in Green Bay and one in Burnsville, Minnesota and employs over 600 people.

Charles is from Green Bay and lives in the area with his wife Cheryl. He attended Preble High School and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1987 with a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration. He serves on the advisory boards of The Altrusa House, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, Cofrin School of Business at UW-Green Bay, and Greater Green Bay Chamber Economic Development.

Wendy Wimmer ’97 graduated from UW-Green Bay with a bachelor of arts in English in 1997. She went on to receive a master of arts degree in English from UW-Milwaukee and a Ph.D. in English Language and Literature/Letters from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 2020.  She is a technology journalist, a speaker, moderator, creative writer and adjunct instructor.

Wimmer is an author and editor living in Wisconsin. She was an honoree in the Informa Tech awards as a Bright Star, and named Editor of the Year in 2013. Wimmer earned four ASBPE awards for editorial reporting at the national level. She worked to this level after more than a decade in enterprise information technology, making a career leap toward her true love of writing in 2010, starting as a junior editor and working her way up for her second act.

In addition, Wimmer is an award-winning creative writer. Her debut short story collection “Entry Level: Stories” received the 2021 Autumn House Fiction Prize, positive reviews including one from Publisher’s Weekly, and a starred Kirkus review. The Washington Post called it one of the short story collections worth reading for fall 2022, and People Magazine called it “gleefully subversive” in its Best New Books feature. The book was also recently named to Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Short Fiction for 2022 as well as an honoree for the Society of Midland Authors 2023 Book Awards. Her novel “The Doomscroller’s Companion” was a finalist for the AWP James McPherson 2024 Award, and will be forthcoming from University of Wisconsin Press in fall 2026. By day, she works as a technology journalist and is the president of the board of directors for The Art Garage in Green Bay.

2024 Outstanding Recent Alumni Awards

April Garza-Leon ’14 received her bachelor of science in Nursing in 2014 from UW-Green Bay and her master of science in Nursing from UW Oshkosh.  Garza-Leon is a dedicated and accomplished professional with a strong commitment to nursing education, professional development and community service. As the Manager of Nursing Education at Aurora BayCare Medical Center, she plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of nursing by focusing on education and professional growth. She is also the Co-Chair of the North Wisconsin Area Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council for Advocate Aurora Health.

Garza-Leon’s dedication to her community is evident through her involvement in various organizations. She serves as a Board Member for CASA Alba Melanie, the Green Bay Hispanic Resource Center, and is a member of the Spanish Health Navigator Advisory Committee and Co-Chair of the Development Committee. Additionally, she is a founding member of the Latino Professional Association (LPA) of Northeast Wisconsin and a member of the Greater Green Bay Chamber.

Her professional affiliations include membership in the Association of Nursing Professional Development and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), Milwaukee Chapter, where she was honored with the 2022 Leader Award. She is also actively involved with the Northeast Wisconsin Community Action Program (NewCap), serving on both the Whole Family Guiding Coalition (WFGC) and the Multidisciplinary Advocacy Committee for the Hispanic community. In 2023 she was named a Top 40 of Wiscosnin’s Most Influential Latino Leaders by Madison 365.

Jose L. Villa ’16 graduated from UW-Green Bay with his bachelor of science in Business Administration in 2016.  He went on to earn his MBA from St. Norbert College in 2024.  As the son of immigrant parents, the Sturgeon Bay native started his working life at age 14 by dishwashing at Village Café and feeding calves at a local farm.  A first-generation college graduate, Villa is currently Vice President of Commercial Lending with Fox Communities Credit Union. He is responsible for originating, managing and supervising a portfolio of commercial loans with the overall objective of maintaining strong asset quality through underwriting and monitoring, and growth by developing new and existing business relationships. Villa joined Fox in 2020 as a Commercial Lending Officer and is passionate about helping people reach their financial goals.

Villa’s commitment to supporting the community has been recognized by various organizations throughout 2023. He was named a Future15 Young Professional by Current Young Professionals and the Greater Green Bay Chamber, received a 40 Under 40 award from the NEW North and Insight Publications, and was named a Top 40 of Wisconsin’s Most Influential Latino Leaders by Madison 365. He was recognized by Fox Communities Credit Union as a Jackie Johnson Living It award winner in summer 2023. Villa serves as treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Green Bay Botanical Garden and is President of the Board for Casa ALBA Melanie in Green Bay. He previously served as treasurer for Casa Alba. He is an active member of Latino Professionals Association of Northeast Wisconsin (LPA).

2025 Honorary Alumni Award

Larry & Kathy Treankler are active community leaders and proud UW-Green Bay supporters.  Larry is Chairman of the Villages Companies, headquartered in Pulaski, which is comprised of Skee-Ball, Bay Tek Entertainment, MCL Industries, Dimensional Branding Group and Maverick Hunting.  Kathy is the CEO of Trinks, Inc., an industrial equipment supplier in De Pere that specializes in the design and building of hydraulic presses.  Together, they have owned the Green Bay Blizzard, a professional indoor football team, since 2013.  Their charitable efforts are focused on children, cancer and community with a Christian bias.

The Treanklers began their support of Green Bay Athletics in 2011 after an inspiring women’s basketball Sweet 16 run which motivated them to get involved with the program. In addition to generously supporting the Phoenix Fund financially, they assist Green Bay Athletics with leadership training and offer business expertise via the Green Bay Blizzard.  They have supported recent projects including the new Aldo Santaga Stadium, the King Park softball stadium renovation as well as the renovated women’s basketball locker room. They have also been active in a student-athlete leadership program called the “Phoenix Leadership Initiative” which includes help with internship placements, company tours, leadership panels and more.  In addition to Athletics, the Treankler’s were also the earliest supporters of the engineering and engineering technology programs within the Richard J. Resch School of Engineering.  Their support has greatly benefited undergraduate students in these growing academic programs that serve the engineering needs of the region.

The Treanklers key motivation is helping student athletes both on and off the court or field by offering their time and expertise.  Although athletics are important to them, they focus more on the education and skills learned while at UW-Green Bay as a steppingstone for what comes next in the athlete’s life.  Not only do they help to develop the individual students, they also have an emphasis on hiring UW-Green Bay graduates at their companies.  Mentoring future leaders is near and dear to their hearts.  Although they are true leaders in their own careers, the Treanklers often feel they learn more from the students than what the students learn from them.

About UW-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a school of resilient problem solvers who dare to reach higher with the power of education that ignites growth and answers the biggest challenges. Serving 11,198 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as well as 83,800 continuing education learners annually, UW-Green Bay offers 200 academic degrees, programs, and certificates. With four campus locations in Northeast Wisconsin, the University’s access mission welcomes all students who want to learn, from every corner of the world. Championing bold thinking since opening its doors in 1965, it is a university on the rise – Wisconsin’s fastest growing UW. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

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