Owners of Dental City and Nell’s Wigs and Boutique, among those to be honored at UW-Green Bay alumni recognition dinner
GREEN BAY – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is planning an evening of celebration, recognizing the accomplishments of its distinguished alumni and its outstanding recent alumni. This year’s Alumni Awards and Recognition Dinner begins at 5 p.m., Thursday, October 5 at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.
Those honored for their distinguished achievements will be Stacey Nellen-Kolze ’98 (Technical Theatre), owner of Nell’s Wigs and Boutique; Marty (Martha) Stanley ’77 (Managerial Systems), president of Dynamic Dialog; and John Mathys ’87 (Business Administration) and David Withbroe ’87 (Business Administration and Communication Processes), co-owners of Dental City.
Recipients of Outstanding Recent Alumni Awards are Sherry Aaholm ’14 and ’16 (Business Administration and Master’s in Sustainable Management), the vice president and chief information officer of Cummins Inc. and Mary Frank-Arlt ’08 (Business Administration and Psychology), a strategic communications professional with Kohler Co.
Stacey Nellen-Kolze
With a background in theatre and cosmetology and a desire to help members of the community find comfort in the devastation of hair loss caused by medical necessity, Stacey Nellen-Kolze opened Nell’s Wigs in March of 2007. After a few years, she saw the need for an expansion of services to offer garments and prosthesis for those who have undergone breast-related surgeries. With help from Urban Hope’s E-Hub program and UW-Green Bay’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), she realized her dream, expanding to a new (Allouez) location with more services and a new name — Nell’s Wigs and Boutique. Among her many honors and recognitions, she received E-Hub’s Community Impact Award. In addition, her business was chosen as a “Top 100 Small Businesses” in Deluxe Corporation’s “Small Business Revolution” campaign. As she continues to invest in the community, she also navigates business challenges — such as becoming Medicare accredited — by turning to local resources such as E-Hub and the SBDC. The success of Nell’s continues to fuel her passion for serving members of the greater Green Bay community. She shares her theatrical insight with the Next Stage Productions family that brings together performers and crew members from high schools throughout Northeast Wisconsin in a collaborative learning environment. Since 2013, Nellen-Kolze has sat on the planning committee for Prevea’s Runway for Life, an event that celebrates cancer survivors. In 2016, she joined the board of directors for The Ribbon of Hope Foundation, a local breast cancer organization of which $.97 out of each $1 donated is granted back to help those diagnosed with breast cancer in Brown and Kewaunee counties. The proud theatre alumnus has also stayed close to her Phoenix theatrical family. She and her husband Dean Kolze ’97 and their son Joey, reside in Green Bay.
Marty Stanley
Marty Stanley is an author, Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), facilitator and executive coach. As founder of Dynamic Dialog, Inc. in 2000, she draws on her personal and professional experience to help people transform their lives and their organizations. Her clients range from large (GE Oil and Gas, Marriott Corporation and Bank of America) to medium and small (rural hospitals, mortgage companies, commercial plumbing and law firms) and national associations (U.S. Tennis Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians). Stanley is the author of two books, Get Out of B.E.D. (Blame Excuses and Denial): Change Your Outlook-Alter Your Outcomes and From Type A to Type T: How to Be a Transformational Leader in a Bottom-Line World. Each provides the foundation for personal and organizational effectiveness and success. Her articles have been featured in hundreds of national and international trade and professional publications. Prior to starting her business, Stanley served in leadership roles in diverse corporate environments: As the assistant vice president of human resources at Employers Health Insurance, now Humana, she created a nationally recognized training department and one of the Top 25 Corporate Wellness programs in the country. As vice president of human resources at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, MO, Stanley created and implemented a performance management system based on outstanding customer service. As the first vice president of human resources for AMC Entertainment, and its 12,000 employees, she provided guidance as the company transformed the film exhibition industry. During a three-year period, the company built more than 50 megaplexes, while hiring more than 500 managers and 2,000 staff members. Stanley recently move to La Jolla, California.
John Mathys
John Mathys is president and co-owner of Dental City with fellow alumnus David Withbroe and Roy Stumpf. From humble beginnings as a small infection control products company, Dental City has flourished into a distributor of over 50,0000 dental product units, serving more than 13,000 dental professionals across the United States from their corporate headquarters and 50,000 square foot distribution center in Green Bay. Mathys began his professional career with Shopko Stores, where he gained valuable experience in buying and personnel management in its management training program. From there he moved to Ruffalo Enterprises, a sporting goods business as head of business development/national distribution manager. Mathys helped open distribution flow to national market players such as Cabelas, Bass Pro Shops and Gander Mountain. Mathys entered the dental supply business as head of sales and distribution for PRN Dental Supplies in the mid 1980’s. On the heels of the 1980s AIDS Crisis, PRN was a leader in providing infection control products to service the dental market. Mathys was a key player in this rapid start-up that rapidly grew into a multi-million-dollar dental distribution business. In 1993, with assistance and urging of Stumpf and Withbroe, ICP Inc. was formed to meet the infection control products needs of dental practitioners throughout the United States. Mathys was voted president of the company and the group began the daunting task as a start-up business working out of the basement of his business partner’s parents’ home, selling and invoicing during the day and processing and shipping orders at night. In 2006, following a comprehensive rebranding process, they renamed the business Dental City. The company has since lived through multiple years of double digit growth, in excess of 100 employees, with more than $40 million in annual revenue. The company has received many notable awards, among them the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce “Small Business Growth Award” and 3M Corporation’s “Channel Partner of the Year” award. Mathys received the United Dental Dealers, “Spirit Award” for embracing other dental dealer members and sharing concepts and ideas to better improve each member’s business. Mathys is married and supported by his wife of 17 years, Diane Holschuh. They reside in De Pere, Wis.
David Withbroe
In 1993, David Withbroe, along with his business partners John Mathys and Roy Stumpf started Dental City (then known as ICP, Inc.) in the basement of Withbroe’s parents’ house. With just six months of business under their belts they had grown enough to expand to a new location on South Broadway, Green Bay, and expanded again in 1998 with the construction of a new building in Green Bay’s I-43 Business Center. Withbroe says that he, Mathys and Stumpf, draw on each other’s strengths to grow the business, which has rocketed from zero employees and revenue to 100 employees and $40 million in a little more than two decades. Initially working in all areas of the business (sales, shipping and IT), Withbroe now has a more strategic role, helping to shape the sales and marketing departments in the areas of hiring, training and building career paths, while using business intelligence to uncover sales opportunities and increase customer retention. His long-term goal is to continue to be engaged with Dental City and help the business grow further. Prior to his time with Dental City, Withbroe exercised his knack for strategic thinking over the course of a short but exceptional career in radio advertising sales, where his suggestion to place ad spots based on listener demographics and listening habits landed his station the highest advertising spend of any in Green Bay. In a stellar five-year span in sales and sales management at Schneider Communications, Withbroe utilized “business intelligence” before it was called business intelligence to increase sales and reduce lost customers—essentially turning around a failing sales department and leaving it a highly successful model for the rest of the departments at Schneider. He also developed strategic career paths that increased the success of both new and senior reps while drastically reducing employee turnover. Withbroe spends time in his homes in both Wisconsin and Arizona with his wife, two daughters, and four grandchildren and enjoys racing motorcycles and sharing his love for cars with other enthusiasts. Withbroe was also a student-athlete at UW-Green Bay as a member of its cross-country team.
Sherry Aaholm
Sherry Aaholm is the vice president and chief information officer of Cummins Inc.— an American Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. She oversees mission critical information system resources and leads the information technology (IT) transformation for the company. Aaholm brings extensive professional experience in technology, information security, and digital, combined with executive leadership achievements in both public and private business sectors. She is responsible for driving the company-wide digital transformation, which includes alignment with engineering and human resources to drive digital synergy across the company. Aaholm joined Cummins in 2013, after more than 15 years at FedEx Services, where she served as executive vice president of information technology — steering the IT transformation strategy for the global enterprise to include FedEx Services, FedEx Express, FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground. There she was responsible for the daily operations of the global infrastructure footprint, including all data centers worldwide, overall architecture strategy, governance and IT standards. She previously held roles at GeoLogistics, in Atlanta, Ga. and Schneider National/Schneider Logistics in Green Bay, Wis. Aaholm holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Management from the University of Wisconsin. She is also a graduate of the Finance for Executives and Strategic Business Leadership program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Her work in developing leadership programs has been recognized by Computerworld, and she has spoken at Gartner and Computerworld events on the subject. Aaholm serves on the National Association of Corporate Directors and the Council of Logistics Management. She resides in Indianapolis with her family.
Mary Frank-Arlt
Mary Frank-Arlt joined Kohler Co.’s internal branding agency, The Beacon (recently featured in Advertising Age), in 2016. Frank-Arlt, the associate manager for social media, now develops social media and digital branding strategies for Kohler Power and Kohler Co. She began her career at Wisconsin Public Service, with a focus on maintaining strategic partnerships with nonprofits, managing giving programs and corporate outreach. She then moved into a role for WEC Energy Group (formerly Integrys Energy Group) coordinating digital and social media programs for nine brands. In addition, she led corporate social responsibility reporting initiatives and was one of first people in the world to receive the Global Reporting Initiative G4 certification in 2014. Frank-Arlt has been involved in the Green Bay community since her time as a student. She has held multiple roles within community groups such as the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional Group, Brown County United Way, Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, UW-Green Bay’s Founders Association and the ARTGarage. Currently, she is an active board member for Encompass Early Education and Care, Inc. She earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from UW-Oshkosh in 2015 and was recognized with UWO’s Outstanding Graduate Award.
About the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a comprehensive public institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs to 7,030 students. The University transforms lives and communities through exceptional and award-winning teaching and research, innovative learning opportunities and a problem-solving approach to education. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.
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