Employees of Waukesha-based Sleep Apnea Solutions Inc. and Oxygen One Inc. recently teamed up to offer good Samaritan help throughout the holiday season.

Jill and Jim Spellman lead the two companies. Jill, the former president of Oxygen One, is now president of Sleep Apnea Solutions, while her husband, Jim, leads operations at Oxygen One.

Oxygen One, a patient-focused, service-driven respiratory company, has held a tradition since its formation in 1999 of giving holiday gifts and extra resources to its patients.

"Oxygen One has always had a sort of adopt-a-patient program around the holidays where employees will chip in and purchase gifts for patients who might not have family nearby or might be struggling financially," Jill said. "It has always been a real gift, but this year, the staff of both companies really took the ball. Everywhere we looked, the people were getting together and doing something to help the community."

This year, the Spellmans, along with employees of both companies, assisted in ringing the bells for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign, supported employee and company-made donations to the Waukesha Food Pantry, formed a clothing drive for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and participated in the traditional adopt-a-patient program.

Typically, if employees are gathering money for a particular cause, an envelope is passed through the offices, and the companies match the employees' donations.

"It really helps everyone feel like they are involved, and its nice to see that we usually go above and beyond doing that," Jill said. "Between the two companies, the generosity of the people that work here is non-stop. It has really been the best gift for Jim and me."

The Windhover Foundation, a charitable organization funded by Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc. and the Quadracci family, announced it giving a $1 million donation to food banks and meal programs in southeastern Wisconsin and six other U.S. locations where the company has printing facilities.

The foundation is chaired by Betty Quadracci, the widow of Quad/Graphics founder Harry Quadracci.

The donation was announced by their son, Joel Quadracci, who is president and chief executive officer of Quad/Graphics.

The $1 million donation is on top of $420,000 in donations given by the foundation to hunger-relief organizations earlier this fall.

"In tough economic times like these, we need to strengthen our communities' support network," Joel Quadracci said. "Many individuals and families are struggling to put food on the table right now. Food pantries are seeing double-digit increases in the number of people requesting assistance, so this money will go a long way in helping make sure the pantry shelves are stocked."

The foundation has allocated $500,000 to The Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee. The remaining $500,000 will be distributed among other hunger-relief organizations.

"Many companies and organizations have already given," said Betty Quadracci. "If you have not, you might consider a donation to your local food pantry."

Quad/Graphics is the largest privately held printer of magazines, catalogs and other commercial products in the Western Hemisphere, and the third-largest printer - public or private - in the nation.

America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin is making an urgent plea for donations, because the organization is facing skyrocketing demands for food, but its food supply has fallen to a 10-year low. Donations can be made by ordering food to help the needy online at www.secondharvestwi.org.

Jim Lagina and his plumbing company, Lagina Plumbing, located at 3628 W. Pierce St. in Milwaukee, have been involved in motor sport racing sponsorship for more then 10 years.

Last summer, Lagina Plumbing became a sponsor for veteran racer Morgan Shepherd when he came to Milwaukee to compete in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Lagina supported Shepherd in seven NASCAR events in 2008, and are planning an even more extensive sponsorship role in 2009.

Companies from South Carolina and the Denver area have called, saying they saw the car on television and asked that Lagina be their plumber when they move to Milwaukee, Lagina said.

"It is just a really neat opportunity for us," Lagina said. "We attended all of the events that we sponsored, and were able to take customers to the races, and even generate some business from the opportunity."

Marcus Restaurants Inc. is offering customers a free $20 bonus gift certificate for $100 spent purchasing Marcus Restaurant gift cards. The gift certificate is valid at any Milwaukee area Marcus outlet including, Mason Street Grill, Blu, The Well Spa, Kil@wat, zenden, CLEAR Lounge, Milwaukee ChopHouse and Miller Time Pub.

Certificates are redeemable Jan. 1 through March 31, 2009, and the offer expires Dec. 31, 2008.

Marcus Hotels and Resorts also are offering special New Year's Eve packages at the InterContinental Milwaukee, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and the Pfister Hotel. 

The InterContinental Milwaukee package includes a deluxe guest room with champagne, strawberries, and the specially created New Year's Eve five-course dinner at the hotel restaurant Kil@Wat for $275 per couple.

The Hilton Milwaukee City Center package includes Paradise Landing water park passes for up to five guests, and a New Years Day breakfast buffet for $275, and the Pfister Hotel is offering a five course gourmet dinner, dance lessons with instructors from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, music from the Nick Contorno Orchestra and an after party at Blu Martini Bar for $465 per couple.

For more information on purchasing a New Years Eve package, contact the hotel locations.

Name: Nancy Hernandez 

Title: President

Company: Abrazo multicultural marketing & communication

Company address: 316 N Milwaukee Street, Suite 550, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Company web site: abrazomarketing.com

Industry: Marketing & advertising

Education: MBA-Marquette University

Family:  Husband, Andrew, and 14-month-old daughter, Delia

Hobbies and Interests: Dinner parties and running - all pre-baby, of course!

Favorite book and/or movie: "'Rebecca,' a movie starring Lawrence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. If you haven’t seen it, you should. A close second would be 'The Thin Man' series."

Favorite musician/band: "You can’t go wrong with Frank Sinatra."

Favorite place to visit/vacation: "Any place with great restaurants, great shopping and great margaritas - and it must have wi-fi."

Favorite local restaurant: "It all depends on what I am in the mood for, but here are a couple of my favs: Osteria del Mondo - have the  veal tagliatelle; Bacchus- order a sidecar in their bar; Capital Grille - gotta have the pan-fried calamari; and Mason Street Grill - nothing beats a good bone-in ribeye grilled to perfection."

Words to live by: "There is no crying in baseball."

What is your core philosophy for doing business? "We are committed to our client's bottom line - you have to unequivocally add very transparent value. You also need to stay sharp - anticipate where the industry is going and get there first."

Who is your role model and why? "I’m lucky to have many people in my life who provide positive influence and guidance in different areas. My closest circle includes one of the best people managers I have met in my life, a very successful entrepreneur and a conservative voice of reason - believe me, I need this one."

What was the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? "It would be hard to judge the funniest. I laugh at myself often, and there is a lot to choose from. It could be early in my career getting summoned up to the boss' office for an 'atta girl' and knocking over a full glass of coffee on his desk. It could also be falling in my office on my way to a meeting and spilling coffee ALL over a brand new red suit. You'd think I would have given up coffee by now but I’m attracted to things that put a smile on my face and warm up my insides..."

Advertising & Public Relations

Image Makers Advertising, Waukesha, recently promoted Sylvie Hergott to senior graphic designer. Hergott has worked for Image Makers Advertising since July 2004.

Johnson Direct, LLC, Brookfield, recently added Stacey Smart as public relations account executive.  Prior to joining Johnson Direct Smart was a product manager for a company that designs and manufactures products used in FDA-regulated biomedical research environments.

Health Care

Dr. Calvin Williams was recently appointed an associate director of Children’s Research Institute, Wauwatosa. He is also the D.B. and Marjorie Reinhart Chair in Rheumatology at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and an associate professor of Pediatrics (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) and section chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Linda Lofye, was recently promoted to director of clinical services for Children’s Community Health Plan. Lofye joined Children’s Community Health Plan in July 2008 as senior utilization management/case management nurse.

Insurance

Carol Willick recently joined G2 Insurance Services, Inc., Brookfield, as a commercial producer.  She also brings 22 years of experience in insurance sales to the firm and specializes in dealing with insurance programs for municipalities.