Brown Deer-based Northwoods Software, began offering its Live Looks- ten minutes to a better website seminar last month and plans to continue to do so every month as long as it remains in demand.

“The seminar series actually sprung out of a different Writing for the Web seminar which we’ve been doing for over a year now," said Northwoods president and founder Patrick Bieser Sr. 'We previously took 15 minutes at the end of that seminar to take a look at audience member websites and critique what they were doing well and what they could improve on.”

According to Bieser, the demand for the seminar content pertaining to the critiques led to the Live Looks Learn at Lunch series, which focuses solely on 10 minute critiques of audience member sites.

Participants at the Learn at Lunch submit their website URLs with their registration and then sites are randomly selected from a bowl during the seminar. Bieser, and one of his colleagues, spends 10 minutes critiquing the selected website and offer ideas for improvement.

“So many people think they know a lot about the web,” Bieser said. “But no matter how much they know they always have concerns, fears and anxieties about what’s the right way to do it, because there are so many variations of web designs out there. Everyone wants to get results from their website, but nobody ever tells them how to do that. That’s what we do when we critique these sites.”

Bieser and his colleagues at Northwoods, Bradley Fell, creative director, and Mike Rohde, senior art director, are web creators, designers and architects by trade and also sell a content management solution as part of their business.

“The goal of these pages is for a visitor to buy something or obtain some important information. Our goal is to help you understand that if you want to accomplish those tasks, this is what you need to do,” Bieser said. “Very few web designers will actually do that, and in the context of this seminar participants can voyeuristically learn as they watch other people get their critiques.”

Ben Liesch, Interactive designer and Julie Tramonte, senior copywriter at Mader Communications Group, Inc., in Mequon attended the first Live Looks seminar specifically looking for that kind of input.

“Overall we got some really good tips on how to make our website work better from a user point of view. The feedback we received was definitely valuable and unique in that our clients wouldn’t typically give us that sort of feedback,” Liesch said.

The seminar is open to any business, small or large in any industry, Bieser said.

The date for the next Learn @ Lunch is Tuesday, Aug. 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Northwoods Software facility, 4600 W. Schroeder Dr., Brown Deer. You can register by visiting www.learn.northwoodsoft.com. Lunch is $5.

Orlando-based AirTran Airways, which offers flights to several destinations from Milwaueke, recently became the first major airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi internet connections on 100 percent of its planes.

“Promise made, promise delivered,” said Bob Fornaro, chairman, president and CEO of AirTran Airways. “When you get onboard an AirTran Airways jet, you know exactly what you’re going to get -- an assigned seat on a full-sized, new Boeing jet with business class, a friendly crew, complimentary XM Satellite Radio and now Wi-Fi. It’s that consistent, low-cost, high-quality experience that sets us apart from our competitors.”

The airline also recently released a campaign to teach passengers the correct way to surf the web while in flight. The internetiquette campaign launches a series of videos featuring Airplane! star and flight captain, Peter Graves who provides tips on what to do and what not to do when surfing the web while in flight.

The humorous internetiquette videos can be viewed at here, and the Airtran Internetiquette guide to keeping everyone in line while they are online can be seen here.

To demonstrate the capabilities of having Wi-Fi on every flight, AirTran also hosted comedian Mark Malkoff on board during the month of June. While setting the Guinness World Record for most flight segments flown on a commercial airliner in 30 days, Malkoff used Wi-Fi to stay connected to family, friends and fans. His journey can be viewed at http://www.markonairtran.com.

Trivera Interactive, Corporate Identity Solutions, and Clear Verve Marketing have partnered to develop Social Media University, an educational event that will provide hands-on learning and real-life examples of the most prominent social media tools.

Jay Steinfeld, CEO of Blinds.com will give the keynote presentation of how one of America’s largest online brands has used the power of the web to transform a small business into an internet powerhouse and how he is using social media to use the brand’s fan base as fuel for even greater success.

The full day event, conceived by Tom Snyder, president and CEO of Germantown-based Trivera Interactive, will bring together local social media experts who will share real-life experiences with social media and help business owners embrace best practices for this new era of communications.

“As an interactive marketing company, many of our clients were approaching us with questions on nearly every aspect of social media,” Snyder said. “Because social media is growing and changing so quickly, it is difficult for many people, even marketers, to keep up with all the changes. We felt that if we brought together a group of people we admired and gave business owners the opportunity to learn from these subject matter experts, attendees would walk away with a complete experience at a much higher level than we could provide by hosting a short event on our own.”

Presenters at the event will include: Chris Remington and Katie Fleming of Trivera Interactive, Sue Marks of Pinstripe Talent, Augie Ray from Fullhouse, Jon Kurozawa from K6 Marketing, Christina Steder from Clear Verve Marketing, Katie Felten from MKElive.com, Sara Meaney from Comet Branding, Blake Samic from Actions Talk, Scott Baitinger from Streetza Pizza and Mader Communications, Joe Woelfle from Blatz Liquor and Phil Gerbyshak the Make it Great Guy.

BizTimes Media is a media sponsor of the event which will be held on Wednesday, July 29 at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. Tickets are available for $115 per seat, which includes continental breakfast, and workshops, and are available at www.socialmediamilwaukee.com. Space is limited.

The after event tweetup, Networking in a Social Media World, hosted by Corporate Identity Solutions at Hilo Martini lounge, 411 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, costs an additional $12 and will offer an opportunity to exchange ideas with other attendees and learn how businesses are using "Tweet-ups" to develop new business.

Brothers Vijay and Manoj Swearingen recently launched a new mobile foodservice concept called Pita Brothers, which operates on the streets of downtown Milwaukee.

“My brother and I started this business back in June with the intention of forming something a little more green with a smaller footprint," Vijay said. "I always wanted to get into the restaurant business, but the cost of operating a restaurant in a location not absolutely ideal was to much for me.” 

Pita Brothers restaurant functions out of a custom built, electric neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). The first of its kind in Wisconsin.

According to Vijay, the car is a low speed, street legal, plug-in electric vehicle built by GEM, a division of Chrysler Corporation.

The truck has been modified to include commercially approved appliances and safety features, which allow the brothers to operate the business, Vijay said.

“We are quickly gaining a regular following,” Vijay said. “There is definitely a trend emerging, especially in the city of Milwaukee with mobile restaurants. It started out with hot dogs but many more people are getting a little more creative with their offerings.”

Pita Brothers offers the “perfect portable sandwich’ with fresh ingredients and traditional Lebanese pita bread, Vijay said.

On most days Pita Brothers can be found parked in the Third Ward’s Catalano Square during the lunch hour, but the two do move around on occasion to accommodate evens like Bastille days and Summerfest.

Customers can regularly find out where the brothers are located, what specials they might be offering and all of the latest happenings by joining the Pita Brothers Facebook page or by following them on Twitter www.twitter.com/pitabros

The Northwestern Mutual Foundation recently announced the donation of a $10,000 grant for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee in recognition of Northwestern Mutual financial representative Tom Goris, Jr.’s dedication to the organization.

In honor of his contributions, the Northwestern Mutual Foundation has named Goris an “outstanding volunteer” in the company’s national Community Service Award program. Since the program’s inception 15 years ago, nearly $3 million has been contributed to almost 300 non-profit organizations throughout the country.

“Northwestern Mutual is pleased to extend its financial strength to help support strong communities across the country,” said Edward Zore, chairman and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. “Our financial representatives are deeply committed to serving their communities and in Milwaukee, Tom has led the way.”

The Community Service Award program is open to more than 9,000 Northwestern Mutual financial representatives and assistant financial representatives, recognizing exemplary volunteer involvement and dedication to charitable organizations and philanthropic projects. 

Goris is one of 25 winners nationwide who were named in the annual competition. Through the program funded by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, more than $275,000 will be donated this year to various nonprofit organizations. 

“The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee favorably affect thousands of our community’s most at risk children,” said Goris. “They are a beacon of hope and it is a privilege for me to help serve their mission; I am most grateful for Northwestern Mutual’s generosity to the clubs.”

Goris will be presented with the Community Service Award during Northwestern Mutual’s Annual Meeting on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at the company’s headquarters in Milwaukee.

In response to the high demand of summer travelers, Lake Express high-speed ferry has announced a series of new promotions that travelers can take advantage of.

“We announced the ‘kids ride free’ family travel deal earlier this summer to assist families hard hit by the recession and received such a positive response from that offer, we wanted to find a way to extend the savings to others who don’t have kids,” said Ken Szallai, president of Lake Express. “We provide a blend of comfort, convenience and serve unique travel destinations, and we’re offering a way to experience it all at the lowest fares across Lake Michigan. People are responding and discovering great value by using Lake Express.”

Lake Express recently launched a new “91-19 deal that will extend its service with an evening round trip crossing and allow travelers to save $38 on the regular round trip crossing. The “91-19” deal allows travelers to pay only $19 for one leg of a roundtrip fare as long as they travel on either the 6 a.m. cruise leaving Milwaukee, or the 11:00 p.m. cruise leaving Muskegon, Mich. The normal fee of $91 will be applied to the other half of the trip. 

The Lake Express extended summer schedule offers daily departures from Milwaukee at 6 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Muskegon, Mich. trips depart daily at 10:15 a.m., 4:45 p.m. and 11 p.m.

For more information on Lake Express, ticket prices or schedule details, call 1-866-914-1010 or visit www.lake-express.com.

Name: Jane Cooper

Title: Founder, president and CEO

Company: Patient Care

Company address: 633 W. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1310, Milwaukee, WI 53203

Company web site: www.patientcare4u.com

Industry: Health care advocacy

Education: B.A. from Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. and Master’s degree from Western Illinois University

Hobbies and Interests: Running, music, golf, cooking, drinking wine, pilates, travel

Favorite book and/or movie: “Book, Anything by Martha Grimes or P.D. James. Movie, “Blazing Saddles.”

Favorite musician/band: Dr. John

Favorite place to visit/vacation: New Orleans

Favorite local restaurant: Capital Grille

Words to live by: “Everyone has choices – live your life to be happy”

What is your core philosophy for doing business? “Everyone at our company works to create raving fans of our customers.”

Who is your role model and why? “My father is my role model. He was always very positive and willing to take risks in his personal and his professional life.”

What was the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? “Personally, I think ending up back in Wisconsin due to Hurricane Katrina. I grew up in Waukesha. I moved to New Orleans in 1985 and never intended to leave. When Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees broke I knew that the best place to restart my business was Milwaukee and headed north on August 30, 2005. It was unexpected, funny and a very good decision.”

Arts & Entertainment

The Milwaukee Chamber Theatre recently named Kirsten Mulvey as the company’s new managing director. Mulvey most recently served as the associate director of major giving for the Milwaukee Public Television Friends. She also owns and operates KM Creative, a development consulting firm.

Consulting

ActionCOACH of Elm Grove recently announced the June graduation class of BusinessRICH, the two-day business boot-camp that supplies the fundamentals of building a successful business model. Graduates included Rob Hudson of Vivosity Consulting LLC, East Troy; and Art Flater and Chris Rosecky of Central Office Systems, Waukesha.

Education

The Board of Trustees of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) recently elected a Allen Williams, Jr., partner at Foley & Lardner LLP as new board chairman and Madeleine Kelly Lubar, a former practicing attorney and volunteer as vice chair for 2009-2010.

Health Care

The Board of Directors for Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls, recently elected Christine Specht and Susan Templin to three-year terms on the board. Dennis Pollard was also elected president of the board, and will replace William Bestor, who is retiring after 32 years of service to the hospital.

Tracey Weninger, R.N., has been recognized by her peers at St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend, with the 2009 Excellence in Nursing award, an honor that annually celebrates the professional accomplishments of an individual registered nurse.

ProHealth Care, Waukesha, recently announced that Cathy Rapp has been promoted to vice president and chief nurse executive at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. Rapp formerly served as the director of clinical and supportive services in ProHealth Care’s Regional Cancer Center. ProHealth Care also recently named Susan Peterson to the Waukesha Memorial Hospital leadership team as vice president – chief quality and patient experience officer to lead the hospital’s clinical quality, guest services and healing environment areas.