 and welcome to Love Where You Live, a production of the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce. We do this show monthly, and I'm so glad you're here this month to see what we have to offer. I have a special guest this morning, Jeff Main, from Above and Beyond Children's Museum, of which I am intimately acquainted. I have taken my grandchildren there several times, and welcome to the program this morning, Jeff. Thank you very much, it's a pleasure to be here. We're excited. We're excited to have the museum and all that it has to offer in downtown Sheboygan. Yeah, we love it, our location, and you know, there was times when we thought about moving, but we came to the conclusion that's the place we should be. Yeah, it's kind of a fun building, tall, and it kind of reminds you like it comes out of a storybook. It does, there's some challenges to an old building, but the advantages to an old building are outweigh the challenges, so. Yeah, we'll talk a little about how you've improved that building and even made it more fantastical than it was to begin with as we go along today. Give me a little history about the museum. We'll give it for our viewers. Okay, well actually next year we'll be celebrating our 25th anniversary, so we're working on things in preparation for that already. There you go. So we were founded in 1993. It was a small group of people that got together, founders and with an idea like everything starts and they wanted something for the children of Sheboygan. So it started out as like a traveling road show and they built some exhibits and they would go to the county fair or to broad days and with these exhibits. And then it progressed onto that and it was in a shop, a storefront, down on South 8th Street. And then in 1998, 1999, that the current building that we're in became available and it was purchased and renovated. So I hate to start naming names, but Daryl Gumm and there's a number of people, Brian Hart, Gary Hart and, but there's a core group of people that were founders of the museum. One of them, Bonnie Schmitz is still around, she volunteers at the museum. So it's come a long way. It's come a long way. It's come a long way just since I've been here, which has been about seven years as the chamber director. And I remember visiting and talking with you and you sharing some of the plans at that point in time that have all come true, by the way. Well, we try, yeah. So let's talk about 2009, you arrived on the scene. What transpired after you've arrived? What kinds of things are in place now that weren't then? And assume for the purposes of this conversation that someone hasn't been there, hasn't seen the inside. Well, first of all, there wasn't a big ship coming out of the building. Yeah, you can see from the outside. Yeah. There's been a lot of changes and the ship is an iconic thing. And we wanted to do that to be iconic. And when people come from all over, out of town guests and they go back to their hometown in Iowa or Illinois or wherever they're from, and they say they were from, they were in Sheboygan. Our goal is, did you see that building with the big ship coming out? Yeah. So it was done for that purpose, to be iconic. And, but it's more than that, because on the inside, if you come inside, there's also the ship is on the inside of the building too. Right. And then do things on the schooner. And the reason we did the schooner to begin with is to show kids why Sheboygan's even here, that we're on the Great Lakes and we were formed that Sheboygan's here because it's on the Great Lakes and the Sheboygan River. And so that started the whole discussion. So we do have a goal. Process for refugees works. I think it's all that's trying to be accomplished by this order. It's great to bring people here that we know who they are, they're hardworking and they wanna be Americans. But according to McLaughlin, the United States vetting process for refugees is already very intense. It lasts between one and a half to three years. And that checks their backgrounds, where they're from includes interviews, health screenings, even biometrics, a lot of different agencies. So when they get here, we know who they are, we know where they come from. McLaughlin says the Fox Valley is typically welcoming to refugees. For the most part, people seem to be very receptive, they want to learn. McLaughlin says sometimes the more people learn about the refugee program, the fewer fears they have. Three federal appeals court judges in Chicago will decide this summer whether Brendan Datsy should have his conviction reinstated in the slaying of Theresa Halback in Manitowoc County. The appeals panel heard arguments Tuesday on the state's request to keep Datsy behind bars. The judges asked state lawyers whether persecutors questioning of Datsy amounted to a promise of leniency for Datsy, who was 16 when he confessed that both he and his uncle, Stephen Avery, raped, shot, and burned Halback in 2005 near Michigan. A federal magistrate ruled last summer that Datsy should get a new trial after the TV documentary Making a Murder raised questions about his and Avery's guilt. A state attorney argued that Datsy was promised no benefits in exchange for his cooperation, but his lawyer argued that questioners took advantage of Datsy's age and low IQ at the time. WBAY in Green Bay says the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals will not issue a decision on the case until after June. In sports, the UW-Shabuigan men's basketball team defeated UW-Fox Valley of 174 to advance to the second round of the WCC playoffs. Leading the team were T.J. Pitch with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Kortu Josiah contributed 20 points and six assists. Alex Antoine had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Julian Jones for 14 points. The Wombats hosts UW-Washington on Saturday at 2 p.m. And that's all for today. Join me again next week for another recap of your local news. News content for this program provided by WHBL in cooperation, WSCS-TV. Things there, so we have windows all around the building, but not on the north side of the building. There's no windows, because there was a, at one time, a building there. Came right up next to you. So they said, I said, well, how are you gonna do that? And they said, we'll cut a hole in the wall. And I said, okay, can we put a window in after we cut this hole? Sure, we'll put a window in. So now we got a window that overlooks the children's garden. So it all worked together and it's beautiful. And the fire truck is awesome. Yeah. And I don't know if you know this, but if you look at the fire station downtown, not sure which street that's on, but it's a pretty good replication of that firehouse. We try to do things. I mean, we're not a historical museum, but we try to do things that. So that kids can recognize them and feel like that's their home or that's the place they're visiting and they know more about us when they leave. So, no, I think it's very special. And I mentioned to you before the show, when my grandchildren, three and five years old, went into this museum, we were pretty much hands off. They went around, tried on every costume, played every role, did the fire truck, the school, the medical, the fishing, everything in the museum on their own. Yeah. That's what makes the play special. It's the one place or very few places in the world where children can touch everything. I mean, that's our motto. And it's for them. And it's not just for children. It's children of all ages. We're all children in some ways or another. But it's a great place. And the other thing is play. It used to be a taboo word. And now they're doing a lot of research to show how the importance of play. Oh, yeah. We've always used it in our mission. It's been in our mission for 25 years now. But now that the research is indicating the importance of it, we're even promoting that more, obviously. But really, the mission is a place for children and their families. So that connection, that child, adult, whether it be a parent or a grandparent, or caregiver of some sort, where they can interact and be in an environment where play and education, so the play is in there, but we want it to be educational as well, connect through exploration and discovery. So it's a great mission. I mean, it basically says what we do. It's all hands-on, a special place for children and their families where play and education connect through exploration and discovery. Oh, very nice. So everything's hands-on, exploring, discovering, learning, playing. Very true. And role-playing. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, definitely learning about all of those things. So tell me now. So you had this vision in 2009 when we met. Yes. Now. What's the vision now? What are you looking at long-term? Well, we have a couple of things we're working on. We have a lot of exhibits in the museum. And in the past, they were very sporadic. There was one thing here and then over here. So we're trying to get more themed type of atmospheres. And it's going to start right when you walk into museum. And we're doing this passport to the imagination. So we're trying to replicate the fact that when you're entering the museum, you're entering a child's imagination. And there's some really cool things that we're working on to get to that point. So the first floor, well, it's going to start in the lobby. And the lobby is going to be sort of the Northwoods version of the Rainforest Cafe. If you've ever been to a Rainforest Cafe. But it's going to be Northern Wisconsin or even this part of Wisconsin with trees and animals and sound effects. Real dramatic. We've walked into a different environment. And then when you walk into the museum, the first floor is going to revolve around a child's backyard. So we have the treehouse already, which I mean, if you think about it when a child is growing up, their imagination in their backyard, in their treehouse, in their fort, whatever their kids are doing. So the whole first floor is going to mimic kind of their backyard. And there's going to be different things. And a lot of it's going to be around the steam, which most people recognize as a stem, science, technology, engineering, and math. We find it real important to have the A in there for arts. A lot of people forget that. And personally, I think that's probably the most important thing. That might be the wrong thing to say. But actually, Carolyn Lee from the Kohler Foundation came through. And we were talking. And she said, well, what about the arts? And I'm like, well, I got to give her credit for that. I love that. So we're going with steam. And we're going to have a lot of our exhibits reflect steam. But not just what a kid can see as steam, but what they can do as steam. Because that's what it's all about, is their hands on, and how they can create things and do things. So that's going to carry over to the second floor. Should I keep going? Sure, I think so. So the second floor, we have the Siegel Circus, which has been in the museum for a long time. It's a large circus display that was hand carved by Mr. James Siegel. And almost everything still works. Yes. It's been in the museum for a while, but he spent his whole life doing this project. It is amazing. And it really wasn't interactive at first. I mean, something you just look at. So the founders of the museum, they were a genius in this respect, they came up with the fun cards. Or it's a card where you can put it on the little window and activate something in the circus. So that made it that interactive experience. So we're going to embrace that. And we've already have. We added our latest addition to the second floor is the mystical glow room and the human shadow. It's a side show of the circus. All right, yeah. And it's made to look like a side show of the circus where it came up, they flip the thing up, and it was a side show. And what it is, is the glow portion of it is a giant light bright. If you remember, the little light brights. This big foot with big pegs, it's awesome. It's very cool. And then next to that is the human shadow. It's basically kids can project their shadow on a wall. And then they can take these light writers and they can write with them on the wall. It's a phosphorous. It's cool. So and then our next project is to add to that circus expansion. So the second floor will be circus theme. And then the third floor, like I said, the port of Sheboygan and the fire truck. Well, that's great. That's great. We've got the interior vision. And then we have the outside vision as well, where we have community gardens and a children's garden. And we do a lot of outdoor educational programs during the summer out in the gardens. And then a portion of it is for downtown residents, mainly elderly, that don't have the ability to garden anymore. So we give them that opportunity. So it's more of a community service type of thing. What about special program nights? I know you have a few of those, like is it Tuesday for toddlers? Yeah, almost every day of the week we have a special program. And it's for different reasons. Some of it's for our members and give them a reason to come back throughout the week. Because if we have a membership, you can come whenever you want. We have like, so let's see, toddler Tuesday. So it's set for the littler kids. Wednesday is our Eat Play Grow. That's more of a summer activity out in the gardens. It's a nutritional-based program, but basically they can go out into the gardens, pick some strawberries, pick some different things, bring it over and then make some healthy snack, and then there's an activity with it. It's perfect. Very nice. And then special needs. You do some things for special needs both. On the second Monday of the month we do special needs night. And we do that just because we should. It's like one of those things, there's families that have children with special needs, and they don't have a lot of places to go, and they go to a restaurant and something happens, and a kid has a meltdown or something. It's just embarrassing. So we do this on the second Monday of the month. We close the museum, we're open just for that. And we modify the museum to accommodate. We take away any bright lights or things that might over-stimulate kids. And it's a free thing, and it's for the kids, for families with special needs. Very nice. And they can all do it together too with their other kids. And we serve a snack and stuff. So we're trying to accommodate the families and make it a good experience. So we talk for the next five years? We pretty much covered that one? Five years, oh no, no, no. Well, five years, yeah. Well, eventually there's some plans and there's a drawing hanging in my office. We've got lots of drawings around. You come downstairs in my office. We have a great artist on staff who's Bob Fleming and he does these renditions. So they're not architect renderings, but they're artist renditions. And one of them is of an expansion. And that's the ultimate goal. We're really running out of space. So the museum's about 10,000 square feet. Okay, yeah. If we can change things, we can move things around, we can squeeze things in. But really to grow in a big way we would need. And we have the lot next door. So there's a drawing with a building that would be towards the alley, towards the restaurant. It would be very similar in shape, except for the design would be different. It would be more futuristic, glass, solar. So it would be the old building and then the new. The new would probably be more science, more technology, more futuristic type exhibits. And then they would be connected with a bridge over the gardens. So it's pretty cool. It's a big dream and... Hey, you gotta have big dreams. And then you get other people to both see those big dreams. And I think, you know, with all the parents here who've enjoyed this museum and the kids who've grown up here and enjoyed watching it progress, you'll be able to get support for a dream like that. I hope so, because it'll be fantastic. It would be. It's great to, now that it's been around 25 years, you bring up a good point. You know, we're seeing people that were there when they were kids and now they're bringing their kids. Absolutely. And it's just really neat. So Jeff, thanks so much for coming. And you think about winter and things to do for kids because kids get antsy in the winter just like parents do. And if they can get out and have places to go like this wonderful museum, we are so much the better for it. So we appreciate all your leadership and the way that you've helped to grow this museum as well as your staff. So. Thank you very much. Thanks for joining us today. Welcome back to Love Where You Live. Brought to you by the Sheboydon County Chamber. I'm Betsy Alice. In the second part of our show today, I'm going to review a few interesting and exciting programs that the Chamber is undertaking in the next few months. I'm going to start with one that actually happens next September, which is more than a few months, but you'll want a little time to plan. We are introducing a Rhine River trip in our travel program. This will be on the Rhine and Mosul rivers in a beautiful riverboat, fully appointed with wonderful luxuries, three meals a day and their fabulous meals. And you will cruise down the Rhine River through four countries. We'll start the trip at Amsterdam and then go through Germany, France and we'll end up in Lucerne, Switzerland, where you can take an optional trip up Mount Pilatus in a, oh, like a ski kind of situation where they take you up the mountain in two different ways because it's so high. The views up there are spectacular. So I'd like to just talk a little about riverboat trips because if you have not been on one, there's some very special attributes I'd like to share. I have been on this particular trip that we're offering. It's called the Romantic Rhine and Mosul River trip. And indeed it is a romantic trip because of the areas it goes through and because of the expanse of this beautiful river. You go through many locks while you're there. You stay in your room so you never have to pack or unpack during this entire seven day cruise. So there's a seven day cruise and then there's a two day land trip in Switzerland at the end. So we start in Amsterdam. I think the second day we're in Cologne, Germany where we have a city tour of the beautiful cathedral and all of the surrounding areas. It goes on, winds down the river and a lot of the travel on a riverboat is in the nighttime when you're sleeping and it's almost completely still. So if you have any issues with seasickness they will not plague you on this trip. So you wake up every morning in a new beautiful place which to me that was the most distinction between regular travel and this kind of travel. Another thing that I found really fun is the idea that when you're traveling from place to place during the day on one day in particular in fact we had 12 castles to go by. So they had commentary along the way and we sat up on the deck. You now had refreshments with our newfound friends and just completely enjoyed the entire day even though we were moving along. So on a regular tour as you know a lot of your time is spent on a bus. In this case that's not true. You're just spending it relaxing with friends. On this particular riverboat that we have chartered for this trip in the fall there's actually a swimming pool on deck that you can take advantage of that you actually will either close or open depending on the weather. So that's a very special thing that my trip didn't have. So I'm excited for you if you decide to take this journey. The total journey is from September 21st to October 1st. Actually for our trips you get picked up right in Sheboygan at the Chamber of Commerce. So you just simply park your car, it's free parking and go on the trip with no worries. So I strongly recommend this trip. We only have a few places left. So if you are interested you can either call the Chamber at 457-9491 to get more information or more easily go to our website where you'll find this at Sheboygan.org that's our website. So I invite you to just explore the itinerary see if it sounds like something you'd be interested in and then join us. A lot of the travelers who've been in chamber travel in the past are repeat travelers because the experience also includes these friendships that are newly formed and last for a lifetime. So it's a wonderful way to network, to get to know people in a deeper way than when you're just doing business day to day or living down the road from one another. So strongly encourage you to do this. It's an excellent trip. And we've had past trips to Ireland, China, Italy and all of them have been just wonderful examples of how people from the Sheboygan area can make a fun time anywhere in the world that they go. So again, I would encourage you to sign up early. We have I think maybe nine to 10 spots left and that's not a lot when it comes to a trip like this. So check it out. Second on my list today, we have created a new award for the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce to bestow upon someone each year. This award, unlike our other awards which are for manufacturers, retailers, service providers, all those kinds of things, this particular award will be for an individual. It will be honored at a special banquet in May. It's called the Athena Award. It's the International Athena Award. It has been in existence since the late 70s and was created in Michigan and sponsored by General Motors at that time. It was created specifically to encourage and promote women in leadership positions in their communities, in their professions and so on. So we took a while to adopt it. Late 70s, now we're in 2017, but it's a really important step I think for us to take. The nominations for this award are now open. And just to give you a little background, I'm going to actually read the mission statement of the Athena Award so that you can get the gist of what it's meant to accomplish. The Athena Leadership Award actively supports the Athena mission to support, develop and honor women leaders, inspire women to achieve their full potential and to create balance in leadership worldwide. The particular person that we are looking for, and we will likely have many nominees, shows the following criteria. They demonstrate excellence, creativity, and initiative in their business or profession. They provide valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community. And they assist women in reaching their full leadership potential. So there's a self-development piece of this and there's also a commitment to help others along the way so that they can also achieve their fullest potential. Our nominations are open right now, as I said, you can find more on our website at shaborgan.org and you'll find the application form there for the nomination. The deadline for the nominations is February 28th. So not much time left on this one, but very important award for our community and in years to come. So I encourage you to think about the people that you've known in the workplace who have really spent a lot of time and devotion to seeing that women have the opportunities for career development and leadership development in our companies. So that's the second item. The third item, just, I'd like to talk a little bit about our Coastal Young Professionals Organization. This was started within the Sheboygan County Chamber about 10 years ago now. It has grown significantly in the last two years due to a couple of factors. A young professional is defined as someone between the ages of 21 and 40-ish who is in a profession, has a commitment to develop themselves within their profession and would like to meet and interact with a variety of people throughout the community. They concentrate on three areas and they have events and programs associated with all three of these. The first is social. It's important for our young professionals to develop relationships in the community so that they want to stay here, so that they have people to attend functions with so that they can help each other in the business community. So that's the first is the social and they have a lot of events that bring young people together around sailing, around cross-country skiing. Those are a few of the things they've done in the past. The second area is career development. And career development is an extremely important part of our young professionals program. In fact, one of the reasons that our coastal young professionals program started was that employers saw a need for a career development in this particular age group as people entered their careers and began to develop for future positions. So they have a number of things going on. In this regard, they've had workshops on emotional intelligence, on speaking, and all of those kinds of things. So, and then the third piece is community involvement. They have something called coastal cares and they've adopted organizations each year and they go as a group to collectively help these organizations in whatever way they need. So we have a core of community volunteers within coastal. But last but not least, Sheboygan County has been selected to host the next YP Week kickoff event on April 22nd. You'll be able to learn more about this on our website but it's very important because it's going to bring young professionals from all over the state of Wisconsin to showcase Sheboygan County. They'll be staying at Blue Harbor. They'll have a number of activities and fun things to do and our employers from around the county are supporting this so that we can show them a really good time because we'd love to have them all move to Sheboygan County, wouldn't we? That's really the kind of undertone here but it's going to be an exciting event and it will kick off a whole week of activities for our young professionals in Sheboygan County. So thank you for joining us today. I'll see you next time. All right. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.