HOVC gears up for annual Business and Leadership Summit

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

April 21, 2025

KAUKAUNA – It’s that time of year when business owners and managers alike gather for the Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce’s (HOVC) 4th annual Business and Leadership Summit.

Nicci Sprangers, executive director of the HOVC, said small- to medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofits will unite May 6 for a day of inspiration, networking, education and growth. 

Sprangers said there is something for everyone – whether members of the HOVC or not.

This summit, she said, is unique in that attendees can pick the breakout sessions that are most tailored to their interests and business needs. 

“We started it with a different topic a few years ago,” she said. “The first couple of years, we did a digital marketing summit. All of the topics were in the marketing space.”

However, after listening to chamber members and the business community, Sprangers said they transitioned the focus from all digital marketing to business and leadership.

“We toyed around with it being all leadership topics, but we heard from too many (members saying they wanted us to) add some other topics that were more generally business topics,” she said. “So, that’s what we did last year and what we’ll be doing again this year.”

Sprangers said the day – including the breakout sessions – is structured, for the most part, to appeal to small- to medium-sized businesses and nonprofit organizations.

“The reason it’s called a Business and Leadership Summit is because we have two tracks,” she said. “First, you can take sessions that are all about helping to build yourself up and improve yourself as a leader. Then, in the second track, there are some general-type sessions, with some of those covering social media, marketing and branding, those kinds of topics.”

The summit at a glance

Following an 8:30 a.m. networking session, Sprangers said keynote speaker Ben Fauske takes the stage for a presentation entitled “The Secret to Loving Your Work and Leading an Unstoppable Career.” 

Fauske – who Sprangers said is considered an authority in business leadership – is an executive coach and has written about topics like Authentic Confidence and CEO RISE Leadership.  

The keynote is followed by breakout sessions at 10:15, with the first set consisting of:

• “The Relentless Year – Designing Your BEST Year Yet,” presented by Mike Mathweg, president of Relentless Consulting
• “5 Levels of Leadership” presented by Sarah Robertson, a business and leadership coach who is also the founder/owner of Stable Ascent

Two more breakout sessions will start at 11:15 a.m.

Attendees have their choice of the following topics: 

• “From Stuck to Unstoppable,” presented by Josh Kosnick, a business coach and founder of Kairos Consulting
• “Social Media: Strategies that Stick!” will be presented by Brad Cebulski, owner and president of BConnected, LLC. 

After lunch, attendees can partake in the Business Legends Panel Discussion from 12:45-1:45 p.m. 

Sprangers said this is a chance for attendees to hear from the best of the best in the local and Northeast Wisconsin business community. 

This year’s panelists, she said, are:

• Lisa Cruz, owner of Red Shoes, Inc.
• Rob Zerjav, president/CEO/managing partner of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
• Coreen Dicus-Johnson, president/CEO at Network Health WI
• Pete Hietpas, president at PRN Healthcare

“These panelists have made a name for themselves, are highly respected, have helped our economy, have great companies and have created good jobs for people,” Sprangers said. “They’ll talk about how they got to where they are, sharing heartfelt stories in a light, sometimes humorous way so attendees can relate.”

Sprangers said the chamber hopes that people will gain wisdom from the stories they hear, and walk away inspired and ready to crush their own leadership goals. 

The afternoon breakout sessions start at 1:45 p.m. and include:

• “Culture by Design: Aligning People & Purpose,” presented by Kris Hackbarth-Horn, chief people officer at Fox Communities Credit Union
• “Marketing So Easy, It’s Fun Again,” a marketing techniques discussion

“The Culture by Design session will focus on aligning people and purpose to create a stronger culture within your organization,” Sprangers said.

The closing session, presented by Chad Kopitzke, an executive recruiter and talent acquisition expert at NeXtGen Advantage, kicks off at 2:45 p.m.

During “Talent in the New World of Work,” Sprangers said Kopitzke will “talk about how you can get a fresh look at all of your HR things, including putting your people first and giving leaders in an organization a different way to interview, to onboard and other talent acquisition and management issues.

She said it will also provide insight into four emerging trends:

• Shaping the modern workplace
• Strategies for building consistency in your organization’s talent life cycle
• Practical and immediate actionable tips to inspire positive change
• Empowering leaders to rethink traditional approaches and adopt innovative practices for future-ready workforce management

Sprangers said attendees should be prepared to leave the event “fired up.”

“You will have a renewed enthusiasm to go back and tackle whatever is on your plate,” she said. “You’re reinvigorated. You also definitely come away with different, outside perspectives on how to look at or take on some of the things you’re dealing with in your day-to-day business operations.”

Sprangers said the chamber hopes for a good turnout similar to attendance in the past of around 175-180 people.  

She said the chamber chose to hold the summit at the Bridgewood Resort in Neenah for several reasons.

“We wanted to pick somewhere that had some ability for the event to grow,” Sprangers said. “We’ve had (other events) at the Bridgewood and loved it, so we decided it would be a good home for this event. It has all the things we need: a great staff, a great room, good A/V capabilities and rooms for breakout sessions.”

Giving the people what they want

Sprangers said the chamber has done sessions and workshops like these in the past, but they were stand-alone events.

“I think that sometimes having a few speakers and business leaders from outside the area is exciting, as well, to allow our members to hear their perspectives,” she said. “I think they appreciate how well-planned and how organized the summit event is, and that they are able to take part in an event like this that is close to home and yet is high-caliber, where they’re able to bring some of their emerging leaders within their companies.”

Past takeaways of the summer from chamber members, Sprangers said, have been that they appreciate the combination of speakers that are brought in.

The Business Legends Lunch Panel, she said, was something the chamber brought to the summit for the first time last year, and it received “a ton of positive comments from people.”

“They also like the networking, because it’s just another way, particularly for our small- and medium-sized businesses, to connect with other business owners who may not (have a lot of time to go out and network) and meet some of their fellow local business owners and leaders,” she said. “We get a lot of positive feedback about members enjoying the camaraderie in that setting.”

Sprangers said there are a variety of aspects of the summit that make it unique.

“We tailor it to meet the needs and to be more aimed at the small- to medium-sized businesses and the leaders and staff within those organizations, giving them the opportunity for professional development,” she said. “That is something that I think tends to be more unique about our chamber than maybe some of the others.”

Though the chamber does have some large business members, Sprangers said much of what the HOVC does focuses on how to best support the small- to medium-sized businesses.

Though the chamber is located in the “heart of the valley,” Sprangers said its membership comes from all over.

“We’ve definitely been growing in the last three to five years,” she said. “We’re currently at our highest membership level ever, and it just continues to grow and grow, month after month. We’re excited about that.”

Sprangers said 50% of the chamber’s members are from Kimberly, Kaukauna, Little Chute and Darboy; 40% from Appleton and Neenah-Menasha; and the remaining 10% are scattered around in places like Green Bay, Sheboygan, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac.

“Those are members who may have headquarters in those outlying areas, but they have employees or customers in this area,” she said. “So they want to be represented and be involved.”

For more on the HOVC and this year’s summit, visit heartofthevalleychamber.com.