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Donna Nelson, a University services program associate for the Wisconsin Family Business Forum/College of Business, has been named the recipient of the STAR Award for April 2010. She has served the University since 2003. Susan Schierstedt, Wisconsin Family Business Forum director, nominated her. The nomination letter follows:

“Donna does an outstanding job as a 0.5 FTE employee. She manages all the planning and coordination for Forum programs, is responsible for all financial transactions and reports, and always pitches in with great ideas and project support. In addition, she is managing one of the college’s major alumni events for the second year.

“Donna allways goes the extra mile. For example, on Dec. 1, 2009, the Forum hosted its first Family Business Expo and Holiday Social at the Butte des Morts Country Club. Donna worked with all constituents — members, sponsors, vendors — to arrange for every detail. The event drew more than 120 people. It included fundraising for our scholarship fund, door prizes, a feast and the Forum’s display. Never having done an event like this, Donna independently researched other expos, identifying all the fine details that had to be accomplished to make it a success. The Expo was a huge success and highly rated by all participants.

“A huge project that Donna accomplished this year was the conversion of all of our accounting records to QuickBooks, integrating both Foundation and campus fund accounts. To accomplish this, she had to learn accounting functions and principles. She is now generating significant financial reports on a regular basis — this while managing all the regular responsibilities of her position and at half-time.”

Winners of the STAR Award receive a framed certificate, a reserved parking space for one month and a gift from University Books & More. The award for exceptional performance is presented each month to a member of the classified staff who has worked at least six months at UW Oshkosh.

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