Since 2011, Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital Foundation has recognized and honored people and organizations who have made a big difference in all of the little ways they impact people. The Philanthropy Excellence Award was first given in 2011 and in 2018 the Outstanding Partner Award and Stellar Staff Award were added.
Philanthropy Excellence Award
The Philanthropy Excellence Award is given to an individual or family who has demonstrated a consistent and exceptional level of generosity through volunteerism and donations. Their commitment to the hospital and foundation has improved the quality of life for people across the community and strengthens relationships between the hospital and other community partners.
Dennis and Kathy Pollard
Giving back to their community is a deeply rooted value for Dennis and Kathy Pollard, Menomonee Falls natives who have spent their lives in the village.
“We’ve seen and experienced fi¬rst-hand how the dollars invested in our hospital foundation have improved the health and quality of life in our community. We know that the dollars invested here stay here 100 percent, benefi¬tting our family, friends and neighbors,” says Dennis. “Our hospital is one of the great jewels of our community.”
Dennis spent much of his career at then-Community Memorial Hospital and later Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital, starting as program manager for rehabilitation services in 1990 and eventually serving as hospital president from 2009 to 2016. He also took on leadership roles with Froedtert Health and served as executive vice president and chief operating officer before retiring in 2020.
Kathy has been a community volunteer for decades, focusing on education.
The Pollards have supported the foundation for 35 consecutive years.
“Giving back is a very personal decision. We can only offer why it’s important for us; and if that resonates with others – great. For us, it’s about a cycle of gratitude, stewardship and legacy. Gratitude to those who have come before us, for all their efforts to build and provide an amazing quality of life and community to grow up in. Stewardship, meaning our care for those gits left to us; and building upon them to leave things better than we found them,” the couple says. “Legacy refers to the beneficial product of that stewardship for the next generations and also a desire to role model these behaviors so others will sustain the cycle of building and giving back.”
Dennis said there were many influences in their lives that taught them the importance of volunteerism.
“Starting with our parents and their examples that involved volunteering in our church communities, coaching our sports teams and leadership in Girl and Boy Scouts. Our Catholic education, particularly those years in the Jesuit tradition focused on becoming ‘men and women for others,’” Dennis said. “Role models from my neighborhood like Lou and Alice Tietz, Dick Klug, Larry Stewert and Dan Hart who worked tirelessly to address needs in our community. Many of the past recipients of this award – Dick and Jayne Becker, Dick and Pamela Parker, Lou and Alice Tietz, Rick and Deb Binzak, Bob and Ellen Drisner, Dan Hart and many other past hospital and foundation board members – who gave their time, talent and treasure so willingly, always putting others above self.”
Together the couple have volunteered as coaches, managers and leaders and served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Greater Menomonee Falls Foundation Board, Linden Grove Board and the Village Park Capital Campaign Cabinet, among others.
The Pollards said Menomonee Falls is special for many reasons.
“Looking back, growing up in our village was somewhat idyllic – great schools, safe neighborhoods where you could walk or ride your bike to friends and stores. You knew everyone in your neighborhood, and they knew you. Families go back many generations and remain in the Falls (or return). We had beautiful parks to play in and could feel the community pride. We’re very grateful to community leaders from that time, for providing a great life to those of us just growing up here,” they say.
“We’re happy to say that we still see many of these things to this day. But the Falls has grown quite a bit since the days of our youth (60s). With size and pace of life today, it’s not easy to deliver on that stewardship challenge of improving upon a great past. However, the commitment and desire to do so has not wavered. An optimistic view for the future, combined with love of our history and where we came from, is what makes Menomonee Falls special to us.”
The Pollards have four children and 10 grandchildren. They enjoy sports, attending Marquette and Bucks basketball games and spending time with their family.
Their perfect time together is quiet conversation while drifting on Bear Lake in Minocqua, taking in nature’s beauty.
Past Honorees
2024 — Anthony J. Katsune, DDS
2023 — Dianne Johnson
2022 — Sharon and Jerry Ellis
2021 — Robert and Ellen Drisner
2020 — Harvey and Cindy Neu
2019 — Dick and Pam Parker
2018 — Rick and Deb Binzak
2017 — Greg and Mariann Van Winkle
2016 — Marty and Debra Schallock
2015 — Dan Hart
2014 — Llewellyn and Alice Tietz
2013 — Dick and Jayne Becker
2012 — Audrey Binzak
2011 — John Lorenz
Outstanding Community Partner Award
Given to an organization or community partner who significantly improves the quality of life for the patients and families cared for at the hospital as a result of consistent financial support and involvement with the foundation through events and initiatives.
R & R Insurance Services, Inc.
In the 50 years since R & R Insurance Services, Inc. opened in a small office in North Prairie, founder and owner Ken Riesch has kept community engagement and service a top priority. “Those values that we hold close to us are integrity, accountability and respect, among many others,” said Ken. “We operate on the belief that we should always help those around us when the need arises. It gets to the heart of helping our community and making this a better place to live. And the bottom line is that it’s the right thing to do.”
Patients at then-Community Memorial Hospital and now Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital have been on the receiving end of that generosity. Gifts to the hospital date back to 1969 and R & R has been a consistent supporter since the foundation’s beginning in 1989.
Over the years, the company has directed donations toward the Cancer Center, Emergency Department, Heart and Vascular Services, Surgery Services, and the Greatest Need.
The business started small in 1975 and grew steadily in the following decades. When the company moved in 2019 to its current office in Pewaukee with its 225 employees, a plaque was installed outside the building that says “Success is meant to be shared,” a philosophy the entire Riesch family holds true to their hearts.
“We invest in the community because we know those dollars multiply,” Ken said. “I also believe that people stop growing when they stop investing.”
Former foundation board member and supporter Dan Hart spent much of his career with R & R Insurance and was instrumental in bridging the relationship between the hospital and the company.
“Dan Hart has been a true gentleman,” Ken says. “He helped us take our support to the next level.”
Ken’s children Jack Riesch, Bryon Riesch and Stephanie Riesch-Knapp, who all have leadership roles with the company, say their parents raised them to give back to the community.
They add: “Being strong corporate citizens means supporting communities where we work, and donating to nonprofits and different causes that are close to our heart is one way of showing that.”
Past Honorees
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Stellar Staff Award
The Stellar Staff Award is given to a hospital staff member who has demonstrated consistency in generosity through volunteerism and giving. The recipient significantly improves the quality of life for those at the hospital and throughout the community by motivating others to be generous.
Elizabeth Hampton
Beth’s connection with Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital stretches back decades and well before she started working at the hospital. It began in 1991 when she and her husband Jim supported the foundation’s Spring Splendor Gala.
“This is our community hospital and it’s so important to our family,” she says. “Plus it feels good to support an organization that helps others. e money stays right here, and you can see the results.”
Over the years, Beth has volunteered for Spring Splendor and she’s also donated her time to the Pamela Parker Community Outreach Health Clinic. Beth and her husband Jim have also attended or supported each Golf Classic since the event began in 1999.
In 2011, she became an employee by working in the hospital’s gift shop as a coordinator which was a perfect match to her background in retail and merchandising. Today, she works as an admitting registration specialist.
“I loved working with the volunteers and raising money through the gift shop, and now it’s all about helping patients through the admitting process,” she says. “Our hospital is a very special place and there is a wonderful, warm camaraderie between team members and our leaders. I have such pride in my job.”
Beth credits her husband, who was quite philanthropic through their former Menomonee Falls retail furniture businesses Country Craft and Today’s Home Furniture and her mother Eleanor for teaching her the importance of giving to others.
“My mom told me to pick a couple of charities that are meaningful to me and where I could make a difference rather than giving a little to a lot of different charities. She was also a great role model for volunteering from Girl Scouts to church to community events,” says Beth, who grew up in Illinois, attended University of Wisconsin -- Stout and landed her ¬first teaching job at Sussex Hamilton High School.
The couple, who have been married since 1982, have two sons (who were born at the hospital) and six grandchildren. In her free time, Beth enjoys time at the family lake house along with trips to Walt Disney World and Florida.
Past Honorees
2024 — Christine Vogt, director, Pharmacy Centralized Services
2023 — Gregg Guetzke, supervisor, Supply Chain
2022 — Sandra Winter, RN
2021 — Debra McCann, RN, executive director, Patient Care Services, Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital and Froedtert West Bend Hospital
2020 — Terry Audley, clinical inpatient pharmacy manager
2019 — Larry Dux, director of patient care informatics and process improvement
2018 — Tammy Dassow, RN
