The day began with a presentation by Paul Wolter, Executive Director of the Sauk County Historical Society. His presentation, “Check Out that Motor,” explored the dynamic history of tourism as a key economic driver in Sauk County. He highlighted the eight primary categories contributing to the region’s tourism industry: leisure, ecotourism, agritourism, heritage, adventure, alcohol tourism, sports tourism, and ethno-tourism. Following his presentation, Mr. Wolter led the cohort to the historic railroad depot, where he shared a curated collection of photographs and artistic depictions illustrating the depot’s evolution and discussed the railroad’s significant impact on the county’s development.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) celebrated the conclusion of its nine-month program on Tuesday, May 19 with a presentation to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors before heading over to Mike’s Italian Restaurant for further remarks. 

Every year the SCIL Board solicits internal nominations for the SCIL Leadership Award for individuals or organizations who exemplify leadership in the county. This Leadership Award was designed to celebrate and recognize all the leaders that help make Sauk County a great place to live, work and play. The recipient of the 2026 SCIL Leadership Award is Lance Tallmadge.

Lance, a tribally enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, known by his Ho-Chunk name White Bear, was born and raised right in Wisconsin Dells. His life and work reflect a deep and enduring commitment to preserving, sharing, and celebrating Ho-Chunk culture and history.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) hosted its April session, “Leadership in Nature or Natural Leadership?”, on Thursday, April 9 at White Mound County Park, bringing together leaders from across the county for a day focused on environmental insight, community impact, and leadership development in natural settings.

The UW-Platteville football team's success on the gridiron is remarkable. Seen through the lens of leadership, however, Coach Ryan Munz's approach to player development is ovation-worthy.

How do you lead a group of athletes to perform as a winning team, to achieve academically and to be recognized for their collective contributions to serving others? Effectively, Coach Munz has found a way to transform his team into all-'round leaders - skills that will serve them and their communities long after they have left their helmets and uniforms behind.

Ryan has experienced amazing results using a project management approach to coaching and he will share his insights at the fifth annual SCIL Connect Networking Lunch on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at the Frank Fischer Senior Center in Lake Delton.

In September 2019 we had an odd number of SCILsters in the cohort. There was one person who needed a partner and I stepped into that role. Six years later we're still going on regular walktalks...

Such is the power of connection in SCIL.

We are recruiting for the next class that will start in September 2026. I was asked recently if we ever have SCILsters repeat the program. Other than myself, we've only had one alum return to re-take the program (and he was in my class in 2014!). I think it's a great idea and I encourage you to consider it. 

The March 12th session of the 2026 Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) was spent in Baraboo WI focusing on leadership and conflict. 

The SCIL participants convened at the Sauk County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) with Sheriff Chip Meister extending a welcome before passing the torch to jail administrator, Captain Nicole Schlough for a jail tour. Capt. Schlough spoke about her leadership journey which includes supervising staff and inmates at the Sauk County LEC. She shared how law enforcement is a family and how they need to function as a team with integrity and respect - for each other and the inmates - to achieve their goal in not only enforcing the law but also remaining safe while doing so.

Participants in the Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) took part in an immersive learning experience in Spring Green on February 12th, exploring leadership lessons through culture, creativity, emotional intelligence, and entrepreneurship.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) class spent a full day exploring leadership, workforce, and community topics during their visit to Reedsburg, Wisconsin on January 8th. The day began at Seats, Inc., a locally owned and operated company known for its strong workplace culture. Ryan Roers, CPA and Chief Financial Officer of Nordic Group, welcomed the group, shared insights into the organization, and described the challenges posed by COVID and the recent impact of tariffs.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership reached an exciting milestone on Thursday, December 11, 2025, celebrating the halfway point of its current leadership class with a full day of learning, reflection, and inspiration from influential leaders across the region.

On Thursday, November 13, 2025, the Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) met at the Frank Fischer Senior Center in Lake Delton to expand participants’ understanding of culture and its relevance to leadership. The group started the day by sharing an artifact that reflects their personal culture. Many of the items shared were founded in food and family. It was a unique experience for all to practice sharing a piece of their identity with others and offering an opportunity for connection with people in the group. This connectedness is a valuable piece of the SCIL process and is an important building block of any leader.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) hosted its October session, “Leading Between the Lines,” on Thursday, October 9, bringing together emerging and established leaders from across the county for a day focused on connection, communication, and collaboration.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) Class of 2026 kicked off their program with a two-day retreat at Durward’s Glen Retreat and Conference Center. The retreat, which took place on September 11 and 12, combined a variety of team building activities and guest speakers to explore qualities of leadership and help foster connections between participants. The program’s 20 participants, called “SCILsters”, come from across Sauk County, and bring together a variety of backgrounds. Throughout the nine-month program these SCILsters will visit Sauk County businesses and learn first hand from community leaders.

If you missed part one of our Alumni Impact Survey Results, you can catch up here.

In this post, we share some of the responses to the question:

In your opinion, what changes in your leadership style or skills

do you attribute to the SCIL Program?

Every year the SCIL Board solicits internal nominations for the SCIL Leadership Award for individuals or organizations who exemplify leadership in the county. The recipient of the 2025 SCIL Leadership Award is Marietta Reuter from Sauk-Prairie. Marietta is a quiet pillar in the Sauk Prairie community and her fingerprints are on many projects that have served many people in that community for decades.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) concluded its 9-month program on May 8. This session celebrated the successes of the SCIL Class of 2025 with a  day of education, inspiration, and connection. Held at the Al. Ringling Theatre and Baraboo City Hall, the event brought together local leaders, nonprofit professionals, and community advocates to reflect on their journeys and recommit to making a difference in Sauk County.

First, thank you to everyone who participated in our survey. We could not have completed this project without your participation and for that we are grateful. In total, 63 alumni responded to our survey.

Based on the results, we believe that we can reasonably report that:

Participation in SCIL

• Increases individual understanding of Sauk County communities

• Increases individual communication skills

• Increases connectivity to Sauk County

• Provides significant and transformational impact on individual leadership skills

On Thursday, April 10th, the Sauk County Institute of Leadership participants visited White Mound County Park for their eighth session to explore “Leadership in Nature, or Natural Leadership”.

The objective of the day was to create an immersive, outdoor-based leadership session designed to cultivate strong, authentic leaders through connection with the natural environment.

The Sauk County Institute of Leadership is pleased to announce that Ben Leibl, will keynote the SCIL Connect Networking Lunch on Thursday, July 17, 2025. Ben will speak on compassion in the workplace, how we should treat others, and why we shouldn't "keep score" with our coworkers. He will also focus on how serving others without expecting anything in return is an important key to finding happiness in life.

The March session of the 2025 Sauk County Institute of Leadership (SCIL) was spent in Baraboo, WI.  The day began with Sheriff Chip Meister welcoming us to the Sauk County Law Enforcement Center.  The Sheriff praised his colleagues and described how they function as a team to achieve their goal to enforce the law with integrity, fairness and respect.