Category: Testimonials

President of the Hales Corners Historical Society

It is not an overstatement to say that a majority of the civic improvements made within the past 19 years in the Village of Hales Corners, Wisconsin, would not have been accomplished without the vision, commitment, and hands-on leadership of Donald G. Schwartz.

As a Trustee of Hales Corners, Don shares responsibility for the Village’s ongoing policy-making, budgeting, and administration, but his community involvement extends far beyond his official duties. Among other initiatives, Don has been the driving force in:

• Re-establishing the Hales Corners Chamber of Commerce, which had been defunct for more than 26 years.

• Co-founding the Friends of Hales Corners Park and Pool, a grassroots

citizens’ organization formed to rescue the local park and pool targeted for demolition by Milwaukee County.

• Providing visionary leadership in the building of the Alyson Dudek

International Ice Center in Hales Corners for winter enjoyment, at no charge,

by residents of southeastern Wisconsin.

• Organizing and leading successful fundraising and promotional efforts that

resulted in the construction of the Hales Corners Veterans Memorial.

Additional details about Don’s involvement in these initiatives is found in the

book, “Hales Corners, Wisconsin – A History of the Village Since 1837,” published in January 2015 by the Hales Corners Historical Society. I designed the book and am the current President of the Hales Corners Historical Society

. Don is one of only 10 Village residents whose contributions to our community were deemed so significant that they were documented on individual pages in the book.

Vice Chairman, Community Development Authority, Village of Hales Corners

Don has a unique skill of building private-public partnerships. He is a natural leader and an open-minded problem solver. He seeks to find a balance between both public and private views and is experienced in making connections between the two to reach an optimal outcome. The background he has developed in his public roles blends both a civic-minded greater good idea with an understanding of how the private sector can benefit form getting involved to make it happen.

Partner, Plunkett Raysich Architects

As an architect who has studied the work of Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps the greatest of America’s landscape architects, I am enamored by the necklace of parks he designed in Milwaukee County. Beautiful parks require money to remain beautiful and amenities to remain relevant. Hales Corners Park and Pool are beautiful AND relevant because of the tireless efforts of Don Schwartz. I have known Don professionally for 21 years and have had the distinct pleasure of working with Don on two of Hales Corners Park’s recent projects, the Veterans Memorial and the Alyson Dudek International Ice Center. I know few people as tenaciously committed to the success of their communities as Don. Whether leading his team during visioning meetings, or mounting aggressive capital campaigns, Don builds momentum, consensus and public-private partnerships to turn dreams into reality.

PHD, Former Executive Director of Academic Achievement, Whitnall School District

It is a sincere pleasure to write this letter of recommendation in support Don Schwartz. I have known Don for the past 15.5 years, first as a high school principal and then as a school district administrator.

From the moment I met Don, I recognized in him a deeply rooted passion for people and for enabling others to actively pursue their brightest futures. Don is always a forward thinker, an optimist, a problem-solver, and humanist. At the high school, we constantly struggled with ways to involve students in their community. I met Don at a local event, and once we started talking, I knew that the doors would open. Because of Don, we were able to establish a partnership with the Village of Hales Corners Fire/EMT Department. To this day, the department takes on up to two high school interns as EMTs every year. These students have gone on to college and secured jobs or even continued their educations because of this opportunity. Mr. Schwartz is never one to stop at just one success story. There are many, many instances where, formally or informally, Don has made this community, this area, into a better place for all. Be it his extensive work in truly saving the Hales Corners Pool, celebrating our home grown Olympian via an ice arena in the park, or facilitating job and internship placements for high school students, Don Schwartz believes in people and puts his faith in his community into action.

As a district administrator charged with developing a strategic plan for the school district, I immediately turned to Don for his involvement on our committee. True to form, Don Schwartz became the most involved and driving force in the extensive strategic planning sessions. He worked with staff, parents, student, school board members, community members, business partners, and politicians to develop plausible and real world solutions to the district’s commitment to college and career readiness. Because of Don’s work, the district had not only a strategic plan but also incredible action plans to meet and exceed goals, goals that closely tied the community to the students and staff of the school district.

Personally and professionally, I have found Don Schwartz to be an outstanding mentor, incredible thinker, and voracious problem-solver. His passion and compassion are contagious. In all honesty, I can state that this community would not look, feel, or be what it is today, a great place, without Don Schwartz. Because of him, the grass is greener, the community is stronger, and the future is brighter. I have seen it through the students and lives he has touched, including mine.