And So It Goes...
…said Kurt Vonnegut. A simplistic way to convey closure, to throw your hands up in the air and surrender, to explain the inexplicable. And so I go, back to my life pre-Pfister, after six months of exploring, discovering, conversing, photographing, writing, and blogging. There is no simple way to…
Dancing With the Stars
It’s the one sport that caters to people ages 3-93. And, it has the elegance, grace and pizzazz of a Hollywood movie premier. The Wisconsin State Dancesport Championships was back at the Pfister Hotel for its 26th year of professional/amateur ballroom dance competition last weekend.
Dan and…
Creativity is Everybody's Business
Maggie Kuhn Jacobus is not your typical executive. Nor is she your typical mom. After a successful carrer as an entreprenuer, writer, producer, marketer, and public relations exec, she took a six-year sabbatical to raise her kids in the lush and far-flung tropics of Costa Rica because she…
Artists Among Us
The Pfister is well known for its Victorian Art collection and for supporting the arts in Milwaukee, but did you know how many amazing artists they have on staff? One of the best parts about working here has been meeting and hearing the stories about the incredibly and diversely talented…
Pfister Files: A Tradition of Fine Dining
Over the next few months, I will be dusting off pages from the Pfister’s history books and sharing bits of the Pfister’s prolific history. This is the third post in this series.
The Pfister Hotel was and still is a mecca of fine dining. The holy grail? A…
A Master and His Admirer
Dr. Jeffery Hollander has had a prolific career in addition to his 30-year tenure as the Pfister Hotel’s Musician-in-Residence. “He is so talented, I love the way he interprets the music. No one else plays like he can.” Natalia will be the first to tell you…
Serving and Protecting By Day and By Night
Everyone has a very different version of a hero. They come in all shapes and sizes, and their acts even go unnoticed at times. Mike Nichols, a Pfister associate, working in loss and prevention (a.k.a security) fulfills his need to serve and protect not only at the Pfister…
Sunday at the Spa
What’s a better gift than comfort and relaxation? I’d argue that there’s none. While some people see it as a luxury, others enjoy massage therapy as a part of their regular health and wellness routine – lucky people indeed. The waiting room at the Well Spa one Sunday…
Blu-tending on Behalf of the Arts
Tina Chang is a young philanthropic leader, CEO, board president, arts patron, and more. One thing she is not – a bartender. But, tonight she is playing the role at Blu to raise money for United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) and the Skylight Music Theatre.
“We have a friendly competition going…
5 O'clock Coffee Talk
It’s happy hour! What are we doing drinking coffee? It’s the kind of Friday night that calls for a martini – straight up.
I take my usual seat at the Lobby Lounge bar, looking around at the flurry of activity as hotel guests arrive for the weekend and the…
Carla and Tommy
“I made a song!” she declared with a Christmas-morning smile. Dan invited her over to the piano in the lobby to play a few notes. “He knows that Jeff always plays ‘Summertime’ for me, because that’s the song my mother used to sing to me when I was…
Pfister Files: Rosemary Steinfest
Over the next few months, I will be dusting off pages from the Pfister’s history books and sharing bits of the Pfister’s prolific history. This is the second post in this series.
Rosemary Steinfest is a bona fide rock star. She was the first and still, the only…
Working to Give
Proudly showing off her black fleece sweater with the embroidered Pfister logo, I may have just met the Pfister’s biggest fan tonight. She and her husband were certainly fans of Jeff. Like any good bartender, he took to the attention like a moth to a flame and kept them…
The Pool is Open!
In case anyone was wondering, the pool is open and ready for swimmers, despite the construction on the 23rd floor. I spotted two-year-old Cy, from Milwaukee, after a refreshing swim with his grandparents. They are visiting from Illinois and like grandparents do, they spoiled him with a cookie…
Brothers Reunite
All nine of them were huddling around the wide velvet couches like a football team reviewing the game-winning play. Then, they broke up to line up like soldiers in front of the fireplace and posed for a picture. One slight problem, the gentleman who volunteered to take the picture…
Lindsay the Magnificent Bride
“We were staying at the Pfister when it happened.” That phrase could apply to a million different situations. Lindsay was at the Pfister for the Magnificent Bride show earlier this month, where I captured her story.
Shaun and Lindsay met at UW-Milwaukee. He – a studious PhD candidate in psychology…
Inspirational Women, Inspiring Change
No matter who you are or where you came from, you probably had some help along the way. At the Women Inspired to Lead event last week at the Pfister, I spoke to several role models of all ages who’ve enjoyed the support of strong women to help them…
The Art of Storytelling with Ex Fabula
No professionals needed – just enthusiastic amateurs. That’s my kind of club. ExFabula has been organizing live storytelling events in Milwaukee since 2009. Founding member Megan McGee takes pride in helping people discover that they have a story to tell and showing them how to do it. There is only…
Long-Lost Sisters
Though we weren’t able to meet face-to-face during her stay, Simone Ingram shared her story with me via email. Here is her incredible story, in her own words…
One day, I logged onto Facebook and had a message in my inbox asking if I had a dad…
A Lesson in Networking
“I feel like I am stepping on to the Titanic,” said Carlos. “It’s so nice!” But rather than feeling like a fish out of water, as most first-generation college students might feel at a networking event at the Pfister Hotel, he embraced it.
Myladys Montanez, Clara Madrigal and…
Baring it All
As an artist, putting your work out there can be as scary as standing on stage naked in front of a crowded auditorium. After all, as a writer, most of my work is done in private and a great deal of it formulates quietly in my own head. Luckily, there…
#MKE Foodies Take Over Mason St. Grill
In case you need any more proof that digital media is changing the way we do everything, here is a story of a food group that started on Twitter. Digital followers turned real-life friends, #MKE Foodies now meets offline once a month at a restaurant in Milwaukee to dine…
Pfister Files: 120 Years
Over the next few months, I will be dusting off pages from the Pfister’s history books and sharing bits of the Pfister’s prolific history. This is the second post in this series.
A lot can happen in 20 years. Nipping at the heels of the 120th anniversary of…
Getting at the Heart of It
It can strike at any time, take a victim of any age, and is the number one killer of women. Heart disease is a cause that clearly deserves everyone’s attention.
Last week was the 35th annual Heart Ball and a majority of the time it’s been at the…
Love is in the Air
Although it’s still one week from Valentine’s Day, there is love in air at the Pfister Hotel tonight. Romantic love, Milwaukee love, Latin music love.
“Guajira,” scrape, boom, swoosh, “Guajira,” scrape, boom, swoosh…It’s the type of sound that crawls under your skin and tickles until you…
