The Speakers

Mark Vieth is an avid runner and began running distances in 7th grade, on into High School at state competition. He continued the discipline of running throughout his college years at the University of WI where he graduated in 1994 with a degree in accounting. In 2004 he began working at Wenzel’s Farm in accounting and in 2010 he took over the role of President. He holds that position to this day.  

At Wenzel’s Farm, under his leadership, a small specialty snack food meat company located in Marshfield doubled their total of employees from 30 to 60, made a 25% increase in size to their physical plant and quadrupled their gross sales. They are now in the national market in over 10,000 locations, i.e. Kwik Trip, Menards, Sprouts and even Amazon.  

On a personal note, his wife of 17 years, Amy, has four children and two grandchildren. He has a strong spiritual commitment and faith and is an active member of the Northridge Church community in Marshfield.  

His hobbies include long distance running, golf and karaoke. Having run one marathon & multiple ½ marathons prepared himself for a major achievement, riding and completing a 450-mile bike ride across Iowa (RAGBRAI) not once but 5 times with thousands of other participants. 

He believes strongly in community service. He continues to serve on the Marshfield Chamber Board and served as the Chamber Board President from 2022-2024 during a transitional period when they made a change at Executive Director.  Mark also serves on the Kiwanis board, The Marshfield Clinic advisory board and is a Big Brother as part of BBBS. 

Mark has grown into His leadership role by studying the successful leadership qualities found in training material from John Maxwell, Tony Dungy, Phil Night from Nike and Jim Collins and others.  

Today is his story to influential Leadership – “My career goal is and has been to learn daily how to grow personally and develop people I lead so they can in turn develop those they lead.” 

Attorney Sara Ackermann views herself as an essential member of the HR team. She assists HR professionals and business owners in identifying issues early to minimize risks and avoid costly litigation. Additionally, she advises on proactive policies to retain talent and create a positive work environment. 

Brian Lee is the president of Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media and Revelation Events. He holds an accreditation in public relations (APR), teaches social media and marketing at Madison College, serves as a digital marketing specialist for the National Center for Economic Gardening and is author of the book, Using Social Media for Business. Brian also served on the WHLA board of directors and was named Associate of the Year in 2023.