Many don't know I was in the seminary for two years," said Tim Valentyn, president of Murphy Desmond law firm. In his freshman and sophomore years in high school, Valentyn, 57, attended an all-boys boarding school in Oneida, Wis., something that was not uncommon at the time, he explained. "It was very much like Holy Name Seminary. Did I have any clue as to whether I wanted to be a priest? No." Full Story 

Ruth Ann Schoer's life story plays like a juxtaposition between The Waltons and The Grapes of Wrath. It is an endearing and sometimes painful recollection of being the oldest of 11 children living on a 160-acre farm in rural Minnesota, in a 1,000-sq.-ft. family home with outdoor plumbing. "I went to a country school up to eighth grade, and never felt poor or deprived," she said. Full Story 

An astute business person might bump into Jim Tubbs all around town – at meetings, on boards. But wait! Is it Jim, president and CEO at the State Bank of Cross Plains? Or Jeff, his identical twin, an executive at Findorff & Sons, Inc.? Both sit on the board of the Mendota Gridiron Club. "Unless we're standing side by side at meetings, people think there's just one of us," Jim Tubbs smiled. Full Story 

In 1981, a trio of Madison co-workers – Tom Thayer, Joe Donnino, and Don Jones – struck out on their own to form Tri-North Builders. Donnino and Jones retired years ago. "They were a lot older than me," joked Thayer, who is now in his 18th year as president and CEO of the 220-employee company. On Sept. 16, the trio was reunited at the company's 30th anniversary celebration and charity fundraiser. Full Story