February 4, 2015 at 4:34 p.m.
DRI announces organizational changes
DRI announces organizational changes
By Marcus Nesemann-marcus@rivernewsonline.com
DRI has now taken a step toward achieving that goal, by making changes to its organizational structure and mission focus.
The organization announced in a press release it has reduced staff by 50 percent, by eliminating the position of office assistant, and hired a recruitment consultant, Dr. Sally Latimer of Global Solutions International, "who will focus her efforts on personally contacting successful businesses in surrounding communities to share economic and demographic information that might encourage those businesses to expand in the Rhinelander area."
Latimer, who is Kuzlik's business partner in Global Solutions International, is to be paid $1,500 per month for her work.
According to his LinkedIn page, Kuzlik is the founder and CEO of Global Solutions International. The email he sent to the news media announcing the organizational changes also included an electronic signature which read "Dan Kuzlik, Global Solutions International."
When asked about a potential conflict of interest in securing work from DRI for his company, Kuzlik said Global Solutions International "is not really a company."
"It's not really a company," he said. "It's not an LLC (limited liability company). Sally, myself, several colleagues from the Twin Cities use that basically so we can separate income from taxes from our, either normal jobs or, in some cases, retirement benefits that they're getting. So it's not an LLC. It's basically a name. In this particular case, Sally has her own accounts. Actually, her homestead is in Minneapolis, so it's not a company, per se. We have done consulting work together and we've used that name to present ourselves to clients, and she continues to use that name as she presents herself to other clients, too. The same thing, I've done some work on my own, individually, and then I use that name so that it's basically like a stage name. You use that so that people understand that you're in the consulting business."
"The fact is, it was probably harder to hire Sally because of that connection. She had to jump through more hoops and convince more people than if she were just off the street," he added.
Kuzlik was adamant that Latimer was hired based solely on her skills as a consultant.
"The main reason that they hired Sally is because she's been working with Downtown Rhinelander probably for about five or six years now in a volunteer role," he said. "(She) has taken some very large roles with them. She was the head of the organizational committee. She was actually their president for awhile - an interim president. She's done some volunteer recruiting for them, but the executive committee and then the full board agreed that they wanted to actually have somebody that was accountable for dollars to go out there and do very substantial things that were measureable. She reports back to the executive committee on a monthly basis."
Kuzlik also noted that Latimer will be working independently in role as a consultant.
"I think that, again, the fact is clear, Sally is working on her own. Those dollars go to her. She files her own taxes based upon both retirement income and income she (receives) as a consultant," he said. "She was hired not because of any relationship she has with anybody. She was hired because of her skills."
According to the press release issued by Kuzlik, Latimer holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, and has managed programs with budgets exceeding $8 million. She also has multiple years of experience working as an accountant for the Control Data Corporation in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, the release states.
Should the endeavor not go as planned, Kuzlik said the contract can be terminated with a three-month notice.
"That particular contract, although the hope is that she'll stay with us for a year, either party can cancel that contract on a three-month notice," he said. "It could be very short-term if we decide that Dr. Latimer isn't reaching the goals that she's projected or, if we think she is, then we can keep her on longer than that."
Businesses requesting additional information regarding retention support can contact DRI Executive Director Maggie Steffen at (715) 362-7374. For information on downtown business opportunities, Latimer can be reached at (715) 360-0066.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at marcus@rivernewsonline.com.
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