Every fall, the North Shore Chamber of Commerce gets together to recognize the businesses and people who made the biggest difference in this community over the past year. More than 1,000 votes were cast in 2025, and 18 winners walked away with recognition that was a long time coming. Here’s a look at seven of those winners, why they won, and who’s in the running to follow them this year.
New Business of the Year: Bright Beginnings Pediatric Chiropractic
A lot of new businesses spend their first year just trying to keep the lights on. Bright Beginnings spent theirs growing month over month. By the time their one-year anniversary rolled around, they had already carved out a real niche in the community as a go-to resource for families looking for holistic, child-focused chiropractic care. Early momentum, a genuinely unique service, and consistent engagement with the North Shore community are exactly what this award is meant to recognize, and Bright Beginnings checked all three boxes.
This year’s nominees are ADvantage Consulting MKE, North Shore Functional Medicine, The Argo, MKE Treasures, and Scout Couture.
Nonprofit of the Year: Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
The Nonprofit of the Year isn’t selected by public vote. The recipient is chosen at random from those nonprofit members who attend the Chamber’s Cheers to New Years celebration in January, and the point isn’t just to hand over a plaque. The winner gets resources, visibility, and real opportunities throughout the year to introduce their mission to Chamber members. Schlitz Audubon earned that spot by doing what a great nonprofit should: getting people of all ages connected to something bigger than themselves.
Their programs include a nature preschool, urban outreach, raptor programs, inclusive field trips, and hands-on STEM learning, all while maintaining 185 acres of habitat. Voters also recognized their hospitality and customer experience separately, giving them the Best Hospitality Award and Outstanding Customer Service Award on the same night. That’s not luck. The warmth visitors feel there, tied to a genuine sense of mission, is something that gets built intentionally.
This year’s Nonprofit of the Year is St. Francis Children’s Center.
Business Education Partner of the Year: St. Rita Square
St. Rita Square didn’t just put their name on a scholarship or show up at a career fair once a year. They built working partnerships with Carmen Schools of Science and Technology and Ronald Reagan High School, giving students actual hands-on healthcare experience through apprenticeships, mentorship, and career development. The outcomes tell the real story: a number of those students have since moved into leadership roles. That kind of long-term impact is what separates a good partnership from one worth an award.
This year’s nominees are Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, Camo Crew Responsible Removal, Bank Five Nine, VIBEZ Creative Art Space, GPS Education Partners, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, and Lead2Change.
Green Business of the Year: Clarios
Here’s something that tends to catch people off guard: lead acid car batteries are the most recycled product in the world, ahead of glass, plastic, and cardboard. A significant reason for that is Clarios. They recycle 8,000 batteries per hour, every hour, 365 days a year. That’s not a sustainability goal on a slide deck somewhere; it’s a real operation with a measurable global footprint running right here in the community. Sustainability can mean a lot of things for a lot of companies. For Clarios, it’s just what they do.
This year’s nominees are Camo Crew Responsible Removal, Village of Bayside, Masso Balloons, Little Way Floor Service, and Stone Creek Coffee.
Community Connector of the Year: Jobea Murray (Jobea Bakes)
Some people show up to events. Jobea Murray shows up and then figures out how to connect everyone else in the room. As the owner of Jobea Bakes, she has become one of those people you see everywhere in the North Shore, not because she is working a room, but because she genuinely cares about the people and organizations around her. The Chamber put it plainly: she doesn’t just show up, she actively weaves people, resources, and organizations together for the greater good. That’s harder to do than it sounds, and she does it all the time.
This year’s nominees are Eido Walny (Village of Bayside), Jason Schneider (KKOM Marketing), Nilsa Arce (Masso Balloons), Lynn Raines (Kids Impact Community), Debbie Scribner (Milwaukee Jewish Free Loan Association), Bill Sargent (Milwaukee Headshots), Brad Skinkis (Confluence Graphics), Catrina Francis (The LeenaSun Foundation), Matthew Kaplan (Hildebrand Law Firm), Kody Kojima (InspireMax Marketing), Courtney Skinkis (Confluence Graphics), and Amanda Braun (Big Brothers Big Sisters).
Inspiring Business Person of the Year: Laura Felix (St. Francis Children’s Center)
Running a nonprofit is hard. Running one that serves children and families, where the stakes are high and the funding is never guaranteed, takes a different kind of resolve. As Executive Director of St. Francis Children’s Center, Laura Felix has shown what that looks like up close. Whether it’s finding creative solutions to budget challenges, rolling out new programs to meet shifting community needs, or just staying grounded through the kind of obstacles that would derail most leaders, she does it without losing sight of why the work matters. Her team noticed. The Chamber noticed. So did the voters.
This year’s nominees are Marcela Perea (Crossfit 100), Andy Weins (Camo Crew Responsible Removal), Levi Stein (The Friendship Circle of Wisconsin), Courtney Skinkis (Confluence Graphics), Chrishella Roche (VIBEZ Creative Art Space), Brad Skinkis (Confluence Graphics), and Howie Gross (Z Plumberz).
Workplace of the Year: Friendship Circle Café & Bakery
Culture is one of those words that gets used constantly and delivered on rarely. At Friendship Circle Café & Bakery, the culture is the whole point. The café provides year-long, hands-on job skills training to teens and adults with disabilities, with graduates going on to work with more than 50 inclusive local employers. People there feel valued not because management says the right things, but because the entire model is built around people mattering. That kind of workplace doesn’t just happen. It takes real commitment to build and even more to maintain, which is probably why they also took home the Diversity and Inclusion Award that same evening.
This year’s nominees are Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, Gramoll and Associates, Village of Bayside, Clarios, Bank Five Nine, and Wisconsin Athletic Club.
Nominations for this year’s awards are open to all North Shore Chamber members. If you know a business, nonprofit, or individual doing work that deserves recognition, this is your chance to say so.
Voting is only open until September 3rd!
Public / Community Voting Here
