The Candidate

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Mark W. Neumann was born and raised in Wisconsin and has lived all his life in the great state of Wisconsin.

Family

Mark has been happily married for 36 years to Sue and is the father of three grown children, Andrew, Tricia, and Matthew.

Andrew, married to Carlee, has his Ph. D in math education and currently is the CEO of Educational Enterprises. Educational Enterprises is a growing organization managing three choice schools in Milwaukee and one Charter school in Arizona. Carlee has her college degree from Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Andrew and Carlee are the parents of three beautiful and vibrant children. These grandchildren of Mark and Sue are their pride and joy.

Tricia, married to Jacob Ewerdt, obtained her undergraduate degree from Carthage and her master's degree in business from Loyola University of Chicago. Tricia has been promoted to the position of HR Manager at a large company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Jake has just completed his law degree from Northwestern University in Chicago.

Matthew has an undergraduate degree from Wisconsin Lutheran College and a Master's in business from Marquette. He currently manages five businesses with gross sales in the range of $40 million annually. He is brilliantly guiding these home building related businesses through a significant recession in the building industry.

Faith and Community

Mark and Sue are active members of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and Mark serves on numerous synod committees. He is a past member of the Board of Regents at Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Mark is currently co-chair of Educational Enterprises, Inc., a not for profit that runs three Hope Schools in Milwaukee and a public charter school in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mark and Sue's philanthropic giving is well known in the Milwaukee area, having athletic fields in Wauwatosa named for their families' contributions.

His philosophy in business is that it is not about how much profit is made but rather what can be done with those profits to help the community.

Other community service activities Mark has been involved in over his career years include:

• Optimist Club
• Chamber of Commerce
• Metro Builders Association
• South Central Wisconsin Builders Association
• Director of Boys and Girls Club
• Habitat for Humanity
• Janesville Board of Realtors
• Milwaukee Board of Realtors
• National Association of Independent Businesses
• Wisconsin Builder's Association
• Numerous Coaching of Youth Teams

Hobbies

Mark's hobbies include hunting and fishing with family, leisure reading, jogging, weight lifting, travel, all of our Wisconsin sports teams, and especially he is an avid Packer fan. Generations of Neumanns in Wisconsin have shared these interests. Mark also enjoys gardening; planting and harvesting his onions and tomatoes every year.

History

Mark graduated from East Troy High School in 1972 and three years later from UW Whitewater with honors. While teaching mathematics at River Falls High School he completed his Master's Degree at UW River Falls. He then did graduate work at UW Madison leaving to manage a growing business.

After teaching mathematics for four years at the high school level Mark and Sue started their business in the basement of their own home selling real estate. In 1986 they started building homes in the Janesville/Milton area.

Four years later, after nearly failing in the first year, the company had grown to 120 homes per year providing job opportunities for over 240 families in southern Wisconsin. Over the years, Mark's companies received numerous awards for being some of the fastest growing in America.

Other significant business awards include:

• Distinguished Alumni Award, UW Whitewater
• Entrepreneur of the Year, UW Whitewater
• Inc. Magazine, Fastest Growing Companies in America, 1991, 2004, 2005
• Feature Story, Inc. Magazine, 2005
• Entrepreneur Magazine, Hot 100 Companies in America, 2005
• Feature Story, Business, Inc.
• Green Development Recognition, Wisconsin Builder
• Future 50 Award

Public Service

Mark left his businesses to run for U.S. Congress in 1991. After being defeated twice, Mark's persistence and fortitude resulted in a victory. On his third attempt, in 1994, Mark was elected to the U.S. Congress in Wisconsin's first district, becoming the first Republican to hold that seat since 1971.

While in U.S. Congress his primary focus was on budgetary matters, serving on both the House Budget Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. Huge deficits loomed when he took office. Four years later the budget was in fact balanced and a surplus was being used to repay debt. George Magazine, one of many publications referring to Mark's role in balancing the budget, called Mark one of the most influential in Washington relating to this matter.

Click here to see numerous quotes from national and local leaders and publications praising Mark's efforts in balancing the budget and standing firm on principle. Of all the favorable comments Mark received, he considers the praise received from former Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire to be one of the highlights of his Congressional service.

Also during those four years the largest tax cut in American history was passed leading to a booming economy. Literally hundreds of thousands of jobs were being created as Mark left the U.S. Congress.

Mark took on incumbent Senator Russ Feingold in 1998. After trailing by over 25% in the polls in August, he lost narrowly by less than 2%.

Business/Job Creation

Mark returned to the private sector starting several businesses and providing many job opportunities for Wisconsin families. His residential land development company made it a practice to set aside at least one acre in permanent green space for every acre it developed. Over 600 acres of some of Wisconsin's most valuable and environmentally sensitive land has been preserved. This has been accomplished in the private sector without the use of tax dollars.

Click here to read two of the many articles praising the Neumann approach to land development.

The development and home building businesses Mark worked with thrived in the good times and are remaining profitable in the housing downturn, preserving many jobs. This has been accomplished through adjusting and adapting to the market demands while providing innovative products.

The most recent project is the construction of his innovative energy producing home which literally produces more energy than it needs for heating/cooling the home, running all the appliances, the lights, the stove, refrigerator, etc.; and enough energy to power an electric automobile back and forth to work. The hardest part of the project was making the home economically viable in today's market.

"Looking back over my careers in education, real estate, home building, U.S. Congress, and now as our companies move into green technology, it is clear to me what a great nation America really is. With no background in many of these areas, the quality education I received here in Wisconsin prepared me for a changing world full of tremendous opportunities. Wisconsin has been the best place in the world to live and raise our family."

It is out of concern for America's future, and Wisconsin's future in particular, that Mark considers leaving the private sector and returning to public office. He is committed to ensuring that his children and grandchildren have the same opportunities and quality of life here in Wisconsin that his generation has enjoyed.

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