Madison Reporter

Madison Town Clerk Dane County WI issued the following announcement on Oct. 19

Mayor Aaron Richardson will honor and recognize long-time community member, Greg Jones, Fitchburg business owner, Thad Shumacher - Fitchburg Family Pharmacy, and Fitchburg city department, FACTv at a special reception on Monday, October 25th in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Mayor Richardson is recognizing these recipients for their community leadership, inspiring service to the community, setting an example for others, and their commitment to and significant impact on Fitchburg.  

Greg Jones currently serves on the 2021 Redistricting Committee and formerly served as Chair of the Police & Fire Commission. Over the years he has also served on several interview and selection panels for the city. Outside of Fitchburg, Greg is involved in community-based organizations and groups benefitting Fitchburg including President of the Dane County NAACP and First Vice President of the NAACP Wisconsin State Conference. Greg has also served on the Board of Directors of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, Dignity at Work Steering Committee, the Dane County Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board, and the Wisconsin Poor Peoples Campaign. The complete list of organizations that Greg has served is impressive. Throughout his professional career, Greg worked as an Admissions Counselor and Minority Student Advisor at UW Eau Claire and Financial Aids Counselor at UW Madison. He has also worked for the Governor’s Office, the Department of Public Instruction, Health and Social Services, Corrections, Employment Relations, Workforce Development and Commerce.    

Thad Schumacher opened Fitchburg Family Pharmacy in 2013. His philosophy was (is) simple: to put people in the community first, and that he does! Two of the many ways that he does this is through free delivery and medication packaging. As a way to engage the community on a more personal level, he started delivering prescriptions on bicycle all year round. This mode of delivery earned him the name, the cycling pharmacist. Thad was the first pharmacist in the state to sign the Standing Order for Naloxone Dispensing, after it was signed into law. Pioneering new ways for patients to gain access to services.  Thad participated in education programs with Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin to provide guidance on pharmacist injection protocols. He routinely takes calls from pharmacists across the state in reference to these progressive practices or the rules of pharmacy practice. During the pandemic, Thad has been front and center with COVID-19 vaccinations and testing. To date, he and his team have provided over 13,000 vaccinations and 20,000 COVID-19 tests. His pharmacy is also contracted with Wisconsin DHS to provide testing to schools in South Central Wisconsin. Thad enjoys riding his bike and leads a team of cyclists for community outreach and to raise money for charity called, the Pharmacy Pill Peddlers. In just the past few years they have pedaled their way to raising over $45,000 for charity. Fitchburg Family Pharmacy is an integral part of our community.

Fitchburg Access Community Television- FACTv is the local Public, Education, Government (PEG) community media station. Through three channels: Media Ch. F1, Community Ch. F2, Government Ch. F3, residents are provided access to what’s happening in the City of Fitchburg. FACTv offers full coverage of public city meetings, a daily newscast called “Talking Fitchburg”, and they assist our city departments with communication projects among other things. The FACTv staff are second to none, and are dedicated to bringing the city together through the many different media platforms that they offer. The FACTv team provides coverage for hundreds of city meetings and many events throughout the city. Their coverage of city meetings and events is critical for providing information to residents, and was especially important throughout the pandemic. Their work providing access through the use of Zoom has been essential for the city to continue allowing residents to participate in city government. Jeremy believes in his staff and is committed to working as a team to get the job done every day. The team makes an effort to stay ahead of technology and future trends to help the department grow and to provide the best services available to the residents of Fitchburg. The department consists of Jeremy Crosby - Community Media Services Manager, Scott Yarbrough – Community Media Services Manager, Andrew Bamlettt – Production Assistant, Chad Cole – Cable Operator, and George Cloyd – Cable Assistant.

The Mayoral awards were started in 2019 as an effort to recognize the residents, businesses, and staff that make Fitchburg a great place to live, work and recreate. The Mayoral awards are an opportunity to celebrate some of the many great people in Fitchburg. They are an opportunity to bring the community together every year. Previous award winners were Jeanie Sieling and Frances Huntley-Cooper in the resident category, Promega and KL Engineering in the business category and Michael Zimmerman and the Planning & Zoning Department in the staff category.

The awards will be presented at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The public is invited to attend. We are following PHMDC guidelines, and as such, face masks are required.

Original source can be found here.