Our mission here at OnMilwaukee.com is simple: make great media and move Milwaukee forward. So, when we get a chance to help the community we jump on it.
On Thursday, several members of our team participated in the first-ever "Jimmy John's Freaky Fast 500" at Red Arrow Park. In an epic battle of sandwich eating and big wheel-riding, our team of Nick Barth, Michelle Bigelow, John Hyland, Anders Hjertstedt and Jason McDowell conceeded to the employees of Cramer-Krasselt who took down the competition and raised $6,000 for their charity partner, Sojourner Truth House.
The Freaky Fast 500 featured six Milwaukee-area companies each picking a charity: MillerCoors for Miller Brewing Company Employee Fund, The Milwaukee Mile for the VA Hospital, Boston Store for the Boston Store Charge Against Breast Cancer, C-K for Sojourner Truth House, OnMilwaukee.com for Big Brother's Big Sisters and Sprecher Brewing Company for the Gilda's Club
Donning Halloween costumes, five employees from each company competed in a relay race on big wheels before having to scarf down Jimmy John's sandwiches as quickly as possible, all in the name of their charity partners and fun.
"Sure we took fourth place, but we had fun and we'll be back next year," said John Hyland, a senior account executive at OnMilwaukee.com.
The $6,000 donation, which came from entry fees of the participating companies and from Jimmy John's, will benefit Sojourner Truth House which provides shelter for women and children, legal advocacy and abuser treatment programs.
"While all the teams in the competition were freaky and fast, the Cramer-Krasselt Queasy Riders really represented what we're all about at Jimmy John's with their amazing speed," said James North, president of Jimmy John's. "We're proud to help make this donation to Sojourner Truth House, an important group to our friends in Milwaukee. Jimmy John's would also like to thank all the companies and charities who participated for their donations and their freaky fast sense of adventure and fun."
The five Cramer-Krasselt Queasy Riders were team leader, Joe Fisher, Jason Ziehm, Matt Herrman, Michael Spaeth and Jaime Schmelzer. When asked how they prepared for the competition, Jaime Schmelzer, account supervisor said, "We actually did a few dry runs in the office with Jimmy John's Gargantuan Subs. We figured, if we can slam these, we can definitely take on the slims!"
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
