Rick Brooks, Founder

Something interesting about me: Different job titles, I suppose.  Park ranger/archaeologist at Mesa Verde National Park, child welfare worker, hospital housekeeper and administrator, journalist, editor and publisher, K-12 and higher education teacher, and outreach program manager for the UW-Madison.  There is logic to that path, rooted by the assumption that “work” and the rest of one’s life are hopelessly…or magnificently…intertwined.  For the overview, you can look at my LinkedIn page.

What I love about Midwest Partners: It’s a great way to live after “retiring” from a career being paid to do more than making a living.  Midwest Partners offers a holistic culmination of my life’s work in a place with people I admire and enjoy being with.  With good partners, I am a much better person than I am alone.

Causes and nonprofits that I support: The list is long and life is short. My own guidance system is to start where we live and start small. In addition to 56 Reasons We Love Princeton, I encourage others to support the Bureau County United Way, Festival 56, and other local causes that need our support as good citizens and neighbors. They are organizations that matter because they harness our better instincts; that focus on differences that make a difference.