RHINELANDER, Wis. — The Northern Wisconsin Heritage Council will host its inaugural regional history conference on Thursday, Sept. 24, at Nicolet College, with registration and attendance spots still available.
The full-day event is designed for nonprofit organizations to focus on learning, collaboration, and professional development. Conference activities run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nicolet College, located at 5364 College Drive in Rhinelander. Organizers note that the specific location on campus has been set for the Red Oak Building, Room 202.

The Northern Wisconsin Heritage Council is a coalition of 18 history and culture organizations situated along and north of Highway 8, spanning from Barron County to Vilas and Iron counties. While centered on regional history, organizers emphasize that the conference is not exclusive to historical organizations. Representatives from performing arts groups, libraries, nature organizations, and other area nonprofits are encouraged to attend due to the transferable skills presented.

“The speaker topics are relevant to any non-profit organization,” said council President Karen Sailer. “This is the first of what we hope will be an annual event.”

The conference lineup features presentations from two in-person speakers and one virtual presenter:

• Artificial Intelligence for Small Nonprofits (10 a.m.): Presented remotely by Jeff Keen, who provides technology support for the council and possesses an extensive background in AI operations.

• Organizational Resilience (11 a.m.): “Built to Last: Preparing Your Historical Organization for the Next Chapter,” presented by John Harry, executive director of the Portage County Historical Society, and Rikki Harry, founder of LEAP Nonprofit Consulting.

• Planned Giving and Legacy Programs (1 p.m.): “Starting a Legacy Program - Planned Giving,” presented by Joseph Kollar, senior development and planned giving officer at the Wisconsin Historical Society Foundation, and Hannah Hopwood, development officer at the foundation.

Following the presentation sessions, attendees will participate in roundtable discussions beginning at 2:10 p.m.

Attendee check-in and a light breakfast begin at 9 a.m., followed by a welcome address at 9:45 a.m. Lunch and a business meeting are scheduled for noon. Both breakfast and lunch are included with registration.

About the council

According to Sailer, the Northern Wisconsin Heritage Council was formed in 2016 and has grown in size and scope over 10 years.

“The purpose was to share common concerns, develop cooperative programming, and bring mutually useful professional education programs to the group,” she said. “Over time the council has added an emphasis on taking the museum and local history out of buildings and offering it digitally to a broader public with the creation of the CLIO Project.”

CLIO is based at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and the heritage council contributes local history tours for the northern region. These can be accessed at nwiheritage.org.

“Users can choose between the History Tour and the Community tabs to choose either a geographical area or a topic to explore. Using a cell phone, history buffs can follow a tour on foot, bike, boat or car. The audio feature lets users follow along the tour while seeing the photos and videos,” Sailer said.

“There is no cost for participating in tours from logging to bootlegging. While there are thousands of YouTube and other sites with videos and photos, all CLIO entries are required to cite sources and adhere to academic standards,” she added.

The heritage council invites all history and heritage organizations to join. Annual dues per organization cost $100, and new members can join at the website or email nwheritagecouncil@gmail.com.

The council meets four times a year, with locations moving across the region.

For more on what the council does and how to join, go to nwiheritage.org.