Madison, WI (October 4, 2018) – Serving vulnerable people and helping them move toward stability is not just a job for Jack Salzwedel, it is a way of life. You may know Jack as the Chair and CEO of American Family Insurance, a nationwide Fortune 500 insurance company headquartered right here in Dane County, but you may not know that he and his wife Sarah are entrenched in our community in a plethora of ways.
The Salzwedels received the 2018 United Way of Dane County Tocqueville Society Award at United Way’s annual Tocqueville Society Membership Reception at Monona Terrace on October 3.
Jack and Sarah work tirelessly behind the scenes of some of our community’s most robust charitable organizations, including United Way of Dane County.
There are several causes that are close to Jack and Sarah’s hearts, but there are a few they find particularly fulfilling. The first is American Family Children’s Hospital. Sarah ran the Children’s Hospital Gala this past year, raising $1.5 million for local kids and their families.
They are also actively involved in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Wartburg College, and the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation.
Jack, Sarah and the Salzwedel family committed the first HIRE gifts in 2014 when United Way expanded and further defined the HIRE Initiative. United Way’s HIRE Initiative links local businesses to diverse talent and provides training supports for job seekers. More than 2,200 individuals have found gainful employment through HIRE since 2013. Through Jack’s leadership, additional corporate, foundation and individual donors came on board to invest $1 million in HIRE for a three-year pilot in 2015-2017. The Salzwedels have continued to support the initiative to create pathways out of poverty by renewing their major gift to HIRE in 2017, and American Family Insurance continues in a critical role on the HIRE Employer Council, now over 40 businesses strong.
Jack and Sarah are part of the United Way family in other ways as well. They have been Tocqueville members since 2005 and Sarah has educated others about United Way’s work on Boards where she leads. Jack also served as our community’s Campaign Chair in 2014 achieving a record-breaking campaign, chaired United Way’s Marketing Committee and currently serves as a member of United Way’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
“Jack and Sarah take it upon themselves to embrace our entire community and invest in tens of thousands of people who call Dane County home,” says Renee Moe. “We are so grateful to them for their huge hearts, strategic minds and their incredible, humble commitment to stabilizing families and helping them achieve their dreams.”
On behalf of United Way of Dane County and the United Way Tocqueville Society, we are honored Jack and Sarah Salzwedel are such an integral part of our entire community’s family.
About United Way of Dane County:
United Way fights for the education, financial stability, and health of everyone in Dane County. Through strategic partnerships and collaborative work, United Way brings the many voices of our community together to find common ground, develop a strategic architecture for change, and make measurable progress, while engaging organizations and individuals with the opportunity to give, advocate and volunteer to change lives in Dane County.
About the Tocqueville Society:
United Way Tocqueville Society members are among our most engaged annual givers, households contributing $10,000 or more. Founded locally in 1990, the Society now has more than 250 members in Dane County. It is a national recognition level for United Way donors.
