KW

Kenneth Wysocky

Milwaukee, WI USA
25 Years Experience

Professional Experience

Skilled, savvy and versatile, I've written about everything from Aussie celebrity landscape designer Jamie Durie in Fresh Home to master fly rod craftsman Glenn Brackett in Outside's GO! to the pink plastic flamingo's 50th birthday in the Chicago Tribune. I can make a trade pub story about sewer-rehab techniques sing like an aria, or write snappy travel copy that'll move you to pack a suitcase faster than you can say, "Samsonite." My specialties are personality and business profiles, travel, gardening and health/lifestyle. But I'm also adept at copy editing; project management; and making complex issues understandable and compelling. Over the last 25 years, I've written speeches, annual reports, news releases, newspaper stories, marketing communications pieces and articles for employee and corporation communications vehicles.

Expertise

Reporter 25 YearsWriter 25 YearsOther, Specify 13 Years

Specialty

Home & Garden 10 YearsLifestyle 2 YearsTravel 8 Years

Industries

Magazine - Large Consumer/National magazines 13 YearsNewspaper - Local/Regional 10 YearsOther 5 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

  • Reader's Digest (10+)
  • Outside's GO! (1-2)
  • Better Homes & Gardens (1-2)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

  • Quad/Graphics (10+)
  • Johnson Controls (1-2)
  • National Association of Realtors (1-2)

Other Work History

Newspaper reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel; manager of corporate communications for Harnischfeger Industries, a former Fortune 250 company; and a magazine and book editor for Reiman Publications (now RDA Milwaukee).

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, OS 10.

Equipment

eMac desktop computer; MAc Powerbook G4 laptop; Nikon 7.0 megapixel digital camera.

References

Denise Foley, deputy editor of Better Health & Living; Catherine Cassidy, editorial vice president of RDA Milwaukee (formerly Reiman Publications); Barb Newton, president, Sunset Publishing; Ken Braband, editorial director, Quad/Creative; Ted Rulseh, editor of Cleaner and Municipal Sewer & Water magazines, Cole Publications; Jim Kneiszel, editor of Pumper and PRO magazines, Cole Publications.

writing sample

master new multimedia
(Realtor Association Executive 8/1/2008)
A feature story for RAE magazine about how association chapters use cutting-edge multimedia platforms, such as audio Pod casts, to communicate with their members.
Sanibel Island
(MotorHome 4/8/2010)
First-person travel story about a family vacation to Sanibel Island on Florida's Gulf Coast, one of the world's premiere shelling locations.
Glenn Brackett, fly rod master craftsman
(Outside's GO! 6/1/2010)
Feature story about Glenn Brackett, master fly rod maker in Twin Bridges, Montana, written for Outside's GO! magazine.
broken-heart syndrome
(Froedtert Today 9/1/2010)
Feature story about a woman with so-called "broken-heart syndrome," including diagnosis, treatment and recovery, written for a Froedtert Community Health publication.
Jamie Durie on outdoor rooms
(Fresh Home 5/1/2010)
An interview with Aussie celebrity landscape designer Jamie Durie about the "outdoor room" concept.
Nifty Gifting
(Fresh Home 11/1/2010)
tongue-in-cheek feature about quirky DIY gifts for Christmas.
playhouse designer to the stars
(Backyard Living 9/25/2007)
An interview with Barbara Butler, who designs grand, upscale playhouses for celebrities.
A to Z veggie guide
(Reader's Digest 5/1/2010)
A fun and funky vegetable guide written for a one-shot newsstand special called Grow Veggies for Less, published by Birds & Blooms, a Reader's Digest publication.
pink flamingo 50th anniversary
(Chicago Tribune 8/8/2007)
Feature story about the 50th anniversary of the pink plastic lawn flamingo and its creator, Don Featherstone.
'tweens: socializing in cyberspace
(PBJ 9/1/2008)
Feature story about the benefits and pitfalls of kids and social networking.
Bobby Hillin Jr./T-Rex services
(Pumper 9/1/2010)
Business profile about former NASCAR champ Bobby Hillin Jr. and his company, T-Rex services.
Zeschke Septic Cleaning profile
(Pumper 8/1/2010)
Business profile about Zeschke Septic Cleaning.
e-mail ettiquette
(Municipal Sewer & Water 6/1/2007)
Business story about e-mail "netiquette."
The Human Side: job shadowing
(Municipal Sewer & Water 9/1/2008)
Monthly management column about the benefits of job shadowing.
dealer management software
(Farm Equipment 9/1/2008)
Business story about the benefits of management software for farm-equipment dealers.
Nifty and Thrifty
(Reader's Digest 5/1/2010)
Fun, snarky gift guide written for Grow Veggies for Less, a one-shot bookazine published by Birds & Blooms, a Reader's Digest publication.

General

James Bond car collector
(American Way 5/1/2011)
The name's Redenius. Doug Redenius. The Momence, Illinois, native leads a double life: A 55-year-old postal worker by day and the rest of the time, the owner of the one of the world's largest collections of James Bond vehicles. How he obtained the vehicles — and what he's planning on doing with them – makes for a story as compelling as an Bond adventure.
edible landscaping
(Fresh Home's Grow It, Cook It 4/1/2011)
Want a yard that looks AND tastes good enough to eat? Then get immersed in edible landscaping and dig right in.