Nominations are open for Newsmaker awards at Daily Reporter

The Daily Reporter is calling on the Wisconsin building industry to submit nominations for 2026 Newsmakers of the Year, which will be celebrated in October. The deadline for nominations is Friday, July 31.

Held at the Jan Serr Studio in Milwaukee, the event is an opportunity to network with industry peers and meet new faces in the building industry. Honorees are categorized by their role, such as executives, engineers, educators, Builder of the Year and Unsung Hero of the Year.

Nominations are open on the Daily Reporter’s events page or at the online nomination form. Nominators will get to pick a category and write about why their nominee is special and why they should be considered. Testimonies from project partners and industry peers are welcome.

Wherever the Newsmakers of the Year events go, they typically attract hundreds of people in the Wisconsin construction industry, including workforce development, business owners and the public sector.

Last year, Michael “Mick” Hatch, a longtime attorney who retired from Foley & Lardner LLP, won the Kevin O’Toole Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor named after the late leader of Hunzinger Construction. Findorff was named Builder of the year in 2025 Newsmakers of the Year.