Title: Tempo Records
Inclusive Dates: 1975-1995

Creator:

• Tempo

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 122

Quantity:

• 2.2 cubic ft. (4 boxes)
• 3 audio cassettes
• 2 videocassettes

Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Records of Tempo, a networking organization for professional and business leaders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While membership was opened to men in 1993, the collection focuses on the group's roots as an organization for leading women executives and managers. The collection documents Tempo's mission, goals, membership and activities from its founding in 1975 until 1995 through committee minutes and reports, newsletters, programs, rosters and other miscellaneous records.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0122

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Tempo was organized in 1975 in response to the lack of professional business groups for prominent women executives and managers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Tempo's main mission is to enhance the professional careers of its members by offering networking opportunities. To promote its mission of networking, the organization offers its members newsletters, bi-monthly meetings, speakers, seminars and various social events. Community outreach programs have included a College Day program to introduce select female students to Milwaukee's business community, a series of Mentor Awards for those who foster management skills, public seminars on financial matters, and a National Speaker program which publicizes Tempo's mission to the Milwaukee business community. The organization has also been active in aiding the formation of similar groups in neighboring cities, and has worked with other local professional groups to expand its members' opportunities for networking.

Membership is by invitation and requires full-time employment in a responsible, upper level management position. Prior to 1993, membership was restricted to women, but a change in the organization's by-laws allowed for the admittance of men who supported Tempo's mission. By 1995, membership was approaching 200 and represented a wide cross-section of Milwaukee women in professional and business positions. Tempo is governed by an annually elected board of directors, to which Tempo's committees report.

The collection documents Tempo's history as a networking group for Milwaukee's female executives and business women from its founding in 1975 until 1995. The bulk of the collection deals with membership, administration and programming issues. Files often contain minutes, reports and correspondence from various committees, publicity and program information, as well as newsletters, fliers, brochures and miscellaneous clippings related to the group. Users should note that specific information is often incomplete because of fragmented or short span dates for certain topics. In contrast, Tempo's monthly newsletters and board of director's minutes, as well as its annual membership roster offer the most complete coverage of the collection's span dates.

Specific information on the organization's selective membership and screening criteria can be found in the Membership Committee Support file, as well as in various board of director's minutes. Documentation regarding individual members can be found in the yearly membership roster; while early editions tend only to list members' names, job titles and places of employment, latter issues, from 1988 on, offer brief self-written biographies of members. The membership applications from 1978 to 1986 offer more detailed biographical information on prospective members' education, job descriptions and career histories. While the Tempo collection focuses on the group as a women's organization, a change in the by-laws in 1993 opened membership to men who were supportive of Tempo's mission. Except for a brief mention in the twentieth anniversary video tape, little documentation of this change is found in the collection.

Details on the governance of Tempo are available in the board of director's minutes, as the board exercised oversight over all aspects of the organization's activities. Though incomplete and fragmentary in nature, the executive committee meeting minutes, and the board of director's committee reports also offer insight into the group's administration. Tempo's goals, missions and constitution can be found in the by-laws file, as well as in the membership rosters (which also list board and committee members). The group's mission and organizational planning are outlined, although incompletely, through several files related to strategic planning, which cover such topics as the refinement of Tempo's mission and membership. Similarly, the Retreats folder and the Administrative Planning Retreat, 1990 cassettes focus on administrative debates about membership retention and participation.

Specific, but limited financial information is found in the financial statement reviews, while more general financial data is found in the year end balance sheets. Additional, but fragmentary, financial information can also be found in the newsletters, the budgets, and in the board of directors' minutes.

Networking opportunities for members, a primary goal of the Tempo organization, centered around the bi-monthly luncheon meetings which featured guest speakers; these are well covered in the collection through the program committee, program fliers, and luncheon speakers files which contain notes, brochures and fliers, as well as correspondence with prospective speakers and guests. Several files, including the Tempo as a Resource Committee and the seminars files offer limited information on how the organization sought to foster personal and career advancement for its members. The national speakers file contains fliers, brochures, committee notes and correspondence related to Tempo's annual public meeting which featured nationally known speakers. The Mentor Awards file contains similar material, but focuses on the annual awards given by Tempo in recognition of fostering career development in the greater Milwaukee area.

Documents relating to Tempo's anniversaries also shed light on the organization and include two video tapes, produced for the fifth and twentieth anniversaries of Tempo's founding, which summarize the history, mission, programming and makeup of the organization. In addition, the twentieth-year anniversary video contains interviews with several past presidents of Tempo. The tenth anniversary file, in turn, contains brochures, correspondence and fliers outlining the organization's anniversary planning as well as its history.

The Wilcox-West Bending Savings Company correspondence file contains legal correspondence regarding a dispute over payment for printing costs between the organization and the printer's receivers.

The files are organized alphabetically by subject, then chronologically. Files can contain a variety of materials, including correspondence, staff memos and reports. Membership applications are in box 2.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Carol George of Tempo donated the collection to the Archives in January 1998 (accession 1997-034).

Processing Information

Timothy O'Connor processed the collection at the Archives from February to April 1998.

Audio   1-3	Administrative Planning Retreat, 1990 Physical Description: Audio cassettes
Box   1 Folder   1	Balance Sheets, Year End, 1981-1994
Box   1 Folder   2	Board of Directors, Committee Reports, 1975-1976, 1979, 1984-1995
Box   1 Folder   3	Board of Directors Minutes, 1975-1977
Box   1 Folder   4	Board of Directors Minutes, 1978-1979
Box   1 Folder   5	Board of Directors Minutes, 1980-1982
Box   1 Folder   6	Board of Directors Minutes, 1983-1984
Box   1 Folder   7	Board of Directors Minutes, 1984-1985
Box   1 Folder   8	Board of Directors Minutes, 1986-1988
Box   1 Folder   9	Board of Directors Minutes, 1995
Box   1 Folder   10	Brochures, undated
Box   1 Folder   11	Budgets, 1981-1984, 1986-1987
Box   1 Folder   12	By-Laws, 1975-1981
Box   1 Folder   13	Clippings, undated
Box   1 Folder   14	Committee Correspondence, 1975-1991
Box   1 Folder   15	Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, 1975-1980
Video   1	Fifth Anniversary, 1980 Physical Description: Videocassette (VHS)
Box   1 Folder   16	Financial Statement Reviews, 1987-1988
Box   1 Folder   17	Luncheon Speakers, 1975-1978
Box   1 Folder   18	Luncheon Speakers, 1979-1982
Box   2 Folder   1	Membership Applications, 1978-1980
Box   2 Folder   2	Membership Applications, 1981-1982
Box   2 Folder   3	Membership Applications, 1983-1984
Box   2 Folder   4	Membership Applications, A-L, 1985-1986
Box   2 Folder   5	Membership Applications, M-Z, 1985-1986
Box   1 Folder   19	Membership Committee, Support, 1978-1989
Box   1 Folder   20	Membership Roster, 1976-1988
Box   1 Folder   21	Membership Roster, 1988-1989
Box   1 Folder   2	Membership Roster, A-L, 1990-1993
Box   1 Folder   23	Membership Roster, M-Z, 1990-1993
Box   1 Folder   24	Membership Roster, 1993
Box   1 Folder   25	Membership Roster, 1994
Box   1 Folder   26	Membership Surveys, 1980-1983
Box   1 Folder   27	Mentor Awards, 1991-1992
Box   1 Folder   28	Metropolitan Milwaukee Civic Alliance, 1987
Box   1 Folder   29	National Speakers, 1979-1987
Box   3 Folder   1	Newsletters, 1975-1977
Box   3 Folder   2	Newsletters, 1978-1979
Box   3 Folder   3	Newsletters, 1980-1981
Box   3 Folder   5	Newsletters, 1984-1985
Box   3 Folder   6	Newsletters, 1986-1987
Box   3 Folder   7	Newsletters, 1988-1990
Box   4 Folder   1	Newsletters, 1991-1995
Box   4 Folder   2	Program Committee, 1983-1988
Box   4 Folder   3	Program Fliers, 1977-1984
Box   4 Folder   4	Retreats, 1991-1995
Box   4 Folder   5	Seminars, 1985-1987
Box   4 Folder   6	Start-A-Group Kit, undated
Box   4 Folder   7	Strategic Planning, 1992
Box   4 Folder   8	Strategic Planning Program, 1988
Box   4 Folder   9	Tempo as a Resource Committee, 1984-1985, 1987-1988
Box   4 Folder   10	Tenth Anniversary, 1985
Box   4 Folder   11	Tenth Anniversary, Photographs of Founding Members, 1985
Video   2	Twentieth Anniversary, "A Twenty Year Celebration," 1995 Physical Description: Videocasette (VHS)
Box   4 Folder   12	Wilcox-West Bend Savings Bankruptcy Correspondence, 1987