Charlie Wright

What is your job and its responsibilities?
Sales & Marketing Manager for Rheocast Company, the Germantown division of my family’s business called The Fall River Group. We are a brass and aluminum foundry and manufacturing company with all facilities located in Wisconsin.

I divide my time between managing new business development and servicing existing customer accounts. When potential buyers want to find out if we can make a specific brass or aluminum casting, I’m the first point of contact. When current customers need to issue purchase orders, they give me a call. I also have several accounts receivable responsibilities like issuing invoices for goods shipped and entering cash receipts. In addition, I’m leading an expansion project where we are bringing in-house a key function that is now outsourced in order to maximize cost and lead-time control. We are kickin’ brass on a daily basis.

What have you seen in other cities that you’d like to see in Milwaukee?
I want to see public support for arts and entertainment venues. We need to keep the Bucks here at the Bradley Center, and not in Seattle. We need to host larger conventions here at the Wisconsin Center, and not in Chicago. Our facilities must be the best of the best because they will bring people and money to our region, which will make our quality of life better. It’s not realistic to rely on the generosity of individual benefactors to get this done. Cleveland and Oklahoma City among other places have figured out how to make it work, and we must adopt similar models.

When making a purchase, I would absolutely pay a couple cents more per transaction to help the Public Museum refurbish the Streets of Old Milwaukee. Cigarettes should be taxed (#sorrynotsorry) to provide funding for the Zoo to renovate the polar bear exhibit. As a region, we need to take some ownership and invest publicly in our cultural assets or we will lose them to more progressive cities. Period.

What is the one thing you’d like to change about Milwaukee?
I remember in college someone seriously asked me, “Is Milwaukee in Canada?” I was actually a little hurt because this person didn’t know about how incredible Milwaukee is. I think we can do a better job of getting the word out there that you want to live in Milwaukee, especially if you’re a millennial.

What’s the perfect thing to do in Milwaukee on a Sunday afternoon?
It’s the perfect time to get a latte at one of our fantastic coffee shops and read Milwaukee Magazine to find out about all the wonderful things happening here.

What is your favorite Milwaukee beer?
Lakefront Cream City Ale (with a fish fry and polka).

Favorite place to grab an after dinner drink?
There’s only one correct answer to this question: Bryant’s.