MOTORSPORTS MKE - Key Persons
Eric is a radio and TV Broadcaster, entrepreneur, producer and writer, serving as co-host of the long-running travel show "Discover Wisconsin" as well as host of the midday show on iHeart's 95.7 BIG FM (WRIT) in Milwaukee and Morning Rewind show on Rewind 92.1 (WXXM) in Madison, along with two podcasts. He is also founder of Wellstream Media, a digital creative content and production company which owns Wisconsin road trip website StateTrunkTour.com and works for clients that have included Best Western Hotels International, Travel Channel UK, ITN Productions, and Scripps Digital Media.
Previously, Paulsen served as Executive Director of BizStarts Milwaukee and Communications Director for the Greater Milwaukee Committee. He was a startup partner and operations directors with Troy Research, the pioneering company for online music and media research that made the Inc. 500 list in 2004. His writing credits include the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MD News, the World Trade Center International Journal, OnMilwaukee.com, annual reports for the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and three seasons of the Health Corner TV series, which aired on Lifetime television. He also worked with Miller Brewing Company on their point-of-sale catalog system transfer from paper to online in 1999. Paulsen holds a BS in Consumer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His connection to racing includes a family history in the automotive world and racing, including owning the race car that won the Wisconsin Midget Racing Championship in 1959.
Jim Tretow is a Milwaukee-based motorsports broadcaster who travels the country announcing major auto racing events on live cable television, national radio and on speedway public address systems, including for the Daytona 500. His depth of racing history and present-day knowledge strengthens our team, as his awareness of sponsor partners and racing series on all levels sharpens our ability to craft creative and result-driven opportunities. He's passionate about motorsports and his home track, The Milwaukee Mile, where he was a kid in the stands in the 1970's, then became a key member of the public address team, and for six seasons, worked full-time at The Mile in several capacities, including media relations, sponsorship fulfillment and as operations event weekend master scheduler.
He owns Tretow Media, LLC, and is the executive producer and host the weekly Wisconsin motorsports radio program, "The Racing Round Up Show" aired live in Milwaukee and Madison. The all-encompassing radio show is now in its 35th season. He began what is now over three decades of experience in creative planning, marketing partnership engagement, and execution while earning a mass communications degree at UW-Milwaukee, first in commercial radio and now in motorsports. Tretow's experiences and relationships with industry leaders, speedway staffs, sanctioning bodies, and fellow media members adds great relevance to our efforts.