Construction Industry Woman of the Year

Cahill answers her community’s call

Patti Cahill Director of marketing for Ellis Stone Construction Co., Stevens Point

The paths of Jim Anderson and Patti Cahill first crossed 20 years ago.

Cahill was the office manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield when Anderson, the president of Ellis Stone Construction Co., and his team of builders began working on a remodeling job at her office.

Two decades later, Anderson shows no surprise to hear that Cahill, who is now Ellis Stone’s director of marketing, was named The Daily Reporter’s and Wisconsin Builder’s Construction Industry Woman of the Year. That award comes on the heels of Cahill earning the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin’s Community Service Award.

“Everyone who knows her recognizes that she has a great personality, high energy and that she cares about not only work, but her family and the organizations she’s involved in,” Anderson said.

When Cahill started working for Ellis Stone a year and a half ago, she immediately brought her energy to everything she did, Anderson said. Part of her job in marketing is to be out in the community, he said, but Cahill takes that to an ultimate high.

Since 1990, she has been actively involved with the United Way of Portage County. With that organization, she serves on the Vision Council, is a chairperson for the Strengthening Families for a Lifetime Impact Team, is a co-chairperson of the United Way campaign kickoff and served as a campaign cabinet person 10 times.

Sue Wilcox, executive director of the United Way, worked with Cahill from the beginning of her involvement and watched her contributions evolve through the years.

“She’s been active and energetic to respond to human needs in the community,” Wilcox said. “She’s willing to put her personal life out there to make sure that people have the opportunity to have better lives.”

Five years ago, Cahill began working with Dan Barth, a social worker at the Portage County Jail, as an active member of Prism, a group working on issues facing inmates. Through her involvement, she discovered the need for safe, substance-free living for people in recovery.

In September 2005, Cahill bought a home in Stevens Point and established the Riverside Oxford House — a self-supporting, democratically run, drug- and alcohol-free home for men in Portage County.

Barth said the home, which now houses 10 men, is “one of the best things that has happened to the community in a long time.”

Current resident Shawn Bennett was in and out of treatment for 23 years and serving a year sentence in jail for his fifth DUI when he first heard about Cahill and the Riverside Oxford House.

“For people who want sobriety,” Bennett said, “it is bar none the best thing for them.”

Barth, who refers many inmates to Riverside, noticed a positive shift in the community since the establishment of the house. The majority of residents are not going back to jail, Barth said. Instead, they are staying clean and sober.

“What it is and what it represents in their lives has had a profound effect,” Barth said.

For the last year and a half, Cahill has also served as a board member for Justice Works Ltd., which is a nonprofit group that establishes correct relationships between offenders, victims and communities.

Cahill is also involved in the Rotary Club, the Boys and Girls Club and the Portage County Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention.

So, how does she find the time?

“The woman has energy,” Wilcox said. “She can do more in a day than anybody, and she works diligently until the job is done.

“She really is an amazing person.”

By Brittany Nelson