Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau leader steps down

WAUSAU — Darien Schaefer is stepping down from his role as the executive director of the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau after 13 years on the job with a sense of accomplishment.

Schaefer, 46, is leaving to become the president of the Geneva Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and the Lake Geneva Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Under Schaefer, the CBV created the Sports Authority in 2010, purchased the Badger State Games in 2011 and created new events including the Leinenkugel Pond Hockey Classic and the Wausau Marathon.

Schaefer has spent most of his life around tourism. He was born in Milwaukee and grew up mainly in Wisconsin Dells, working for his family business running a campground. Before moving to Wausau, he ran the Janesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. He and his wife, Karen, have two daughters, who now live in California.

Schaefer said he is proud of what the bureau has accomplished under his leadership, but said the successes were not without challenges.

“When we created the Sports Authority, that was a battle,” Schaefer said. “Now that we’ve had a few years, it’s a proven success. But no one remembers how hard of a fight it was to get here.”

The idea originally was voted down in the city of Wausau’s Finance Committee, and then had a split vote at the council before eventually passing, Schaefer said.

Marathon County ranked 17th out of 72 counties in Wisconsin for traveler expenditures in 2000 when Schaefer joined the organization. Now Marathon County is ranked ninth, and the Wausau area is having its best year on record, according to a news release.

Jim Brown, tournament director for the Leinenkugel’s Pond Hockey Classic, said he thinks Schaefer’s biggest accomplishment is creating the Sports Authority.

“He identified sports is what brings people in (to Wausau) and makes it a destination for tourists,” Brown said.

The tournament had 12 teams its first year in 2012, 42 teams last year, and is expected to have 80 this year, which will bring 350 participants and about 850 spectators.

Reported by:  Wausau Daily Herald