Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Evan Frank – April 19, 2019
People who contribute to their communities can play many different types of roles.
Whether it’s a second-generation developer dedicated to building homes or a local bakery owner who raises thousands of dollars for a variety of causes, there are many people who want to better their communities in their own way.
While we’re just scratching the surface of influential community leaders, we wanted to highlight a select group of individuals who get things done in their communities.
Matt Neumann has worked in real estate development, home building and solar development for 14 years. He grew up watching his father, Mark, thrive in the real estate industry when he created Neumann Companies.
Now, Matt Neumann serves as CEO of the company that has built more than 4,000 home sites on more than 4,000 acres across 30 municipalities, including Germantown, Lisbon, Menomonee Falls and others.
“It’s a real neat thing to think about building the place where people live and raise their families,” Matt Neumann said. “I have all these memories of being a little kid in the neighborhood I grew up in with the friends I had and the games we played out in the street. Those are the types of things that get me really excited about what we do still to this day. We’re creating places where people are living and raising their families. Those are memories that last a lifetime.”
Neumann Companies has grown to become a family of companies that includes Tim O’Brien Homes, SunVest Solar, Harbor Homes and more.
“At the end of the day it’s all about making sure that you’re doing something that is going to create lasting value in the community,” Matt Neumann said.
The company also encourages community involvement for employees. A few years ago, an internal program called Fit For A Cause was created, which gives money to employees who are physically active. Every quarter, the employees decide which charities they want the money to go toward.
Neumann Companies has also recently sponsored a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.
“Having gone on the trip last year as a guardian, it was one of the most moving experiences of my life in interacting with 72 veterans, from World War II to the Korean War to the Vietnam War,” Matt Neumann said. “We had one guy come up to us after and say, ‘That was the single best day of my entire life.’ Those sorts of things to me are what life is all about. We’re very fortunate to be supported by the communities we work in, and I feel we have the obligation to give back to the communities that support us.”