Distinguished Alumni of 2001

Patrick D. Braatz – Class of 1979

On April 1, 1980 Patrick D. Braatz made history with his election to the D.C. Everest Area School District Board of Education as the youngest person ever elected to the Board at the age of 18, Braatz was a Freshman in college at the time of his election. Braatz was re-elected three times and served 4 different terms as President during his 11 ½ years of service on the Board. While serving on the School Board Braatz served as a member and Chairman of the C.E.S.A. #2 and #9 Board of Controls and was active member of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

Braatz graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Economics. Following his graduation he became a Commercial Insurance Agent for Manson Insurance Agency of Wausau where he remained until Governor Tommy Thompson appointed Braatz to serve as Marathon County Register of Deeds in 1989. During his 22 month tenure as Register of Deeds Braatz, brought computerization to the office as well as improving the offices processing times for real estate transactions from weeks to 3 days.

In 1991 Governor Thompson again tapped Braatz and appointed him Director of the Bureau of Health Professions of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing. In 1992 Braatz was promoted to Administrator of the Division of Health. As administrator he is responsible for the overall responsibility for 23 Boards/Councils who are responsible for the regulation and licensing of health professions in the State of Wisconsin where he serves today.

As a Junior at D.C. Everest, Braatz was named a delegate to the Wisconsin American Legion Badger Boys State Program held in Ripon, Wisconsin. Since 1979 Braatz has served as a volunteer counselor with the program and was honored for over 23 years of service to the program. In 1994 Braatz established a scholarship to send one junior student to attend the Badger Boys State Program.

In 1988 he established two $300.00 scholarships for graduating seniors from D.C. Everest High School in honor of his parents Dale & Carla Braatz to Freshman students attending the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Braatz is currently a member of the UWSP Alumni Association Board of Directors, Stevens Point, WI. The National Board for Respiratory Care State Licensure Committee as well as their National Recredentialing Commission, Lenexa, KS. A member of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy Council of Board Administrators as well as a member of the Federations Education Committee, Arlington, VA. He was recently named to the Board of Directors of the Foreign Commission on Credentialing of Physical Therapists, Arlington, VA.

Braatz is completing 20 years of service as a Member of the United States Selective Service Board Local #38, Marathon County. He has served as a member of numerous local community,

Braatz currently maintains a home in Schofield and Madison, Wisconsin.

Donald Hintz - Class of 1961

Don Hintz became President of Entergy Corporation on January 1, 1999, responsible for Entergy’s 67 gas-fired power plants, 10 nuclear power plants, 7 coal-fired power plants, 5 hydro-electric plants, 15,000 miles of transmission lines and worldwide power plant development and construction.

Hintz joined Entergy in 1989 as executive vice president and chief operating officer of System Energy Resources, Inc. In 1992 he was named president and chief executive officer of Entergy Operations, Inc., responsible for Entergy Corporation's nuclear program. His other Entergy roles have included positions on the boards of directors of several other Entergy subsidiary companies.

Outside of Entergy, Hintz serves as a director of the Nuclear Energy Institute and of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, as well as on their executive committees, and was formerly on the Accrediting Board of the National Academy for Nuclear Training. He is also a director of the American Nuclear Society, Southeastern Electric Exchange, and Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited. He received the American Nuclear Society's 1995 Utility Leadership Award, given to recognize those professionals in the industry who have assumed and demonstrated a leadership role in rapidly changing times of competition, regulatory change, and cost effectiveness.

While in Jackson, Mississippi, he served as a director on the State Public Education Forum, Junior Achievement Board, Central Mississippi Growth Foundation and was active in the Habitat for Humanity. He served as Corporate Recruiting Chairman for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in New Orleans in 2000 raising over $400,000 for the Foundation, and is Honorary Chairman of the 2001 Walk to Cure Diabetes.

Hintz presently serves as a director on the Entergy Charitable Foundation Board. In 2000 this Foundation contributed $9 million to hundreds of non-profit organizations working in our communities. Although special emphasis is given to programs that address those that are the most vulnerable in our communities – the children and the poor, the funding program areas also include:

Hintz's 30-year utility career began with Wisconsin Public Service Corporation where he held numerous positions before being named senior vice president - power production, responsible for all generation for the company.

Hintz served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1971, in the nuclear submarine program. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, the Utility Executive Program at the University of Michigan, and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

He is married to Arlene Mary Hack who also graduated from D.C. Everest in 1961.