The institute, hosted annually by UW-Green Bay Outreach and Extension, is a customized training opportunity for more than 300 government officials. There are 45 such institutes around the world, and UW-Green Bay's is the only one working with both professionals in the field and undergraduate students seeking to have a career in municipal work, Van Remortel said.

With a progressive curriculum over a three-year period, institute participants can also earn college credits.

"Ours is one of the best in the U.S.," Van Remortel said of the program. "We've done a lot of creative programming here and some very different things."

Van Remortel's leadership has made the institute more meaningful for the people taking the classes, Appleton City Clerk Cindi Hesse said.

"She grabbed a hold of this program and said she really wanted it to mean something for the clerks," Hesse said. "She really has done that. It's a well-rounded program that allows you to do your job duties, as well as have interpersonal skills, management skills and leadership skills."

Van Remortel also runs a Master Academy, which is an advanced training for clerks and treasurers, and the Municipal Administrators Academy for city, village and town administrators.

UW-Green Bay founded the Municipal Clerks and Treasurers Institute in 1978. It is the first continuing education program for government officials in Wisconsin to win this International Institute of Municipal Clerks award.

Van Remortel will receive her award at the 2008 IIMC Annual Conference in Atlanta in mid May.

Van Remortel has been the UW-Green Bay program director for government affairs since August 2001. She previously was the Assistant Dean of Admissions at Graceland University, her alma mater, in Lamoni, Iowa.

If you would like to contact Van Remortel, call (920) 465-2468, or e-mail her at vanremok@uwgb.edu.