New Fox Cities Thrivent exec David Anderson ready to make mark [The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis.]

May 26--APPLETON -- Most Packers fan will say when Brett Favre retired from Green Bay, he left some big shoes to fill.

Aaron Rodgers answered the skeptics and in his second season as starting quarterback, led the team to the playoffs.

David Anderson doesn't look at his situation quite like Rodgers replacing Favre.

"I never thought about it that way," said Anderson, senior vice president, centralized services at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a fraternal insurance and financial services firm, which employs about 1,800 people at its Ballard Road operations center in Appleton.

"I hope I have the same level of success as Aaron has enjoyed so far," Anderson said. Anderson served as emcee for Thrivent's annual report to the community Tuesday.

On June 1, Anderson takes over the mantel of Thrivent's highest-ranking executive in Appleton from Jon Stellmacher, senior vice president and chief of staff and administration, who is retiring after more than three decades with the company. A majority of Thrivent's executive management team is among the 900 employees based in Minneapolis.

While Anderson by title soon will be the ranking Thrivent executive in Appleton, his daily responsibilities won't change. He oversees many operations including the call center and website development.

Anderson is responsible for about 675 employees, a majority of whom are in Appleton.

"I still have responsibilities I had previously," he said. "Frankly, I'm humbled that I will be the ranking executive here, because on some issues I may become the go to person."

Stellmacher for many years was the face of Thrivent who served on some high-profile boards of directors in the Fox Cities, including ThedaCare, the Appleton-based health care provider, and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.

He said retirement won't cut into his community service work.

"I plan in my retirement to continue to work to make help make this community the best it can be," Stellmacher said.

Brad Hewitt, president and chief executive officer for Thrivent, said over the years, many company employees and executives have given time to numerous organizations and also have served on boards of directors. He introduced several employees Tuesday who volunteered with an assortment of groups around the Fox Cities.

"Many of our employees provide their knowledge and service to the community," Hewitt said.

About 30,000 Thrivent members, employees, retirees and company foundation representatives gave more than $5.6 million and more than 250,000 hours of volunteer time to Fox Cities organizations in 2009.

Anderson also has done his share of community service. He is a member of the board of directors of Appleton Baseball Club, the group which oversees the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and serves on the local organizing committee for the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

"I feel some passion about some groups," he said. Anderson played baseball and football when he attended Concordia College in Minnesota.

Anderson said Thrivent's focus will remain the same. Its goal is to help its members and provide them the means to aid to those in need.

Overall nationally, Thrivent and its members provided about $270 million in outreach.

Members nationally participated in 92,645 chapter activities in 2009, including social and educational events, recording about 19.1 million volunteer hours.

The Thrivent Builds program, its partnership with Habitat for Humanity, helped construct 319 homes in 2009. During the past four years, Thrivent Builds has constructed more than 2,000 homes worldwide.

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