Every business is already telling a story.
The question, according to 2026 Forward Janesville Annual Dinner featured speaker Zach Atherton, is whether it's the story you actually want people to hear.
Atherton joined Forward Janesville President & CEO Shar Hermanson and Director of Events Megan Matuszeski this week on WCLO's Your Talk Show for a preview of the conversation he'll bring to Janesville on Oct. 22.
“Some people consider themselves storytellers. Some people don't,” Atherton told host Tim Bremel. “The reality is we are all storytellers.”
At Forward Janesville's Annual Dinner, Atherton plans to help attendees think about how the stories they tell can advance their businesses, organizations, missions and goals — and why those stories influence everything from how customers perceive a business to how we think about ourselves.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON WCLO HERE
You Don't Have to Brag to Tell Your Story
During the interview, Bremel raised a challenge that might sound familiar to plenty of Wisconsin businesses: We're accustomed to being humble. Talking about ourselves doesn't always come naturally.
Atherton argued that effective storytelling doesn't require abandoning that humility.
Instead, businesses can be clear about their values, mission and the difference they make. As he explained, staying true to those things — and communicating them consistently — can help close the gap between the story an organization tells about itself and the way others perceive it.
And Atherton has seen firsthand what can happen when businesses rethink the stories they're telling.
During the interview, he shared examples from his career, including his work on the memorable Squatty Potty campaign. Atherton said that campaign helped the company expand the story it was telling about its product and generated more than $100 million in sales in a year.
But his message isn't only for companies with national audiences or massive marketing budgets.
Atherton specifically challenged small-business owners to think beyond the basic description of what they sell and consider the larger difference they make for their customers.
Whether you run a laundromat, service business, law firm or something entirely different, Atherton said, there's a story behind the work — and an opportunity to communicate it in a way that's exciting, helpful and authentic.
LISTEN TO THE FULL WCLO INTERVIEW
A Different Kind of Annual Dinner
That message is central to what we're building for this year's Forward Janesville Annual Dinner.
REGISTER FOR ANNUAL DINNER HERE
As Matuszeski explained during the interview, this year's program takes a slightly different approach. We'll celebrate the businesses and people who have helped shape Janesville, recognize how our community continues to develop and then bring Atherton into the conversation to help attendees think about the stories they're telling themselves.
It's all part of this year's theme:
A Story Worth Telling. A Future Worth Building.
And the learning won't come only from the stage.
Annual Dinner brings hundreds of business and community leaders together in one room. As Matuszeski noted during the interview, the conversations attendees have with one another can be just as valuable: everyone in that room brings a different story, perspective or connection — and an opportunity to learn from each other.
There's Still Time to Be in the Room
The 2026 Forward Janesville Annual Dinner is Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Woodman's Sports & Convention Center.
Last year's event drew more than 730 attendees, and this year's event has room to grow even larger. You also don't have to be a Forward Janesville member to attend — both member and non-member registration are available.
But time to claim your seat is running out.
Registration closes Thursday, Oct. 8.
Come hear Atherton's message. Connect with hundreds of people from across Rock County's business community. Celebrate the stories that helped build Janesville — and leave better equipped to tell your own.
REGISTER FOR ANNUAL DINNER