Wisconsin Society for Human Resource Management (WI SHRM)
- 2014 State Conference Host City Madison, WI
 
Hosting the 25th Annual WI SHRM State Conference in 2014 is Madison, WI. This will be the seventh time that Madison has been the host city. Annual WI SHRM State Conferences have been held there in 1988, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2011 and now again in 2014.
 
History & Facts
In May of 1829, territorial Judge and land speculator James Duane Doty, taken in by the natural beauty of the area, purchased 1200 acres of land from the federal government for $1.25 an acre. President Andrew Jackson created the territory of Wisconsin on April 20, 1836. Six months later, Wisconsin’s first governor, Henry Dodge, convened the first Legislature in Belmont to discuss the site of the territorial capital. Previously known only as the “Four Lakes Region,” the territorial capital grew into the state capital of Madison.

Doty had James Slaughter plat two cities in the area, Madison and "The City of Four Lakes," near present-day Middleton. Doty named the city Madison for James Madison, the 4th President of the U.S. who had died on June 28, 1836 and he named the streets for the 39 signers of the U.S. Constitution.
 
According to the United States Census Bureau, Madison has a total area of 84.7 square miles, of which, 68.7 square miles of it is land and 16.0 square miles of it is water.
 
The city is sometimes described as "The City of Four Lakes," comprising the four successive lakes of the Yahara River: Lake Mendota ("Fourth Lake"), Lake Monona ("Third Lake"), Lake Waubesa ("Second Lake") and Lake Kegonsa ("First Lake"). Lakes Waubesa and Kegonsa are not actually in Madison, but rather just south of it. There is a fifth smaller lake known as Lake Wingra, is within the city as well, but is not on the Yahara River chain. The Yahara flows into the Rock River, which in turn, flows into the Mississippi River. Downtown Madison is located on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona. The city's trademark of "Lake, City, Lake" reflects this geography.
 
Madison has acquired a number of nicknames and/or slogans over the years, such as: Mad City, Madtown, Berkeley of the Midwest, 78 square miles surrounded by reality, Athens of the Midwest, People's Republic of Madison, Four Lakes City, and Lake City.
 

State Capitol Building
The state capitol building which overlooks Madison today is not the original Wisconsin capitol, it is actually the fourth capitol building on that site.
  • The first capitol was a prefabricated wood-frame council house and was demolished due to poor construction.
  • The second was constructed in 1837 of stone cut from Maple Bluff and locally cut oak. It was destroyed when one of the wings collapsed.
  • The third was extensively damaged by a fire on the night of February 26, 1904 as a gas jet ignited a newly-varnished ceiling. The entire structure, except the north wing, burned to the ground. This happened just five weeks after the State Legislature voted to cancel the capitol's fire insurance policy.
  • The fourth, which is the current capitol building began construction in 1906 and was completed in 1917 at a cost of $7.25 million. The Capitol recently underwent a 14-year renovation and restoration project at a total cost of $145 million. The project was undertaken wing by wing mirroring the original construction of the Capitol. It is widely recognized as one of the most beautiful Capitol buildings across the country.
    • It is 284' 5" tall from the ground floor to the top of the statue on the dome
    • It is 3 feet shorter than the nation's capitol in Washington D.C.
    • The Capitol is constructed of 43 types of stone from six countries and eight states.
    • The exterior stone is Bethel White granite from Vermont
    • The exterior dome the largest granite dome in the world.
    • The rotunda is marble from Greece, Algeria, Italy, and France, along with Minnesota limestone, Norwegian syenite (Labradorite) and red granite from Waupaca, Wisconsin. Other Wisconsin granites are located throughout the public hallways on the ground, first, and second floors.
       
    • The "Wisconsin" statue on the dome was sculpted in 1920 by Daniel Chester French of New York.
      • Her left hand holds a globe with an eagle on it and her right arm is outstretched to symbolize the state motto, "Forward."
      • She wears a helmet with the state animal, the badger, on top.
      • She is made of hollow bronze covered with gold leaf.
      • She is 15 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs three tons.
      • She is commonly misidentified as "Lady Forward" or "Miss Forward", which is the name of another statue on the capitol grounds.

The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2001.