 Winner of the 2007 Cornerstone AwardRuth won the 2007 "Cornerstone Award" at Stark Company Realtors. She was the ONE agent out of 222 other agents that best exemplifies outstanding attributes in a Realtor. The Cornerstone Award goes each year to a sales associate who, in the judgment of the management team, has helped to make Stark Company Realtors a better place to work by virtue of the support they have given to their co-workers, and their active living of the values, philosophies, and culture of the company. Productivity is not considered in granting the award. Rather, it is the day to day way the associate actively contributes to, and interacts with, his or her peers, or assists with furthering the aims of the company, in ways large or small. |
 Hiking at Devil's Lake State Park |
 About usWho Are They? Where Did They Come From? The first thing that you should know is that Ruth and Josh are related. In fact if you look close enough you might spot the resemblance. Ruth is Josh’s mom, or Josh is Ruth’s son, depending on how you look at it. Like many people in this crazy world we live in, sometimes marriages do not endure and that is why their last names are different. There is also another member of the family, Ruth’s other son (or Josh’s brother) Ben Wangerin. The three of them grew up together just outside of Madison in the nearby villages of Deerfield, McFarland and Oregon. Ruth has always had a love of her family as she raised her two boys, Josh and Ben. They have been found enjoying a number of wonderful Wisconsin activities, including: taking bike rides around Lake Monona, building sandcastles at Vilas beach, ice skating at Tenney Park, snowboarding at Tyrol Basin, and camping in Door County. Ruth also has a special fondness for artsy, craftsy things. She has enjoyed making three-dimensional cutout cards, hosting Partylite® candle parties, making handcrafted footstools, and collecting an assortment of Christmas ornaments. In fact she even used her natural artistic ability in the graphic arts industry prior to her real estate career. Her associate’s degree in commercial art has contributed to her artistic eye in developing attractive marketing materials. She has always had a great personality, excellent work ethic and a desire to help people do the right thing. The Stark Company REALTORS® manager “Buzz” Hetzer immediately recognized Ruth’s strengths and knew that she would make a great REALTOR®. After more than 5 years in the business she has done a great job for her clients, which is why today she receives so many referrals. Josh has always had a keen desire for life, learning, and adventure. He enjoys lots of outdoor activities including snowboarding, mountain biking, and rock-climbing. After graduating college in 2001 from Lawrence University he traveled to Europe, California, and then settled in the mountains of Colorado for a couple of years. After fulfilling his desire to be a mountain enthusiast, Josh realized that it was time to focus his energies into a solid long-term career. Ruth encouraged him to get into real estate because of his tremendous strengths in organization, persistence, and communication. Since returning back to the Madison area he has been involved in Madison MAGNET, which is a group devoted to young professionals in the Madison area. They provide professional development opportunities, civic involvement, public policy, and social and cultural opportunities. He also lives in McFarland and has been found helping his father to manage his business, a restaurant/bar called Parkside Pub. Real estate is a perfect fit for Josh because of his positive outgoing nature and his desire to truly help people experience the joys of homeownership. Both Ruth and Josh are both 100% committed to the real estate profession and helping buyers and sellers. Putting their formula for success to work for you will be one of the best real estate decisions that you can make. |
 Here's us at riding the trolley in San Fransisco.We had a fun time while taking real estate classes at the convention for the National Association of Realtors. |
 Fresh air in WyomingThis was on a church retreat in the bighorn mountains. No electricity or running water for a week. Yeah!!! |
 Josh Lavik |
 Snowboarding in Colorado |
 Working together |
