Kids From Wisconsin

The group was founded by Colonel Mark Azzolina, who auditioned 400 Wisconsin youth and chose 60 to perform for the first iteration of the group.^{[citation needed]} The group was authorized to perform in 1968 by Douglas G. Weiford, the Wisconsin Secretary of the Department of Local Affairs and Development at the time, to supplement Governor Warren P. Knowles "Youth Power Program".^[3] The group's first performance was in 1969 at the Wisconsin State Fair.^[4] In 1982, Kids From Wisconsin Ltd. became a non-profit corporation. The president is Timothy Riesterer.^[5]