ARMS: Founder, Lyle Hill
ARMS was initiated in 1990 by Lyle Hill and Bob Heideman as a partnership between UW Madison and the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Madison. Lyle Hill was born on October 6, 1910 in Ashland, Wisconsin. He was an undergrad in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and a member of the Marching Band at UW. Lyle graduated with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1935. In 1946, he co-founded the company that was later named Vita Plus after mixing vitamins with animal feed on a farm in Fitchburg. He was the President and CEO of Vita Plus from 1948-1986. Lyle Hill was a recipient of the UW CALS Award of Distinction, and was also named the 1999 Philanthropist of the Year by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. Among Lyle’s contributions is his donation to the Lyle Hill Student Center in Agriculture Hall, which was dedicated to him in 1998. Lyle died last year on February 27, 2007 at the age of 96. Lyle left a generous endowment to continue to support the ARMS program through Kiwanis.