600 area 8th graders experience manufacturing careers

Winter/Spring 2015 • Hodag Pride • Page 3
600 area 8th graders experience manufacturing careers
By Terry Rutlin
Nicolet College
Careers in manufacturing took
center stage for about 600 Northwoods 8th graders when they attended the third annual Heavy Metal Tour this fall at Nicolet College.
Along with activities on campus,
students toured area manufacturing facilities and parents had their
own chance to attend open houses
at plants so they, too, could learn
about today’s manufacturing careers.
“The idea was to give students
and their parents a solid understanding of manufacturing and all
of the different types of jobs that are
available in the field,” said Kate Ferrel, Nicolet dean of students.
Over the course of the day students
toured several different manufacturing facilities that included ABX,
Daigle Brothers, Hometown Trolley,
Nimsgern Steel Corp., Northland
Stainless, Northstar Steel, Ponsse,
Oldenburg, and Superior Diesel.
At Nicolet students attended presentations by professionals from
Daigle Brothers and Northland
Stainless and toured the college’s
Manufacturing and Welding labs.
“It was a very active day where
students saw firsthand what working in a career in manufacturing
was like,” Ferrel added.
Open Houses for parents were
held at Ponsse Equipment, Northland Stainless, and Superior Diesel.
All events were created in partnership with the area manufacturers
listed above, the Grow North Regional Economic Development Corporation, and the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board.
Businesses that were financial
sponsors for the events included
ABX, Case, Daigle Brothers, Inc.,
Hometown Trolley, Nimsgern Steel
Corp., Northland Stainless, Northstar Steel Fabricating, Inc., Oldenburg Group Inc., Printpack, and Superior Diesel.
Sixteen area schools sent students
to the event. These included Arbor
Submitted photo
The Manufacturing Lab at Nicolet College was one of many stops during the Heavy Metal Tour.
Vitae-Woodruff, Christ Lutheran
Eagle River, Crandon, Elcho, James
Williams Middle School, Lac Du
Flambeau, Laona, Mercer, Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake
Tomahawk,
Nativity Catholic School, Northland
Pines Middle School, Northwoods
Community Secondary School,
Phelps, Three Lakes, Tomahawk,
and Wabeno.
Winter: Time to plan for the Oneida County Fair
By Lynn Feldman
Oneida County UW -Extension
Youth Development Agent
For more than 100 years there has been a strong
correlation between county fairs and youth.
Whether through seed contests, boys and girls
club entries, FFA (Future Farmers of America), or
4-H; youth have had the opportunity to develop
life skills through the Fair presentation and judging processes. Today, youth not only exhibit at the
Oneida County Fair, but assist with set up, take
down, and educating the public about 4-H programming. They demonstrate their skills in the
horse drill team as well as in dog agility training.
The many school exhibits over the past few years
at the fair demonstrates the understanding teachers have that Fair presentations impact youth selfesteem and enhance pride in community schools.
The Oneida County UW-Extension Office is
closely connected to the Fair. The Fair is considered an Extension project with a budget directly connected to Extension’s. The Youth Development Agent partners in the development
of the Junior Fair and Exhibit Court sections of
the County Fair. The County oversight committee for Extension reviews the fair’s direction and
expenditures. In 2009, the County Fair underwent a change in structure. From that time forward it has been a “free” fair for its attendees.
The county contributed $25,000 in 2009 with
the stipulation that over the years that yearly
amount be reduced. For the year 2015, it will
be contributing $14,372. All of the resources;
monetary contributions, ideas, and time; available to the Fair, have been used effectively. The
attendance at the past couple of fairs reached
approximately 20,000.
On November 18, the fair committee, made
up of volunteers, a paid coordinator, and a paid
treasurer and secretary engaged in a strategic
planning session with other members of the
public. Forty-two people met to determine how
to proceed over the next five years. With dwindling county funding, the Fair needs to become
self-sustainable. How to do that and what the
fair should look like were issues that needed to
be decided. From the Strategic Planning session
these things were set as visions: a fair that is
sustainable, infrastructure (electricity and buildings) in place, a fair that includes involvement
by all townships throughout the county, and a
sufficient volunteer base to make the event happen from year to year. The basic steps that were
generated to reach the vision were to: secure a
permanent fair home, build infrastructure, secure volunteers, reach out to the townships, and
secure major financial sponsors.
The county fair is a connecting event between
towns, organizations, businesses, schools, families, churches, and other networking associations. It is for adults, youth, and families. As
well, it is developed and run by those same entities. Winter is the time of year when planning
for next summer takes place. Similar to looking
through garden seed catalogs, it is a time when
plans are made with regard to what type of entertainment and vendors to have at the fair, what
judges to hire, and what community resources
are needed to make the Fair even better than
ever. Committees are created and a schedule
made in order to fit all the various pieces together to make the Oneida County Fair a reality.
It was decided in November that the first step
toward creating the dream of what the Oneida
County Fair should look like in five years is forming a volunteer structure that will save time, that
will be usable from year to year, and that will
ensure involvement from all areas of the county.
Assisting with that structure development will be
a team from this year’s Leadership Oneida County
class. In addition, the fair is inviting anyone with
an interest in the fair to attend their monthly meetings. They are normally held the first Tuesday of
the month, starting at 5:30 p.m. in the lower level
of the Rhinelander Oneida County Airport. Currently there are openings for fair treasurer, coordinator of the school exhibits, and board members.
Getting involved is a great way to connect on a
personal level with the largest yearly family-oriented event in Oneida County. For more information, contact either the UW-Extension office at
715-365-2750 or Nancy Gehrig at 715-362-5684.
Page 4 • Hodag Pride • Winter/Spring 2015
Pioneer Equipment Company: Providing
opportunities
By Dan Linsmeyer
Progress is often measured by advancements
in technology. With these advancements come
unique educational opportunities and challenges
as educators attempt to prepare students for their
future careers. Pioneer Equipment Company of
Rhinelander is poised to take advantage of exciting developments in technology emerging in the
forestry industry.
Founded in 2008, the company is made up of individuals with over 35 years of experience in logging. During this time, a great deal has drastically
changed in how things are done in the woods. As
a company, Pioneer Equipment hopes to not only
effectively adapt to these changes, but to also engage within the community to provide opportunities to the many potential careers available within
the forestry industry.
Whether it’s remembering when a horse and
dray were used to haul logs from the woods or
when the first Cat and jammer was introduced to
create a more efficient way of logging, there has
been great advancement in logging practices over
the years. As fuel, oil and electricity have replaced
hay and water, additional challenges and opportunities were created. Engineering, manufacturing,
computer programming, and financing all became
opportunities with this change in technology.
Though the first mechanized logging equipment
had a profound effect on the forestry industry,
change and advancement did not stop there. Today hydraulic, engine, and mechanical systems
are fully integrated with the use of state of the
art electronic control systems. Forestry equipment
operators literally have at their fingertips control
of advanced logging equipment all while operating from an extremely comfortable cab. From
cables and winches to hydraulics and electronics,
the forestry industry adapted to this advancement
of technology. Pioneer Equipment has grown by
overcoming these challenges through increased
experience and continuous adaptation. These
challenges also represent a very different array
of employment opportunities within the forestry
industry than existed in the not too distant past.
Pioneer Equipment Company provides opportunities through employment and community involvement. It is a Rhinelander Partners in Education member and supporter of community events,
including partnering with both the Rhinelander
School District and Nicolet Technical College.
Specifically, Pioneer Equipment has offered support to the curriculum at Nicolet College, attended
the Nicolet College Job Fair, and participated in
the Nicolet College High School Teacher Externship program.
A high school English teacher was chosen as the
externship candidate, and was given one week of
work experience. The teacher’s workweek began
by cleaning out the wash bay pit the first day and
then day by day another department would be
exposed for him to experience. Spending time in
the field with the field service technician, visiting
Pioneer Equipment, headquartered in Rhinelander, was founded in 2008.
a manufacturing facility, taking phone calls to expedite customer parts, understanding the administration and accounting process or working in the
workshop with other mechanics was a beneficial
experience for this teacher and everyone at Pioneer
Equipment Company. The end of the week came
with obvious success to this program. New friendships where formed and mutual respect for one
another as well as respect for one another’s profession. Working together with PIE, Nicolet College,
Rhinelander School District and our community,
has allowed Pioneer Equipment Company, the
community and educators to work together to offer opportunities to our students and community.
As a forestry equipment dealer, Pioneer Equipment offers logging and pipeline contractors with
state of the art equipment. Some of the equipment
is manufactured right here in Wisconsin, along
with international companies located throughout
the world, including Sweden, Canada, and Germany. Headquartered in Rhinelander, Pioneer
Equipment Company provides parts, service, and
sales support to Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and parts of the Western United States. There are various departments
within the company to support these products
with each department requiring certain skills sets
to be successful. Pioneer employs individuals
with a variety of skill sets including mechanical,
computer, financial, marketing, customer service
and managerial with more than one of these talents often residing within one individual.
Submitted photos
The importance of having qualified employees is matched by the need to continually seek
out qualified individuals if a company desires
continued growth. Pioneer Equipment Company
strives to create an atmosphere where everyone
is encouraged to take initiative, have a sense of
self-ownership and is recognized for good work
ethic and attitude. From having employees with
many years of previous experience and high skill
level to offering opportunities to candidates who
sometimes can only offer potential for a position, Pioneer Equipment Company has developed
a diverse group of employees with a wide range
of skill sets that allows for better preparation to
overcome many different challenges. The employees also value the importance of education by
being actively involved with school events, fundraisers and assisting further education through
on the job training of students and establishing
expectations for new employees. This combined
effort has allowed Pioneer Equipment Company
to have a great sense of community within the
company itself.
Pioneer Equipment Company represents only
one example of the many industries in which advancements in technology have created the need
for a workforce that is required to integrate very
specific skills while maintaining the ability to be
multifaceted. Only through active involvement
within the community, and specifically in regards
to education, can the companies of the future
hope to continue to grow.
The equipment used in the logging industry today continues to evolve. Electronics, hydraulics and mechanical systems are integrated with the
use of state of the art electronic control systems.
Page 6 • Hodag Pride • Winter/Spring 2015
Community Education Fall Wrap-Up and Winter/Spring Offerings
By Mike Cheslock
Community Education
Coordinator, School
District of Rhinelander
This past fall and early winter
produced another successful session of course offerings for the
School District of Rhinelander’s
Community Education Program.
Over 50 courses were offered serving over 1,000 people. Classes were
offered in all types of subjects from
yoga to pottery, from candy making
to dog obedience and everything in
between.
Forth Floral once again partnered
with Community Education to deliver four successful floral arrangement classes that included Saving
and Growing Herbs for the Winter
Months, Succulents are Hot, Decorative Winter Planter, and Tabletop
Christmas Tree. Another successful partnership was with David
Schmitz from Northland Insurance
Agency. David offered classes in
Baby Boomer Retirement and Social
Security Income.
Two new classes that were wellattended were Torrey Youngstrum’s
“Playing in Dirt” pottery class and
Lora-jean Jones’s Ballroom Dancing class. School District staff Ellie Rumney, Laura Tooke, and Heidi Catlin presented new classes in
Facebook, iDevices, and Shutterfly,
respectively. Rhinelander teacher
Betsey Perkins offered two sessions of Bake and Take Christmas
Cookies. Participants learned a lot
and had a good time in these new
courses.
Val Foley’s Wednesday night
Zumba classes continued to draw
a large crowd. Jennie Kotula introduced two new fitness classes at
CAVOC – Body Resistance Toning
and Rhythm Weights. Jane Banning
introduced the topic of Basic Floor
Yoga. Oneida County AIS Coordinator Michele Sadauskas shared her
passion for Night Photography, Lisa
Pietrzak shared her jewelry making
talents, Ed Stoever helped Bridge
players improve their game tactics,
Kathy Larsen shared her sewing
expertise, Linda Krebsbach helped
community members make delicious candies, and Carol Lofquist
continued to help dogs and their
owners with K9 Manners.
After a busy fall session, the winter-spring session picks up shortly
after the holidays. Some of the
Dogs and Dog Owners learn proper behavior techniques in Carol Lofquist’s K9 Manners class.
mainstay classes will return such
as Zumba with Val, K9 Manners,
and floral classes. Other offerings,
such as computer, financial, pottery
classes, and others, will be back by
popular demand. Some of the new
classes being offered include financial classes by Mike Boyd, CFP, from
Boyd Financial Services, a Bucktail
Tying Workshop presented by Brett
Chariton from Fishing Hotspots, a
Tunesmith Academy musical rock
band class offered by Jeff Santy,
and many others.
Look for the next round of course
offerings in early January. The
Community Education Program
Guide is published in the Star Journal/Buyer’s Guide. After the New
Year, it will also be available electronically on the community section
of the School District of Rhinelander
website - http://www.rhinelander.
k12.wi.us/community/communityeducation.cfm.
The Community Education Program keeps the school doors open
in the evenings and on the weekends. It provides an opportunity for
area citizens to utilize the school
buildings for something more than
just educating children. If you
would like to learn more about
lifelong learning or about the Community Education Program in general, please call 715-365-9745 or
email Coordinator Mike Cheslock at
[email protected].
The RHS library proved to be an ideal location for
the Basic Floor Yoga class.
Participants learn all about iDevices from RHS Library Media Specialist Laura Tooke.
Community members learn about Social Security and Retirement Income.
“Playing in Dirt” Pottery class was well attended this past program session.
Submitted photos
Page 8 • Hodag Pride • Winter/Spring 2015
Strengthening our Community through Collaborations
By Chris Cook
YMCA of the
Northwoods
The YMCA of the
Northwoods is celebrating 10 years in
our community. As a
nonprofit cause driven
organization, we are
committed to strengthening our community
through youth development, healthy living
and social responsibility. We know that a
strong community can
only be achieved when
we invest in our youth,
our health, and our
neighbors.
Building
strength together, individually, and as a community, is core to what
the Y is and what we
do. Like many tasks
the most effective way
to achieve your goals
and attain results is to
partner with organizations within the community that share the
same vision and passion, to expand reach
and impact. By working together, we create
communities with a
shared vision in which
everyone plays a part
in building a stronger
tomorrow. The Y has
collaborated and partnered with numerous
organizations to reach
above and beyond our
community barriers to
impact our three areas
of focus, youth development, healthy living,
and social responsibility.
Youth DevelopmentWe believe all kids
deserve the opportunity to discover who
they are and what they
can achieve. Through
Y programs, our area
youth are cultivating
values, skills and relationships that lead
to positive behaviors,
better health and educational achievement.
The Y has collaborated
with the LEAN Collation to create an initiative with our school
age youth to educate
them on the importance of healthy eating.
We teamed up with the
Oneida County Health
Department to host
the spring bike rodeo
and teach kids about
bicycle safety. The afterschool program has
partnered with the Salvation Army, bell ringing and caroling. The
Y has also collaborated with The Hodag
Sports Club teaching
kids shooting skills and
gun safety. We have
partnered with the
DNR for lessons about
our natural resources
and the recreation our
resources offer. The
Northwoods Children’s
Museum helps the Y
in offering activities
for entire families. Our
aquatics collaborations
include the United
Way/Splash program,
which allows school
age children the opportunity to learn to swim,
the Rhinelander Swim
Club, and the Oneida
County Drowning Prevention task force. The
United Way Girls Night
Out and Boys Night
Out programs are also
longtime staples of the
Y programming collaborations. These are
just a snapshot of the
numerous
collaborations the Y has within
our community to impact our children, who
are the future leaders of
our community.
Healthy
Living-We
are committed to helping people reach their
full potential by promoting healthier lifestyles. With an emphasis on balance and
diversity, we bring
families and individuals together, encourage
good health and foster
connections
through
fitness, sports, fun and
shared interest.
We
have collaborated with
the James Beck Cancer
Center, Ministry Health
Care, Marshfield Clinic,
Aspirus and the American Cancer Society,
with our LiveSTRONG
program, which assists cancer patients on
their road to recovery.
Rennes Health & Rehab Center, Milestone,
Oneida Department of
Aging, and the Aging
and Disability Resource
Center, have all impacted the results we have
within our active older
adult programs. Our
collaboration with the
Lean Collation involves
worksite wellness initiatives and the indoor
winter farmers market. The Local Lions
Club and Rhinelander
Chamber of Commerce,
partner with the Y for
the annual Fisheree
and Winter Festival,
offering a winter weekend with outdoor activities to get the whole
family together and
moving. The Y also
partners with Ministry
Rehab aiding in the recovery of their patients.
These collaborations
and partnerships allow
us to further our impact on healthy living
within our community.
Social ResponsibilityWe believe in giving
back and providing
support to our neighbors. The Y has consistently developed skills
and emotional well-being through education
and training, creating
local jobs, encouraging
volunteerism, pursuing
diversity and building
healthier
communities through collaborations. We have a vast
number of partnerships
and collaborators that
work with us to fulfill
volunteer opportuni-
Submitted photos
Local businesses and organizations take part in the annual Halloween trail, which is a community event
and food drive for the food pantry.
ties.
Furthermore,
businesses and organizations take part in
the annual Halloween
trail event which is not
only a free community
event but also is a local food drive for the
Food Pantry. The event
takes place along the
Kiwanis Stoney Pines
Trail, which is maintained by the Rhinelander Kiwanis Club.
The Halloween trail
which is mission program for the Y, reaches
over 1,400 members of
the community and is a
prime example of how
all of these collaborations and partnerships
can come together to
impact our community
to the greatest degree.
Through all of these
collaborations
and
partnerships it is easy
to see how we can
all work together to
strengthen our communities and make a
difference in the lives
of everyone, regardless of age, income or
background, because
we believe everyone
has the opportunity to
learn grow and thrive
at the Y with the help
and backing of all our
community partners.
The Y collaborates with numerous local organizations to impact children, who are the future leaders of the Rhinelander community.
Through Y programs youth are cultivating values, skills and
relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement.
The YMCA is hosting Rhinelander’s first ever winter Farmers’ Market
Saturday mornings.