Operation Fresh Start (OFS) celebrated a significant milestone with the completion of another house in Sun Prairie that goes far beyond the physical construction of a house. 

On Thursday, October 17, OFS held an open house to celebrate the completion of 1104 Kamperschroer Way in Sun Prairie, built by OFS Legacy Construction Crew participants ages 16-24.

Under their supervisors’ guidance, young adults completed every step of the three-bedroom, one-bath, 1,260-square-foot affordable home besides plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. As YouthBuild members through AmeriCorps, participants earn service hours while working toward their high school diploma at OFS. Upon graduation, they receive an AmeriCorps education award for further education in exchange for their service hours. 

Executive Director Brian McMahon was featured in the Executive Profile spotlight in the October 2024 edition of In Business Madison Magazine!

The article introduces Brian and his career path at OFS over the past 25 years. It highlights Operation Fresh Start’s achievements and emphasizes OFS’s mission to empower young adults through hands-on education, mentoring, and employment training.

Brian’s leadership, dedication, and passion for empowering young people at OFS is genuinely inspiring. We are so lucky to have him guiding our mission and helping shape the future for so many in our community!

OFS had a great time participating in the Prairie Seed Challenge, finishing in second place!

The Prairie Seed Challenge is an event hosted by Dane County Parks, in which various agencies compete against each other to collect the most prairie seeds. This year's competitors included OFS, Dane County Parks, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program (including Ducks Unlimited and Groundswell Conservancy).

The event is both an incredible opportunity to collect a ton of prairie seed to help propagate a severely threatened native habitat (less than 0.1% of native prairies remain in the state of Wisconsin) and a celebration of the many interagency partnerships that do incredible work on Wisconsin’s Natural Areas.



Thanks to all for supporting this incredible work!

Congratulations to Marcus for earning his pre-apprenticeship in conservation and urban forestry along with his OFS Conservation Academy certificate of completion!

In addition, he earned his Chainsaw Certification (SAWW Level 1), Pesticide Applicator Certification (6.0 Right-of-Way), Wildland Fire Certifications (IS 700, IS 100, S130, S190, L180), and he earned his Public Land Corps Certification, which gives him non-compete status for certain federal agencies. 

“Marcus was never satisfied with just doing the work—he always wanted to know the deeper ‘why’ behind it,” his supervisor Jake said. "He took it upon himself to help others who may not have his level of experience complete tasks safely and efficiently." 

Marcus’ dedication and growth led to an extraordinary opportunity. In a joint effort between Dane County Parks and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, a new Land Restoration Specialist position was created based on the organizations’ needs. Marcus applied and proved to have the ideal skillset they were seeking, recognizing that Conservation Academy completion is competitive with a four-year conservation degree. 

Shane Otto, a botanist/naturalist with Dane County Parks, shared, “Marcus is an amazing human being, and we’re excited to welcome him to the Dane County Parks family. He’ll continue to show his talents to collaborators and conservationists across the state.”