Brenen Boarman is an Executive Assistant in Administrative Services. Brenen will be supporting EVP/COO Ben Porath and the Operations Division Leadership. Brenen was most recently employed at Performance Elite Gymnastics as a Coordinator. | Director, Safety and Human Resources Elizabeth Ressie will travel to Madison (Wis.) this week for the Wisconsin Leads: Executive Fellowship Program hosted by the Wisconsin Manufacturers Commerce Foundation. | |
Photo: Nate Balk (right) pictured with his team from the SANS Netwars Competition.
Congratulations to Nate Balk (IT Security) on earning the SANS Challenge Coin for SEC 560 Enterprise Penetration Testing while attending a cybersecurity class in Austin, Texas, last month.
In addition to the week-long class, participants engage in an after-class tournament spanning two nights. Nate and his team (chosen at random at the event) won first place in the SANS Netwars Competition.
Their win secured them an invitation to the 2024 Tournament of Champions, a testament to their skills and expertise in the cybersecurity domain.
Congratulations and good luck at nationals, Nate!
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Please find details and submit your electronic application for the following positions through Workday Career:
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL
Transmission Policy and Strategy Manager- Lead the development and implementation of Dairyland's transmission strategy and goals. Provide guidance and analysis regarding regulatory policies and economic issues impacting transmission business and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to promote effective transmission development, ensure competitive transmission service for members, and develop appropriate strategies consistent with business interests.
Executive Assistant – Office of the General Counsel - Provide executive-level assistance to the Executive Vice President & General Counsel and the Vice President of External Affairs in a wide array of administrative and staff support functions. Responsible for directing, planning and organizing functions necessary to support the Office of General Counsel division staff and other departments and divisions as directed by Manager, Administrative Services. Handle confidential issues daily.
| DAIRYLAND AT THE TRAIL DAYS PARADE | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Cooperative Principles
A Dairyland truck was part of the Annual Trail Days lineup in Chaseburg over the weekend.
The Chaseburg Snowtrailers Club organizes the parade, which has been a popular community event for 54 years. The club maintains more than 60 miles of trails throughout Chaseburg, Stoddard, Genoa and Romance. They also connect with trails within the
Coon Valley/Westby and Viroqua trail systems, along with La Crosse County.
Thank you to Travis Martin (Fleet Operations), Eric Losinski (Fleet Operations), Jay Hansen (Transmission Maintenance) and their families for representing Dairyland at the parade!
| EMAIL MGMT PROGRAM: LESSON SIX | |
Employees are assigned a short video each month in Workday Learning on a feature within Outlook for managing email messages.
Learn & Win! Lesson #6 teaches about default folder label policies within Outlook. Employees who complete this lesson by March 6 will be entered in a monthly drawing for a $25 gift card.
Congratulations to the lesson #5 winner, Tad Schwartzhoff!
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Sympathy is extended to Jim (Alma Fuels) and Cindy Huber (JPM Maintenance) and their family following the Jan. 12 death of Jim's mother, Marian Huber.
A funeral service will be held on Sat., Jan. 27, at 1 p.m., at St. John Lutheran Church (Alma, Wis.). A visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m.
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KUDOS: DECEMBER PEOPLE POWERS AWARD | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: People First
Photo: Winner Sage Williams (Transmission Services) with Elizabeth Ressie, Ron Krizan and Mike Weir.
Congratulations to Manager, Transmission Operations and Development Sage Williams for earning the December People Powers award! Sage was nominated by Ron Krizan (Operations Div. Mgmt.) for acting with a Teamwork mindset.
In his nomination, Ron highlighted Sage’s willingness to take on the additional stretch goal as a Project Manager for the LRTP 4 projects, which encompass a $207M investment for Dairyland. He also pointed out his collaboration with cross-functional work groups including both internal and external resources, and the public. “The most prominent example is the Public Information Meetings,” explained Ron. Sage serves as the point person with five different business partners in addition to Dairyland staff to pull off a very well-attended and highly productive series of meetings. “I feel that through Sage’s team building skills, he managed to get the right attendees at the meetings so that other members of his team could work with and optimize the line route through over 100 individual property owners,” said Ron.
Thank you, Sage, for your leadership and expertise while exemplifying our Teamwork People Power!
Congratulations People Powers nominees!
The following Dairylanders were also nominated for People Powers awards in the month of December, in the category noted. Thank you for your excellent contributions as part of the Dairyland team!
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Chris Schaffer nominated by Kevin Holcomb (Grow and Learn)
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Andy Beck nominated by Eric Hammes (Grow and Learn)
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Matt Kolasa nominated by Jason Colbenson (Grow and Learn)
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Brad Heitzman nominated by Jason Colbenson (Grow and Learn)
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Ben Berg nominated by Eric Hammes (Raise the Bar), Izzy Ostrander (Change Champion), AND Chad Hagen (Grow and Learn)
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Chad Krzoska nominated by Carl Dahl (Raise the Bar)
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Lisa Kujath nominated by Tommy Drea (Lead by Example)
Nominations for this month are open. Click the WorkTango button on the Breaker!
Did you know? People Powers award winners earn the following for their above and beyond work performance: Breakfast with President and CEO Brent Ridge, 5,000 WorkTango points, People Power Award Certificate, apparel item, recipient pin and special recognition at Dairyland’s Annual Meeting.
| DAIRYLAND NAMES VP, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS | |
Dairyland will welcome Jason Herbert as Vice President, External Affairs on Feb. 5, 2024. Jason comes to Dairyland with significant policy, regulatory and government affairs leadership experience in the energy industry. He is transitioning to Dairyland from his role as Senior Director, External Strategy at Energy Northwest (Richland, Wash.), where he previously served as Director, Government Affairs & Member Relations.
Prior to joining Energy Northwest, Herbert served as Legislative Director for Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04); Consultant, Energy & Environmental Policy for Bracewell, LLP; and leadership roles in the legislative arena.
As Vice President, External Affairs, Jason will have oversight of internal and external communications, government relations, member services, economic development and grants. He will also serve as part of Dairyland’s Executive Team.
“Jason’s comprehensive knowledge of public policy, utility operations, communications, strategic resource planning and nonprofit management will be an asset for our cooperative system,” said Dairyland Executive Vice President and General Counsel Joyce Peppin. “Dairyland welcomes Jason’s proven, positive leadership in external and government relations engagement as we progress with the energy transition.”
Jason has served on numerous regional and national utility and industry boards, including the CleanTech Alliance, Washington Public Utility Districts Association, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance advisory council and the Washington Clean Energy Summit.
Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in history and economics from Trinity University (San Antonio, Tex.). He has served on the board of directors for the Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia and is a current board member and previous chair of the Tri-Cities Legislative Council. Jason is also the cofounder of Clean Future Northwest, a nonprofit focused on clean energy advocacy and education.
Jason will be joined in La Crosse by his wife and their two young daughters, as well as their aging cat. Outside of work, Jason enjoys reading, running, golfing and skiing.
| NTEC NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Asset Reliability & Diversification
Community engagement is essential for sharing information about critical infrastructure projects and hearing the concerns and ideas of stakeholders and the public.
Dairyland welcomed engagement at two Nemadji Trail Energy Center neighborhood open house meetings yesterday in Superior, Wis. Dairyland, Minnesota Power and Basin Electric Power Cooperative hosted the meetings to connect with the local community on the NTEC, providing updates and answering questions. Open house materials are posted on the NTEC website.
Why do we need NTEC?
The state-of-the-art natural gas plant in Superior will ensure the delivery of safe, reliable and cost-competitive energy. The Nemadji Trail Energy Center is a connection to a clean energy future, providing the electricity this region needs while enabling the integration of renewable energy resources. Click here for a link to facility FAQs.
| NEXT WEEK: POWER DELIVERY OPEN HOUSES | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Asset Reliability & Diversification
As part of the MISO Long-Range Transmission Project #4 (LRTP 4), Dairyland is leading the Alma-Blair Transmission Project to strengthen regional grid reliability and support growing renewable energy resources.
Dairyland is hosting two public open houses for the Alma-Blair Transmission Project next week. The meetings will be on Jan. 30 in Alma and Jan. 31 in Arcadia. Please see the graphic for details and click here for the online open house.
In 2022, MISO identified a long-range transmission project that upgrades approximately 150 miles of transmission lines between southern Minnesota and Blair, Wis., to strengthen the regional electric grid. For this project, Dairyland is proposing to construct a new 345 kV transmission line following an existing transmission line corridor between the Alma Substation near the Mississippi River, and the Tremval Substation near Blair, Wis.
Manager, Transmission Operations and Development Sage Williams serves as project manager for the Alma-Blair project and the Wabasha Relocation Project.
| YOU FIRST: WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWS | |
January Focus: Physical Activity
Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.
Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity gain some health benefits. Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity.
Everyone can experience the health benefits of physical activity – age, abilities, ethnicity, shape, or size do not matter. Some benefits of physical activity on brain health happen right after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition for children 6 to 13 years of age and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety, and help you sleep better.
-Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Increase your Fitness Center Reimbursement from $200 to $400 in 2024!
Submit a picture of yourself, or you and your family/pets staying physically active (indoors or outdoors) to totalrewards@dairylandpower.com by Jan. 31 . One winner will have their fitness reimbursement increased to $400 in 2024!
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