2022 ANNUAL MEETING VIDEOS | |
A recording of the 2022 Annual Meeting is available here or recordings of President and CEO Brent Ridge's 2022 Annual Meeting presentation and Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke's keynote speech are also available on the Breaker.
Brent shared business updates and highlighted our commitment to sustainability as we transition to a lower carbon portfolio. Miss America, renowned for her advocacy for sustainable and clean energy solutions, shared insights on how her Midwest upbringing influenced her career as Miss America advocating for clean energy.
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Thank you to those who participated both in-person and virtual in Dairyland’s 2023 Annual Meeting on June 7.
Your feedback is valuable. Please let us know how we did by completing a short evaluation survey by June 19.
| REGISTER: JPM GOLF OUTING | |
Dairyland's John P. Madgett Station’s Inaugural Charity Golf Outing benefiting Tri-Community Fire & Rescue will be held on Saturday, July 15, at The Grove Golf Course in Cochrane, Wis.
The event begins at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. See the announcement above for details and register as an individual golfer or a team!
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Dairyland's Help Desk team has relocated to the south end of the building on the second floor. You can find their offices next to the mailroom/receiving area in the former compliance office.
The Help Desk team will still be available during their move and regular office hours apply.
| President and CEO Brent Ridge is speaking at Vernon Electric Cooperative's Member Appreciation Picinic today. Chief Strategy Officer April Wehling is also attending. | |
Please find details and submit your electronic application for the following positions through Workday Career:
Foreperson, Fleet Mechanic
Internal only: June 14-23
Provide leadership to fleet mechanics. Schedule and coordinate fleet mechanics' work to maximize efficiencies and ensure work is performed safely.
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Photo: Maddie Roesler and Aiden Bolwerk
The Wisconsin State High School Clay Target League’s 2023 State Tournament was hosted at the Wisconsin Trapshooting Association (WTA) Homegrounds in Nekoosa, Wis., over the weekend.
Aiden Bolwerk, son of Dana Bolwerk (Communications & Member Services), and Maddie Roesler, daughter of Jodi Roesler (Human Resources), represented West Salem. Their team finished as runner-up in Class 2A.
Cole Wehling, son of April Wehling (Finance Div Mgmt), and Talen McCullick, son of Mike McCullick (Project Engineering), participated on the DeSoto-Viroqua team, placing 22nd overall.
Also participating were Aaron Lepak, son of Gerard Lepak (IT Infrastructure), who shot for the Aquinas Trap Team and Caleb Hemmersbach, son of Seth Hemmersbach (IT Bus Applications Services), who shot for the Bangor Team.
Congratulations to all state participants!
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Organizational Development's June “AMP’D Up Excellence” topic is “What is excellence?” To find more information on this topic, visit the AMP’D Up Excellence page.
Interested in learning more about Dairyland’s Organizational Development team, methodology or current initiatives? Visit their site on the Breaker or email questions to: OD@dairylandpower.com.
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MESSAGE FROM BRENT RIDGE: THANK YOU | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Cooperative Principles
I want to share my gratitude to every member of the Dairyland team. The contributions you make each day to further our mission shaped the message I shared at our 2023 Annual Meeting last Wednesday.
The meeting provided an opportunity for valuable engagement with our members. As a critical service provider, I know many on our team were focused on other aspects of our Mission while the meeting was underway. I also want to thank Abby Ocello for leading the Annual Meeting planning and the teammates who helped plan and executed our event.
Dairyland’s theme for 2023 is ALL IN. It represents everything we do as a team to achieve our Mission to power communities and improve quality of life for our members. Each of you plays an important role, every day.
Safety will always be my top priority and I am grateful for the focus on enterprise-wide safety and that we lowered our lost time injury rate by 23% from 2020 to 2022. We all need to remain focused on 200% accountability, to make sure we go home in the same or better condition as we came to work.
I am grateful for our team’s focus on reliability, including the System Operations Center modernization project and the JPM outage currently underway. Transmission reliability and top quartile availability at RockGen and Elk Mound would not happen without the dedication of our team to maintenance and performance management.
Dairyland’s Annual Meeting is an opportunity to share a snapshot of our successes, challenges and goals. Dairyland is ALL IN on the clean energy transition. This year, we also had a special guest, Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke, providing another opportunity for member education on the benefits of nuclear energy.
Projects such as the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line and Nemadji Trail Energy Center are critical to support renewable resources and support our strategic goals for asset diversification and reliability. Many on our team are also pursuing grant opportunities with a focus on grid modernization and resiliency, rural broadband, clean energy programs, cybersecurity and electric vehicle infrastructure.
Our solid financial performance and stable credit ratings reflect our team’s focus on diligent cost management and new approaches to achieving our goals. Growth through new power supply customers, pursuing business development and supporting members with economic development all contribute to our overall success and sustainability.
Thank you for your contributions every day and being ALL IN to support our mission!
| MAY PEOPLE POWERS AWARD WINNER | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: People First
Photo: Winner Grant Woychik (Electrical Maintenance) with Bob Ottaway (Electrical Maintenance), Marcus Adams (Electrical Maintenance) and Elizabeth Ressie (Human Resources).
Congratulations to Electrician B Grant Woychik for earning the May People Powers award! Grant was nominated by Elizabeth Ressie (Human Resources) for acting with a Safety First mindset.
Elizabeth noted Grant’s willingness to share feedback and push for better support, actions and results as well as an unwillingness to accept a low standard at the May Safety System Culturewide meeting. “Grant came armed with difficult feedback to share after a recent SIF event. While sharing the feedback with the team was not easy, Grant came into the meeting with intention to improve our safety culture at Dairyland,” said Elizabeth. “I am beyond grateful to Grant and the Electrical Maintenance team.”
Grant was also nominated by Marcus Adams (Electrical Maintenance) for the ‘Teamwork’ People Power.
Thank you, Grant for exemplifying our ‘Safety First’ People Power!
Congratulations People Powers nominees!
The following Dairylanders were also nominated for People Powers awards in the month of May, in the category noted. Thank you for your excellent contributions as part of the Dairyland team!
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Greg Jandt (System Operations Center) nominated by Eric Hammes in the category of Lead by Example
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Neil Canar (Resource and Energy Planning), nominated by Ron Franz in the category of Raise the Bar
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Chris Fruechte (Building Services), nominated by Maria Hellwig in the category of Raise the Bar
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Mike Russel (Mkt Bus Analysis Rate Design), nominated by Ryan Kenealy in the category of Lead by Example
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Jeremy Burns (Supply Chain), nominated by Beau Tibbitts in the category of Lead by Example
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Cody Gasser (Telecommunications Operations), nominated by Cyrus Mason in the category of Raise the Bar
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Christa Weisenberger (Human Resources), nominated by Amy Haakenson in the category of Raise the Bar
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.
| UPCOMING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Cooperative Purpose
Hintgen Garden Work Day:
Dairyland is a GROW La Crosse corporate sponsor of our partner school, Hintgen Elementary's garden. The GROW La Crosse sponsorship provides education and maintenance of the garden for students. This program is fully funded through community donations and grants.
As the corporate sponsor for Hintgen, Dairyland is committed to supporting the urban garden for five years through volunteerism and funds. Currently, the garden includes raised beds, Hmong garden demonstration area, shed and raspberry bushes.
A Community Work Day is planned at the Hintgen Garden on Tuesday, June 27, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Dairyland employees who would like to volunteer can sign up by emailing Ellie Meyer (Communications & Member Services).
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Great Rivers United Way Day of Caring 2023
The GRUW 2023 Day of Caring is scheduled for Thursday, July 13! Sign up here by June 30 to receive a limited-edition event t-shirt!
Volunteers are needed for various positions supporting 14 organizations. You can read more about this year's event and volunteer opportunities on the Breaker. For questions, please contact Abby Ocello (Communications & Member Services).
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Dairyland's Enterprise Resource Planning (EPR) project phase 1 went live on August 1, 2022. Since then, project teams have continued to refine workflows for existing functions of D365, add enhancements and prepare for new tools that will be deployed to replace TREM and other applications.
ERP Phase 2 Project Updates:
- ExFlow – this is for AP (accounts payable) automation; this project aims to improve current cycle times from invoice receipt to invoice payment. It will also provide a better end-user experience for those who review/approve invoices. As more information becomes available, there will be more updates on this specific project as it impacts a larger group of users.
- Vendor portal – this function was introduced last week and is live for three of Dairyland’s biggest vendors. More vendors and capabilities will be added in phases as this function expands.
- Warehouse mobile support – kicked off Monday, June 12, and is providing better support to the mobile functionality available to our warehouse personnel.
- Planning is underway for the deployment of the D365 expense management module later this year which will be the functional replacement for TREM.
"As our systems and processes continue to evolve, we remain committed to user experience and productivity. Thank you to everyone working directly, indirectly and those in support roles to make these projects successful," said Director, IT Application Services Tom Paulson.
To ask a question or leave feedback for the ERP team, please visit the ERP project site and utilize the "Ask a question about ERP" form.
| FOCUS GROUPS AIMED AT IMPROVING SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM | |
Dairyland will be seeking input from employees as part of the Safety Management System project which will identify software, tools and process to enhance reporting of safety incidents and good catches.
Safety is Dairyland’s #1 priority and a project team is focused on updating our digital approach to managing safety reporting, data, strategies and outcomes to position our cooperative for continuous improvement. This discovery project is designed to give Dairyland the best tools and processes currently available.
Some of you will be asked to provide input by participating in focus groups to help the project team identify employee and people leader requirements for the next generation of reporting tools at Dairyland. If you are not asked to participate in a focus group, the team welcomes your feedback via email.
Our most important job is safety and you and your teams know what it takes to achieve our goal of Everyone Home Safe, Every Day. Please contact Elizabeth Ressie, Jeff Sedlmayr, Ryan Kenealy or Denise Thompson with questions or feedback.
| YOU FIRST: WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWS | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: People First
Personal Investment & Retirement Consulting (PIRC) Social Security is an integral part of Americans’ retirement finances. While most employees pay into this benefit during their careers, not everyone understands how Social Security works.
Lunch and Learn: Social Security and Your Retirement Strategy
Join PIRC team planner Noreen Feddis as she leads the upcoming PIRC “lunch and learn” webinar, Things to Think About Before You Think About Retiring: Social Security and Your Retirement Strategy.
Noreen will delve into Social Security’s role in retirement finances, eligibility requirements and how to earn and qualify for benefits. In addition, she will highlight available options when considering when to claim Social Security to get a greater benefit. She will also discuss why meeting with a PIRC planner at various career stages can help employees plan today for a greater “later.”
Register to watch the webinar on Tuesday, June 20 at 1 pm. You can also download and view it later on the employee benefits website’s personal investment & retirement consulting page under, latest webinars.
Questions about Social Security? If you have questions regarding this topic that you’d like to see addressed in the webinar, email them in advance to employeebenefits@nreca.coop.
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TODAY! EAP Lunch and Learn on resilience, self-care and boundaries.
Jennifer Linse, consultant with Gundersen Health System (our EAP provider), will be at Dairyland’s La Crosse campus from noon to 1 p.m. The presentation will be held in the Board Room or you can attend virtually.
The training will include ways to know if you are effectively taking care of yourself, including how to boost your resilience, learning the effects of healthy and unhealthy boundaries, and an introduction to mindfulness. The tools will support your overall well-being and will also be effective in helping to manage stress and feelings of burnout.
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