All four Peregrine falcon eggs successfully hatched at Dairyland's Alma Site nesting box late last week. The four chicks are with their "parents"... a returning unnamed female from a 2015 hatch at Midwest Plaza in Minneapolis and an unbanded male. The falcon chicks are expected to fledge the nest in early July. You can follow the chicks' growth and progress towards fledging in real time through our Falcon Cam. | |
The Board of Directors of Riverland Energy Cooperative, a Dairyland member based in Arcadia, Wis., has announced that Tim Holtan is Riverland's new CEO.
Tim is responsible for leading and managing Riverland's employees and member accounts, as well as working with the Board to establish strategic direction and policies.
A native of Whitehall, Wis., Tim has been an employee of REC since 1988, serving as Lineworker, Line Superintendent and recently served as the Manager of Operations and Interim CEO. He fills a vacancy left after former General Manager Jerry Sorenson retired in December 2022.
Riverland Energy Cooperative serves more than 16,000 members in Buffalo, Trempealeau and La Crosse counties.
Congratulations, Tim! Dairyland looks forward to working together to best serve your membership.
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Sympathy is extended to the family and friends of retiree Carol Thompson, following her death.
Carol joined Dairyland in June 1997 and retired in July 2007 as Assistant Cook.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Gathering Place in Onalaska.
| PEOPLE'S: BEST PLACE TO WORK | |
For the second year in a row, People’s Energy Cooperative (Oronoco, Minn.), a Dairyland member, has been recognized by Workforce Development, Inc., as one of the Best Places to Work in Southeast Minnesota!
The data was measured on parameters including: turnover, rate of growth, promotion rates, employee evaluations and
feedback, percentage of employees injured, diversity of management, benefits offered, training expenditures, paid days off and increase in pay.
People's serves over 20,000 members in Olmsted, Dodge, Fillmore, Mower, Wabasha, and Winona Counties in Minnesota. Congratulations, People's!
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Senior Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) Jodi Roesler and HRBP Ah Vang are representing Dairyland at the Sparta Area School District Career, Job & Education Fair on Thursday, May 4, at the Sparta High School.
Ah and Jodi will share about opportunities and career paths available at Dairyland, our excellent Total Rewards and People First culture.
| JPM VISITS: CALL FIRST FOR SAFETY | Employees coming to the Alma Site during the John P. Madgett Station (JPM) planned maintenance outage need to provide advanced notice of dates/times they will be at JPM and work with a site contact during the outage. "This is to help ensure safety, as there are several ongoing work scopes that present unique hazards during the outage as well as many additional business partners working around the Alma Site," said Alma Site Manager Butch Miller. | |
Please find details and submit your electronic application for the following position through Workday Career:
(Internal Only: May 3-12)
Lineworker, Maintenance in Transmission Maintenance (Rice Lake, Wis). Journeyman preferred; will consider apprentice.
NOTE: Successful candidates must reside/relocate within a radius of 15 air miles of Rice Lake, Wis.
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MAY IS ELECTRICAL SAFETY MONTH | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Safety Culture
The Electrical Safety Foundation International's (ESFI) theme for the Electrical Safety Month 2023 campaign is Electrification: E-Mobility. The campaign explains how the rapid advancements made to emerging technology, most notably electric vehicles (EVs), requires further electrification and safe, efficient devices that can support the increased energy demand.
If you have an EV, you must charge it with safety as your first consideration. Please follow the rules on the infographic to ensure a safe and effective charge.
All employees are reminded to carefully return the Dairyland EV chargers to our stations after use, hanging the cord properly to avoid a trip hazard or damage.
| ANNOUNCED: POSITION CHANGES FOLLOWING ANNUAL REVIEW PROCESS | |
The following position changes have occurred as a result of Dairyland's annual performance management appraisal process in April. Congratulations to all for your support in making Dairyland a certified Great Place to Work!
Promotions:
Supriya Chathadi to Operations Engineer III
Caleb Hefti to Technical Project Manager II
Karen Horstman to Systems Analyst III
Pat Roff to Lead Scheduler
Rebecca Thompson to Business Systems Analyst III
Title changes:
Lee Alberson to Lead, JT&S Safety Program Manager
John Bestul to JT&S Safety Program Manager
Chris Burnis to JT&S Safety Program Manager
Seth Hemmersbach to Systems Analyst II
Nate Melby to Vice President & CIO
Jessica Mueller to Lead, Financial Analyst
Jenny Kuderer-Radcliffe to Economic Development Manager
Jeff Sedlmayr to Manager, Generation Safety
Kathy Sims to Safety Coordinator
Denise Thompson to Senior Project Manager
Donna Walker to Economic Development Manager
| 'YOU FIRST' WELLNESS PROGRAM LAUNCHES | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: People First
You First, an extension of Dairyland’s wellness program, officially launched this week! The program will feature a monthly wellness theme with a weekly focus in Short Circuits.
You First centers around three areas: physical wellness, mental wellness and financial wellness. This informational, relevant and fun series, led by Benefits & Compensation Specialist Christa Weisenberger, will put your wellness needs first and is part of what makes Dairyland a certified Great Place to Work.
Research shows that employees who are healthier tend to be more productive in the workplace because they’re more rested, energized and motivated to complete their work to the best of their abilities.
Check out the new 'You First' page located in the Total Rewards section of the Breaker.
Blood Drive is Wednesday, May 10, at La Crosse Service Center
To kick-off the You First program, the May theme is Healthy Blood Pressure for Healthy Hearts. The first event is a blood drive with the American Red Cross, to be held for employees on Wednesday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the La Crosse Service Center Conference Room 2-2. Please sign up to donate today at American Red Cross.
Blood Drive Incentive: Employees who donate blood may claim 200 WorkTango points and 50 points in Go365!
Each pint of blood that is donated may be helping as many as three patients. The American Red Cross is the largest single provider of blood in the U.S., providing blood to approximately 2,600 hospitals across the country. With approximately 36,000 units of red cells needed every day across the country, patients count on the generosity of volunteer donors to give them a chance at life. If you are at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in good health, you may be eligible to give blood.
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Go365 Monthly Challenge: 10,000 Steps a Day for 18 Days
Get your walking shoes ready! Sign up and participate in the Humana Go365 10,000 Steps a Day for 18 Days Challenge and be entered to win a Healthy Hearts gift basket (pictured).
The challenge is from Wednesday, May 10, to Sunday, May 28. To sign up, log-in to your Humana Go365 account and click on Challenges at the top of the page. From here, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “view all challenges” in the member-created bar. In the Search bar type “10000 Steps for 18 Days” and click join.
Steps Challenge Incentive: All active participants will be entered to win the gift basket and will receive 100 points in Go365 once the challenge is completed.
Give it time: Did you know it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic? You may be asking yourself, what does it takes to build a new habit? While there are plenty of hacks on the internet, experts advocate for the old-fashioned approach: incremental progress. To attempt to turn a routine into a habit, take the following steps:
1. Set your intentions
2. Prepare for roadblocks
3. Start with nudges
4. Make a schedule
5. Show yourself compassion
| ROPE ACTIVATED FOLLOWING STORM | |
Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association (Gladstone, Mich.) requested Restoration of Power in an Emergency (ROPE) program assistance on May 1 following outages sustained as a result of 60 m.p.h. winds and 12-18 inches of heavy, wet snow.
Thank you to crews from Oakdale, Adams-Columbia and Price cooperatives in the Dairyland system, who responded to help safely restore power to members.
About ROPE: The program exemplifies the Cooperative Principle, Cooperation Among Cooperatives. It is administered by Dairyland on behalf of our 24 member cooperatives. When storm damage to a cooperative's service territory occurs, the co-op has the option to call Dairyland and request ROPE assistance to help safely and efficiently restore power to their membership. Then, member cooperatives respond with crew and equipment for expert assistance during the time of need.
| SAFETY & SECURITY CHANGES AT LA CROSSE SERVICE CENTER | |
Badges are to be worn at all times. There is to be no propping or taping doors open.
To strengthen safety and security for Dairyland employees, contractors and visitors, changes will be made starting Monday, May 8, to control access into the La Crosse Service Center. All perimeter doors will be locked and must be entered using photo ID access badge. The following doors will be reprogrammed and locked 24/7: Warehouse (loading dock interior door); Garage North; Garage South; Garage East.
The following interior doors will be open during business hours 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You will need to use your badge to enter these doors outside of business hours: Hallway to Electrical Maintenance; Electrical Maintenance to Garage.
Strategies to enhance safety and security for employees across the La Crosse Campus have been evaluated and the following actions are scheduled to occur this fall:
1) Installation of multiple cameras around the perimeter of the Service Center campus
- Cameras will be monitored by the Security Operations Monitoring Center (SOMC) located within our Administration Building and by the armed guard
2) Replacement of existing badge readers on the La Crosse campus
- Addition of more card readers (including at the La Crosse Warehouse loading dock entrance)
- Dual height card readers and pin pads with intercom cameras at the La Crosse Service Center’s main gate. Monitored around the clock by the SOMC.
- Following completion, employees will need to use their badge to access through the Service Center gate. The SOMC will open the gate remotely for deliveries and emergencies.
These technical upgrades will strengthen site security, in tandem with the regular patrols conducted by the armed guard. More information will be shared with employees as the projects are finalized and launched.
| DAIRYLAND'S ANNUAL MEETING IS JUNE 7 | |
Dairyland's 2023 Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 7, at the La Crosse Center – North Hall (Upper Level – Riverview Ballroom). Dairyland's keynote speaker this year is Miss America (formerly Miss Wisconsin) Grace Stanke!
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. and will adjourn at approximately 12:30 p.m., followed by lunch. Registration, educational stations and a continental breakfast will take place from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.
Attendance options: All employees who can attend without disruption of operations are invited. Please check with your leader first on attending the event and then register by Friday, May 26, using this link. A livestream option will also be provided. The link to the livestream will be emailed and posted on the Breaker prior to the annual meeting.
Seeking Staff Volunteers: Volunteer shifts vary in schedule and begin as early as 7:30 a.m., ending no later than 3 p.m. Please complete this short survey by May 12 if you are interested in volunteering this year. Contact Abby Ocello (Communications & Member Services) with any questions.
It is recommended you talk with your leader before signing up to volunteer as we still need to be available for our members and co-workers during the event. Shifts will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis. All volunteers will receive a branded "staff shirt" to wear at the annual meeting.
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