Eau Claire County is announced that Facilities Director Matt Theisen has obtained his Certified Energy Manager certification.  This certification is a reflection of Theisen’s demonstration of a high level of competence and ethical fitness for energy management.

Adam Mohr has been named as an Ameriprise Financial Private Wealth Advisor. Mohr, with an office in Altoona, is among the 12 percent of approximately 10,000 Ameriprise financial advisors to achieve this status. In addition, the team (formerly Mohr, Kolinski, Noe & Associates) announces their name change to River Prairie Wealth Partners along with a practice merger with area advisor Buzz Minton who joined the team in November 2015. Minton is a 37-year industry veteran and had previously been with the firm LPL Financial operating as Minton Financial Services in Eau Claire.

Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity (CVH4H) will be opening a ReStore in Eau Claire this spring. The building material reuse store will offer donated new and used home building supplies at discounted rates to make home maintenance and repair more affordable for the community. A location has been announced for the ReStore in the former Variety Office Products building located at 145 North Clairemont Avenue. Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity is in the process of purchasing the building and plans to have the store open in May.  By establishing a ReStore, CVH4H will be able to generate additional sustainable revenue that will be used to provide housing for local lower income families.  Future projects will include building new homes and completing exterior home repairs for families that already own their houses. 

Dan Meyer has joined Zacho Sports Center as the marine division as an electronics expert/promotional angler and will provide Humminbird depth finder and Minnkota trolling motor customer support at promotional events and on the water demonstrations. Meyer remains an active electronics trainer and consultant, as well as content development specialist, for The Technological Angler, an Eau Claire-based marketing and promotional firm that teaches anglers to leverage modern technology to find and catch more fish.

Josh Gullicksrud also has joined Zacho Sports Center’s Powersports Division as a technician.  Gullicksrud is a graduate of CVTC Powersports Tech program and recently worked for six years at Signature Cycle in Eau Claire after owning his own motorcycle shop for five years building custom motorcycles. Dillon Sather has joined the Powersports Division as a sales representative. Sather recently worked in powersports sales for three years in Hudson. Zacho Sports Center operates a marine and powersports dealership in Chippewa Falls and is locally owned and operated by Damin Zacho and Mike Emberson.
​
HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine recently received the ‘Center of Distinction’ award from Healogics, the nation’s leading and largest wound care management company. The hospital achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for 12 consecutive months, including patient satisfaction higher than 92 percent and a wound healing rate of at least 91 percent in less than 31 median days. Out of 630 Centers eligible for the Center of Distinction award, 334 achieved this honor in 2017. St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine also recently earned the ‘Robert A. Warriner III Center of Excellence’ award, also from Healogics. The award is given to wound care centers that have met the highest level of quality standards for a minimum of two consecutive years. Only 169 wound care centers in the U.S. received this recognition.

Junior Achievement (JA) of Wisconsin, Inc. Northwest and Coulee Region Districts received $10,000 from the recently created and funded Market & Johnson (M&J) Employee Impact Fund. The employee fund’s goal, which was created in 2015, is to find an appropriate way to direct M&J employee donations to charities that make an impact in the communities in which they build. This generous donation will help JA continue to reach area youth with programs teaching them about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. These skills help area youth own their own economic success.  

​MEP Associates, LLC, a local engineering firm headquartered in Eau Claire, announced a new ownership structure that includes 10 additional co-owners, five of which will serve on the Board of Directors, and four on the MEP executive team. For the past 15 years Jeff Urlaub, PE has served as president and CEO and will continue to be a majority owner during the company's transition. MEP Associates, LLC is a multi-disciplinary engineering and consulting firm specializing in mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, 3D laser scanning, and commissioning services. MEP’s design approach is based on sustainable, energy efficient technologies such as geothermal, photovoltaic, and thermal storage systems. Over the past decade they have grown to 90+ employees with locations in Eau Claire, Madison, Eagan, MN; Rochester, MN; Norman, OK; and Iron Mountain MI. The firm’s portfolio includes campus utilities, commercial, industrial, healthcare, senior living, education, science and technology, local municipal and federal government facilities.

The law firm of Weld Riley, S.C. is pleased to announce Attorney Bryan T. Symes has joined the firm as a shareholder. Symes has more than a decade of experience representing business clients in the areas of employment law and litigation, labor relations and alternative dispute resolution. He also is a registered athlete agent and has experience advising professional baseball players. In 2009, Symes was recognized in Minnesota Lawyer as Up & Coming Attorney and named Rising Star by Wisconsin Super Lawyers in 2011 and 2013-2016. In 2001, Symes received his bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison where he majored in political science. In 2004, he earned his juris doctorate with honors from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

The law firm of Weld Riley, S.C. also announced that Attorney Ryan J. Moertel has joined the firm.  Prior to joining Weld Riley, S.C., Moertel practiced criminal defense in the Eau Claire area and is passionate about defending the rights of citizens in the Chippewa Valley. He is a member of the Eau Claire County Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) as well as the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL). Moertel completed his undergraduate degree at UW-Eau Claire where he also served as team captain of the UW-Eau Claire Football Team for two seasons. He continued his education at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison where he was part of the school’s prestigious Mock Trial Team and graduated with cum laude honors. While obtaining his law degree, Moertel also interned at the St. Croix County District Attorney’s Office and participated in the Judicial Internship Program at the Dane County Courthouse during his final semester.

The laboratory at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital has recently earned accreditation renewals from the College of American Pathologists and the American Association of Blood Banks. The voluntary inspections and subsequent accreditations follow an intensive onsite assessment of policies, procedures and practices of all aspects of laboratory testing and anatomic pathology, as well as an onsite assessment of lab equipment, staff qualifications, safety programs and overall management.

​Richard A. Helmers, M.D., has been named regional vice president, Mayo Clinic Health System northwest Wisconsin. Helmers will be the physician leader for Mayo Clinic’s community practice in northwest Wisconsin, a region that includes five hospitals and 12 clinics. He succeeds Randall Linton, M.D., who has served in the role of president and CEO for the past 15 years. Linton will retire this spring after 36 years of service with Mayo Clinic Health System. In his new role, Helmers will provide organizational leadership, direction and be responsible for the overall performance of northwest Wisconsin operations, including outcomes, safety, service and financial performance.
                  
Richard Yoon, M.D., recently joined the Occupational Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Yoon earned his bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and liberal studies at the University of Delaware in Newark and completed medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Yoon is completing his master’s degree in public health from Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, where he previously completed an internal medicine residency and a fellowship in occupational and environmental medicine. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic Health System, Yoon worked as the medical director of RWJ Barnabas Health Corporate Care in Toms River, New Jersey.

The law firm of Weld Riley, S.C. is pleased to announce Attorney Jerilyn Jacobs has joined the firm as a shareholder. Prior to joining Weld Riley, S.C., Jerilyn practiced in the Milwaukee area for almost two decades. She specializes in litigation on behalf of employers in employment and labor-related matters, including claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, non-competition, and violations of collective bargaining agreements. She defends employers before the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in Wisconsin state court, and in federal courts in multiple jurisdictions within the Seventh Circuit. She also defends plan administrators, insurers, and employers in ERISA federal court litigation. Jacobs received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 1992, where she majored in English and journalism and minored in political science.  She was a staff writer for The Daily Trojan. She earned her juris doctorate from Cornell Law School in 1998, where she served as note editor of the Journal of Law and Public Policy.
 
Mechanical Design will be making a comeback at Chippewa Valley Technical College in August 2017 at both the Eau Claire and River Falls campuses after approval for the program came from the Wisconsin Technical College System Board at its Jan. 24 meeting. The board also approved Mold Making Apprentice and Maintenance Mechanic/Millwright Apprentice. With components of CVTC’s Machine Tooling Technics and Manufacturing Engineering Technology programs, Mechanical Design focuses on the design of parts used in production in a mechanical setting. Students will learn computer-assisted design (CAD) and programs widely used in industry like SolidWorks. Available jobs include mechanical drafting and commercial or industrial designer.

Prevea Health is welcomed Dr. Matthew Tomcik to its family of care in the Chippewa Valley. As a family medicine physician, Tomcik provides routine care for children and adults of all ages and in all stages of life. He sees patients at the Prevea Chippewa Falls Health Center. Tomcik is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He graduated from medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine and completed residency at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Indiana.
 
Prevea Health also welcomed Kristin Rubenzer, APNP, FNP-BC, to provide family medicine care at the Prevea Menomonie Health Center. Rubenzer is board-certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is a certified medical examiner from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. She earned a master of science in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
 

​Nohre & Company, S.C. announced that Andrew “Drew” J. Schulner has become a partner in the firm. Schulner serves as the firm’s audit and assurance (A&A) director and provides tax and A&A compliance services to clients. Schulner consults with businesses and their owners in a variety of areas including valuation, merger and acquisition representation, profitability, internal succession, financial management and corporate governance.

Katelyn Voss, a nurse practitioner, recently joined the Behavioral Health Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Voss earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2009. She went on to receive her master’s degree in nursing in the family nurse practitioner program from Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, in 2013. Voss previously worked as a nurse practitioner at Mayo Clinic Health System’s Emergency Department. She has seven years of emergency medicine experience as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner. She also has 14 years of health care experience with the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

For the third year, Mayo Clinic Health System is pleased to offer its Hometown Health Grant program to help improve the health of communities in northwest Wisconsin. The grant application is open to nonprofit organizations in Barron, Buffalo, Dunn, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Pierce, St. Croix and Trempealeau counties. The Hometown Health Grant program supports innovative efforts that help to prevent and reduce obesity (with an emphasis on children), reduce and help manage chronic conditions, and impact mental health and well-being. Annually offered to recipients is a total of $25,000. Grant funding can be used to launch new projects or improve existing projects. For a complete list of application requirements, visit the Hometown Health Grant page at mayoclinichealthsystem.org.

Prevea Health, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UW SMPH) and the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), are pleased to announce a collaborative effort to keep the Eau Claire Family Medicine Residency Program (ECFMRP) in the Chippewa Valley. The ECFMRP, established by UW SMPH in 1975, is a three-year program that trains family medicine physicians at clinics in Eau Claire and Augusta. Its presence in the Chippewa Valley addresses the need for primary care physicians in rural communities throughout the region. Effective July 1, 2017, ECFMRP will be operated by Prevea Health and HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, in conjunction with UW SMPH (the long-time sponsor of the ECFMRP) and MCW. The four organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining a collaborative effort to transition the program from an academic program sponsored by UW SMPH to a community-based program sponsored by Prevea Health and HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital. As a result of the transition on July 1, 2017, the UW SMPH clinics in Augusta and Eau Claire will become Prevea health centers which will continue to host residents and provide family medicine services within each community. Eau Claire Family Medicine Residency Program residents will also continue to receive valuable training at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital.

Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) will begin a Library and Information Services associate degree program tarting in August 2017. The creation of the program at CVTC fills a void in higher education in Wisconsin, as there are currently no undergraduate programs in library science in the state. The program, delivered entirely online, will prepare people to work in public, academic, school, and corporate libraries for government, non-profits and private businesses. The program will provide opportunities for professional development for current library paraprofessionals, and prepare new people desiring a career in the library and information services field.

Stephanie Vobornik, an e-learning specialist and former business technology instructor for CVTC’s Business & Industry Services, was honored with the Paul and Karen Kohler Adjunct Instructor Excellence Award at the start of the Spring 2017 semester at CVTC.  Adjunct instructors are not full-time faculty members, but qualified instructors who teach classes in their fields on a part-time basis. In 2012, Vobornik earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Lakeland College and a master certificate in e-Learning and Online Teaching and a master’s degree in Career and Technical Education from UW-Stout. She has also worked as an adjunct instructor for Literacy Chippewa Valley and Lakeland College. The Kohler Awards, which come with a $1,500 stipend, were established through the CVTC Foundation by Paul and Karen Kohler. Karen taught as an adjunct instructor at CVTC for many years before becoming a full-time English and communications instructor. Paul is president and CEO of Charter Bank in Eau Claire.