Gordy's Market announced the addition of Joel Jacobson as vice president of sales. Jacobson brings more than 23 years of experience working with Gordy’s Market, holding roles as frozen and dairy clerk, store supervisor, store manager, beverage category manager, Valley Spirit’s category manager, bread category manager and senior director of non-perishables.

Six area residents are being honored for their work on behalf of children at the 2016 Children’s Legacy Luncheon on Thursday, April 21, 2016. The Honorees are being recognized for making important and lasting contributions to the well-being of children in the Chippewa Valley through their work, volunteerism, and/or philanthropy. The Children’s Legacy Luncheon also increases awareness of issues important to the health and welfare of children in the Chippewa Valley and raises money for the Children’s Legacy Fund at the Eau Claire Community Foundation, which supports grants to organizations that benefit children.  Each Honoree is invited to select a local nonprofit organization to receive a $500 grant from the Children’s Legacy Fund. The 2016 Honorees are: Julie Betchkal, Carol Craig, Sally Ellison, Mike Laska, Pa Thao and Sue Tietz of McDonough Manufacturing.

Nurse practitioner Lindsey Wayne recently joined the Cardiology Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Wayne earned her master’s degree in nursing from Graceland University in Independence, Missouri. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UW-Eau Claire. Previously, she served as a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in the Cardiovascular Surgery Intensive Care and Perianesthesia Care units. She began her nursing career in the Critical Care Unit and Medical/Surgical Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire.

SEEK Careers/Staffing, Inc., in a collaboration with Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), recently launched a new GED training benefit for its temporary employees and new applicants who do not currently have a high school diploma!  SEEK pays for classes, books and testing fees for qualified employees. The employees have the option of attending one of the MATC campuses or getting their GED online.

The Local Lounge has hired Joey Meicher as its executive chef. Meicher comes with a wide variety of experience both locally and internationally and will develop a menu that is a refined and modern twist on the classic Wisconsin Supper Club.

HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals. Approximately 15 percent of hospitals in the United States receive this award. This year marks the 14th consecutive year the hospital has earned this national recognition. The QRCR program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care. Hospitals earning the QRCR designation ensure patient safety by agreeing to adhere to a strict set of criteria governing their respiratory care services.
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HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine recently received the ‘2015 Midwest Center of the Year’ award from Healogics, Inc. The hospital was one of only seven wound care centers in the U.S. to receive the 2015 award. To qualify for the award, healing rates of at least 91 percent in less than 30 median days must be met, among other quality standards. In addition, patient satisfaction rates must be higher than 92 percent and outstanding teamwork must be displayed. The center with the highest of these benchmarks is chosen for this recognition. Healogics is a national provider of advanced wound care services. St. Joseph’s wound care center is a member of the Healogics network of more than 800 centers, with access to bench-marking data and experience of treating more than two million chronic wounds. 

Royal Credit Union (Royal) has named Jeff Labs organizational alignment and development manager at the Corporate Center. He is responsible for leading the Organizational Development team, driving collaboration across the organization through communication and service level agreements, managing team member engagement, internal communications and recognition program. He is also responsible for developing and maintaining career, individual, leadership, contingency and succession planning. Labs comes to Royal with more than 13 years of experience involving training and development. He most recently was the customer support training Supervisor with IDEXX Laboratories. His prior positions have included program manager for UW-Eau Claire and senior instructional designer for Hutchinson Technology.

Heartland Contractors Inc. promoted Justin Utpadel to director of operations for its commercial building division based out of Chippewa Falls. Utpadel will be responsible for its daily operations and staff oversight. He joined the Heartland team this past fall and has more than 16 years of construction experience in both the commercial and civil industries.

Marieke Gouda earned five awards at the World Championship Cheese Contest held recently in Madison. This year's event saw a record number of entries: 2,955 entries of cheese, butter and yogurt from 23 countries and 31 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Marieke Gouda swept the entire Flavored Gouda Class:

• 1st Place--Marieke Gouda Caraway:  Creamy and rich with flavor notes of caraway
• 2nd Place--Marieke Gouda Truffle:  Decadently rich made with black truffle and truffle oil
• 3rd Place--Marieke Gouda Burning Melange:  Creamy and herbaceous with a blend of stinging nettle, parsley, and garlic.

Other awards included a second place finish for Marieke Gouda Smoked in the Smoked Gouda Class and a third place finish for Marieke Gouda Belegen, an aged 4-6 month Gouda, in the Mild Gouda Class.

The UW-Eau Claire teacher education program announced that Lindsay Alger is a recipient of its 2016 Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education awards. Alger, a mathematics teacher at Northstar Middle School in Eau Claire, is UW-Eau Claire's 2016 Early Career Educator Award recipient. The award is presented to an outstanding educator within the first three years of his or her professional career. The award recognizes the recipient educator's positive impact on schools and communities, innovation in designing learning experiences, and advocacy for students. Alger is a 2013 UW-Eau Claire mathematics education graduate

Bob Roemer has been named the new president of Huntsinger Companies/Silver Spring Foods, Inc.  Roemer has been employed with Huntsinger Companies since 2012 and has served as CFO and most recently as Chief Operating Officer.  He will report to Nancy Bartusch, granddaughter of Ellis Huntsinger who founded the company in 1929, and to the Board of Directors. Prior to coming to Silver Spring Foods, Roemer completed more than 30 years in various accounting and finance roles, with extensive experience in the manufacturing industry.  Bob earned his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and an MBA in finance from UW-Madison.

Silver Spring Foods also announces the promotion of Eric Rygg to the position of VP of sales and marketing.  Rygg will oversee the Sales and Marketing Departments and nationwide broker network. Rygg is the great-grandson of Ellis Huntsinger. Rygg and his family relocated from Philadelphia to Eau Claire this past summer.

Dale Varsho and Andy Neborak have joined Bill Rowlett in ownership roles with the Eau Claire Express. Rowlett and Varsho have been a part of the Express since its inception in 2005, while Neborak has been with the organization since serving as an intern during the 2007-08 seasons. Rowlett will retain his role as managing director of the team, while Varsho will continue as the organization’s director of baseball operations and once again will serve as the team’s on-field manager. Neborak, who most recently was the organization’s general manager, assumes the role of chief financial officer.

Royal Credit Union (Royal) has named Sheila Kohls business process improvement manager at the Corporate Center. She is responsible for providing project management support, while working with team members to improve work processes and allow team members to better serve Royal’s members. She will work alongside the business process analysts to support the business units in reviewing their processes and determining solutions that meet the needs of the team members and members. Kohls comes to Royal from IDEXX, where she was the business process improvement manager. She brings more than 25 years of experience in information technology through various roles from network administrator to IT director.

Third-generation, family-owned Sterling Water Culligan of Central Minnesota announces its partnership with Willmar Water Inc. Owned and operated by the Fader family, Willmar Water, Inc. has been a well-respected community business for nearly 35 years. Sterling Water Culligan, owned by the Tangley family, entered into a partnership with Bob and Carol Fader on March 1. All eight of Willmar Water’s long-term, friendly and knowledgeable employees, including previous owner Bob Fader and his son, Lee, will continue to work at the company.

United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley will hold its annual Chippewa Valley Spirit Awards on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at The Florian Gardens in Eau Claire. The event recognizes the businesses and individuals whose generosity supports the education, financial stability and health of the community. Chippewa Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) will receive the Nonprofit Excellence Award for their work advancing healthy lifestyles and behaviors. Rachel Keniston, executive director of The Community Table until her recent retirement, will be presented with the Senn Award for her leadership and achievement in addressing issues of poverty and hunger. Drs. Jim and Deb Bieging will be honored with the Humanitarian Award for their volunteerism and dedication to the Open Door Clinic and serving the health issues of community members in need. The Spirit of the Chippewa Valley Award, the highest honor given by United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley to a business, will be presented to Huebsch Services for their long-standing support and dedication to the Greater Chippewa Valley and United Way. Other awards to be given include: the Day of Caring Award, presented to Zielie’s Tree Service for their generosity of time and expertise during United Way’s largest single volunteer event; the Keystone Award, presented to Jamie Kane of Scheels for her enthusiastic efforts as a United Way employee campaign coordinator; and the Outstanding Emerging Leader Award, presented to Nick White of Live In Eau Claire for his initiative, leadership and volunteerism as a member of the United Way Emerging Leaders society.
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The American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin has announced that Ayres Associates' Wisconsin Regional Orthophotography Consortium project has won a Best of State Award in the ACEC WI 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards program. Through the consortium, Ayres provided cost-effective, tailored orthoimagery, LiDAR, planimetric mapping, and other products to dozens of clients throughout the state, including aerial imagery for 43 counties and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) for 17 counties. The program obtained about 40,000 square miles of orthoimagery and 15,000 square miles of LiDAR in Wisconsin in 2014-2015.

For the second time in three years, the N. F. Leifer Memorial Journalism Award was presented to Eau Claire Energy Cooperative’s Mary Kay Brevig, manager – communications & public relations, by the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association recently in Madison. The Co-op’s monthly magazine was judged consistently as the best of the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative News editors for 2015. Brevig has served as editor for ECEC for the past 16 years and also received the award in 2013. The award’s namesake, “Lefty” Leifer, Vernon Electric Cooperative manager during the 1940s, was instrumental in the creation of the Wisconsin REA News as the nation’s first statewide rural electric publication. The magazine can be found on ECEC’s web site at www.ecec.com. Click on the MY CO-OP tab.

Andrew Ferrell of Strobel Insurance in Eau Claire recently became a member of a very select group of State Auto independent agents – its PaceSetter agents. In the coming months, State Auto sales personnel will work closely with PaceSetter agents, like Ferrell, in forming a true sales alliance and providing professional assistance and feedback as necessary.

Rhonda Brown, director of 3D Community Health: Body.Mind.Spirit (a program of HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals) and director of Chippewa Health Improvement Partnership, and Debbie Lauer, director of Home Health and Hospice at HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital, will be recognized by the Northwest Wisconsin Chapter of the American Red Cross on March 23 at the Northwest Wisconsin Heroes breakfast in Eau Claire. Lauer will receive this year’s Health Care Hero award and Brown will receive this year’s Hero of Lifetime award. They join a handful of other special community members to receive awards at the event. American Red Cross Heroes are ordinary people whose actions embody the values of the Red Cross, and demonstrate the potential that is in all of us. Whether they’re stepping up during a medical emergency to provide assistance, or helping others through a lifetime of volunteerism, heroes reflect what is best about our community.

​Sarah Crosbie, RN, and Amy Laehn, RN, both in the surgical services department at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, have recently earned their CNOR accreditation. CNOR certification is the documented validation of the professional achievement of identified standards of practice by an individual registered nurse providing care for patients before, during and after surgery. Nurses who attain this certification demonstrate their dedication to providing excellence in perioperative care.

Marshfield Clinic is partnering with Appriss, Inc., to include opiate prescription histories into its electronic Health Records (EHR), built and developed by MCIS, Inc., to improve patient safety and combat prescription drug abuse and diversion. MCIS is the first ambulatory vendor in Wisconsin to integrate the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) in its EHR. MCIS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Marshfield Clinic Health System, has been continuously developing its EHR for over 30 years.