Moraine Park Technical College’s 2018 Retirement and Service Recognition event on Wednesday, April 11, honored retirees and those who reached service anniversaries during the 2017-18 academic year.

“These individuals have been an essential part in the success of  Moraine Park. They have benefited our organization and the communities that we serve,” said Bonnie Baerwald, president of Moraine Park. “This year we had 97 combined years of service from our retirees and 337 combined years from our staff members that received service recognition awards.”

In all, 8 retirees and 21 staff members were recognized. Retirees included: Chuck Brendel of Sheboygan, associate dean of economic and workforce development; Kenneth Carnahan of Fond du Lac, anatomy and physiology instructor; Lori Erber of Beaver Dam, computer lab software application specialist; Michael Fatla of Plymouth, director of enterprise systems; Sandy Fisher of Fond du Lac, graphic production specialist; Margaret Spieth of West Bend, instructional designer; Fran Stoffel of West Bend, housekeeper; Christine Wagner of Chilton; student support specialist.

Staff members recognized for years of service included Bonnie Baerwald of Fond du Lac, 25 years; Marcia Arndt of Slinger, Lisa Pollard of Fond du Lac, and Edward Meltz of Kewaskum, 20 years.

Moraine Park also recognized 17 employees for service to the College at the 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year levels.

To learn more about Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

“Hi, I’m Sarah Ninmer, Marketing instructor here at Moraine Park Technical College. I live in New Holstein with my husband of 17 years. Together we have a 10-year-old son and 20-year-old stepdaughter. We enjoy traveling and like to go to Florida almost yearly. I have a love for donkeys and volunteer at Holyland Donkey Haven located a few miles east of Fond du Lac. I have adopted a donkey named Russell.

I earned my Associate’s in Graphic Communications in 2000 and went on to earn my Bachelor’s from Lakeland University in 2004. I started my career as a Graphic Designer, working on packaging. I grew my skill sets by going back to school and taking digital courses and was promoted to Digital Services Manager. I chose this field because it’s creative, competitive and never the same. You will always be learning new marketing tactics, software systems or strategies.

Prior to coming to Moraine Park, I had been considering teaching. It worked out that I had the exact amount of work experience necessary to be able to effectively teach students about the marketing world. I have now been at Moraine Park for about 1 1/2 years, and it has been rewarding. The students have been so much fun to interact with and the best experience has been to see my students grow their skill sets. Many of them have marketing internships or part-time jobs already. It’s exciting to hear them talk about implementing what they have learned in the classroom to the real world.

My advice to those considering a marketing career? Every organization is in need of a marketing department and marketing is a vital part of business success. There are a lot of opportunities for job placement and growth within an organization. Marketing and Social Media Management requires creativity and the ability to adapt to new technology and embrace change, which makes this career exciting and never dull.”

For more information on Moraine Park’s marketing programs, visit morainepark.edu.

The Moraine Park Technical College Economic and Workforce Development Department is pleased to welcome Mindie Boynton as a new Business Representative.  Her role as Business Representative is to consult with businesses and other organizations to identify skills gaps of their employees, develop a plan to close those gaps, and then execute the appropriate training.  Her goal is to help businesses become more competitive and profitable, and organizations to become more effective and efficient by helping their employees acquire new skills or improve their existing skills.

Mindie comes to MPTC from UW Oshkosh, where she was the Director of the Growth Management Academy and also an Outreach Program Manager for the past 6 years. She also served as a coach and mentor to students participating in the Sales Emphasis program through the UW Oshkosh College of Business. Prior to that, Mindie spent the past 10 years in private sector sales and marketing roles.

Mindie earned her Bachelor’s degree from UW Milwaukee. She is a Certified Program Planner (CPP) and is licensed in social & behavioral research.

She has served on many regional committees and boards to include the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance task force, Northeast Wisconsin IT alliance committee, Oshkosh Chamber marketing committee, Propel steering committee, and Women in Management, past president.

She enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and French bulldog. They enjoy spending time on the lake, live music, traveling and all things outdoors.

“I am excited to be a part of the EWD team that is developing talent and tackling important workforce challenges that impact our region and beyond. I am passionate about developing meaningful relationships, helping businesses achieve their goals by connecting them with resources to be successful.”

For more information, visit www.morainepark.edu/gateways/business-and-industry/.

Award winners left to right:
Tammy Pitts/Agnesian SSM, President Bonnie Baerwald, JoAnn Giese Kent, Barbara Brown, Melissa Schmidt, Michelle Duran, and Bonnie Bauer

The Moraine Park Association for Career and Technical Education (MPACTE) honored five individuals for their dedication and professional excellence at Moraine Park Technical College during its annual awards banquet Feb. 6.

This year’s banquet was held at the Golf Club at Camelot in Lomira.
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Gloria Madison HIT Instructor and Program Director

Faculty Spotlight – Gloria Madison

Tell us a little bit about yourself, include professional achievements:

Professionally, I am a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) with a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Administration and a master’s degree in Management Information Systems. I am also a certified health data analyst and a certified healthcare technology specialist with an emphasis in implementation management. I have been teaching for over 20 years at both the associate and baccalaureate degree level. I have over 30 years of health care experience in a variety of roles and settings, which include acute, long term, ambulatory and behavioral health care. I have experience assisting individuals and organizations achieve academic and organizational goals through coaching, project management and education. My occupational experience includes gathering, analyzing and defining business and functional requirements; designing/re-engineering processes, workflows and implementing technology solutions for healthcare systems. However, my true passion is teaching.

Personally, I am a proud Wisconsinite from Milwaukee. I love to read, cook and entertain friends and family.  In recent years I have attempted gardening. The results vary from year to year but I enjoy the process.
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Like many others at the onset of a new year, Pete Rettler looked in the mirror in late 1993 vowing to make a healthy change.

He was hoping to lose weight, and he and a friend ultimately made a bet: They both vowed to go for a run outdoors every single day of the 1994. No matter what.

And they did. Day after day. Rain. Sunshine. Snow. Anything. Everything.

Though both men completed this healthy New Year’s challenge, it turns out that stretch of 365 days was only the beginning for Pete.

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Moraine Park’s very own Elizabeth McLean, DC, was awarded Chiropractor of the Year by the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin (CSW) on October 21, 2017. She was recognized for her work with staff continuing education (CE) in the community education division of Moraine Park Technical College and for her volunteer work with the CSW where she is a Staff Education Consultant and teaches continuing education (CE) courses.

Dr. McLean is a full-time instructor in the Health and Wellness Program at Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC).  She also teaches courses for those pursuing Chiropractic Technician certification. Dr. McLean has taught at MPTC for 21 years and her dedication to the technical college mission, excellent instruction and role modeling for healthy living has been respected by staff and students.

“I advocate for technical college education throughout the state in my volunteer work with the CSW. Chiropractors require staff with a vast skill set. I enjoy blending my knowledge of wellness, chiropractic, and education for MPTC programs and for a trade group that advocates a drug-free approach to pain.”

If you would like to learn more about the Health and Wellness program or certification courses in Chiropractic Technician, please check them out by clicking on the program name.

MPACTE is an organization designed to bring together educational support professionals, faculty and administration. It is the local chapter of WACTE (WI Association of Career and Technical Educators), which unites individuals involved in career and technical education, provides professional development, encourages leadership in the professional arena and promotes innovative change to enhance lifelong learning.

Now more than ever ALL of us need each other’s help and support.
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