Mark Tyler, left, and Jim Hauschild were named 2009 Wisconsin Small Business Persons of the Year Honorable Mention award winners by the Wisconsin SBA.
Craig Faust, President and CEO of HGI Company, LLC in Burlington has been named the Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year for 2009 by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
HGI Company is comprised of four operating divisions, Hi-Liter Graphics, LLC, Inland Graphics, Plus Digital Print and All American Graphics. The first of the four divisions, Hi-Liter Graphics, was a family owned and operated web printing and finishing business founded in 1952. They specialized in the production of books, catalogs and directories.
Faust is among 53 top small business persons-one from each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands, and Guam-who will be honored at SBA’s National Small Business Week events May 18-20, in Washington, D.C. As the winner of the Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year Award, Craig could be named National Small Business Person of the Year during the national event.
The 2009 Wisconsin Small Business Persons of the Year Honorable Mention award winners are S. Mark Tyler, President and Jim Hauschild, Vice President of OEM Fabricators in Woodville. Three hundred twenty team members of OEM Fabricators fabricate, machine, weld, finish and assemble products for over twenty industries. The “team” also assists in engineering, supply and management, developing test equipment and design and construction of research facilities for academic institutions.
Tyler, a data analyst/tool designer and Hauschild, a welder by trade, began employment together in 1977 working at American Hoist and Derrick in Minneapolis. Eventually, the pair found the opportunity to take the entrepreneurial leap and formed OEM Fabricators, Inc. in 1986. A major achievement of OEM was an expansion in 2007 to a second manufacturing facility in Neillsville. Over 200 employees had lost their jobs in Neillsville when a major employer closed its doors. OEM specifically chose this community as the site to access this pool of skilled talent and re-hired many of the displaced workers. OEM’s employment jumped from 192 in 2006 to 290 in 2007 following the expansion. This expansion project included funding from SBA along with several other funding sources and the rural community in Clark County was profoundly impacted.
The Wisconsin SBA celebration of our Small Business winners will be June 5 at SBA and SCORE’s Awards Presentation Breakfast at Country Springs Inn and Resort in Waukesha.
The Small Business Administration congratulates and thanks Faust of HGI Company and Tyler and Hauschild of OEM Fabricators for their continued commitment and contributions to Wisconsin’s small business communities.
Mike Findlay promoted to Major
Major Mike Findlay, formerly from Baldwin, was promoted March 1, 2009 to the rank of Major, US Army.
Major Findlay and his wife CPT Kathleen Findlay, MD, US Army are posted at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Mike works with the Ft. Sill PRA research sector, creating mathematical models for the Army. Katie presently is the Medical Officer in Charge for the Ft. Sill Medical Clinic, and is slated for a tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq this August 2009.
Mike graduated from St. Croix Central in 1995. Katie (Usiak) Findlay graduated from St. Croix Central in 1996. Mike and Katie reside with their two children in rural Cache, Oklahoma.
Mike’s parents are Ann and Bill Findlay of Baldwin. Katie’s parents are Bob and Helen Usiak of Hudson.
Bill Gilles died unexpectedly March 17
Shock, disbelief and sorrow spread through these communities after the news of the unexpected death of Baldwin-Woodville ag teacher Bill Gilles was related last Wednesday.
Gilles, 48, died Tuesday, March 17 at United Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Gilles had been the ag teacher and FFA advisor at B-W since the 1984-85 school year. Last fall he was seriously injured in a head-on traffic accident with a semi truck and had only returned to work in the past few weeks.
In addition to teaching and advisor as FFA, Gilles was involved in civic activities. He was a former member of the Pierce County Board of Supervisors and had been the Chairman of the Town of Martell.
Mr. Gilles is survived by his wife Amy and three children as well as other relatives and a host of friends, co-workers and present and former students. Visitation was held on Sunday, March 22. Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Plum City on Monday.
From the Exchanges
Interesting News Items from
Surrounding Communities
MONDOVI HERALD NEWS: A criminal charge has been filed against a Strum woman after police say she posted a profile of her former boyfriend on Craigslist under "Casual Encounters" without his knowledge or consent. Kari Heath, 20, was charged last week in Eau Claire County Court with causing harm through identity theft. According to police, the ad on Craigslist indicated the man wanted other men to call him at work and "talk dirty to him." According to the criminal complaint, the former boyfriend received a call at work from an unknown male saying he was calling in reference to the ad on Craigslist. When the former boyfriend said he didn't know what the caller was talking about, the caller hung up. The former boyfriend called Altoona police, and then went online and found the profile that included several photos of him. The former boyfriend didn't know who would have those photos besides Heath. He said Heath later sent him a text message in which she admitted to posting the ad on Craigslist. Heath told police that she placed the ad after getting into an argument with her former boyfriend on Feb. 2. If convicted, Heath could face up to three years in prison.
AMERY FREE PRESS: Opened only since June, the Wound Healing Center at Amery Regional Medical Center is already becoming a leader in care and has been awarded the New Center of the Year Award by National Healing Corporation (NHC), a leader in disease management accounting for more than 30 percent of the nation's managed and outsourced wound healing centers. The Wound Healing Center specializes in the treatment of chronic wounds and non-responsive conditions and offers hospital-based outpatient wound care as well as disease management and diabetes care. Likely candidates for treatment are those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven't healed within 30 days. One of the highly specialized treatments offered at the center is hyperbaric oxygen therapy which works by surrounding the patient with 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure to increase the amount of oxygen in the patient's blood and promote healing from the inside out.
THE SUN (Osceola): An 18-year-old Hudson man perhaps learned a valuable lesson last Saturday night: drinking alcohol and playing with knives shouldn't mix. According to police Benjamin Yuengst suffered a 3-centimeter deep stab wound to his buttocks while he and two friends had been drinking in a Village of Osceola residence. In a brief e-mail about the incident, Polk County Sheriff Tim Moore said that Nicholas Knoll, 19, of Hudson had jokingly poked Yuengst in the buttocks with a knife, but the "knife penetrated deeper than either male had anticipated" and they noticed blood on the floor, coming from Yuengst's leg. Thinking that bringing Yuengst to the Osceola Medical Center would be too suspicious and would likely raise questions about underage drinking, Yuengst, Knoll and Christopher Crawford, 18, also of Hudson, made a make-shift bandage out of a towel and duct tape, and then drove Yuengst to the hospital and dropped him off. "It does not appear that there is any criminal intent in this matter," wrote Moore. The three men were charged with underage consumption.
RIVER FALLS JOURNAL: Many details are still to be worked out, but local civic and church leaders say they're determined to open a River Falls shelter for the homeless at the start of next year. "I'm thankful for the response. It's been wonderful," said the Rev. Jerry Harris of St. Bridget Catholic Church. "We've run into a few bumps but will handle them If we're going to do this, we need to do it right. Our focus is simple: to have a clean, safe place to stay the night and to provide food." A core group of 35 people has been meeting to set up a traveling homeless shelter among the city's larger churches. "We're still doing the research, but another possibility we're toying with is finding some kind of house that could be used instead," Harris said. More than 20 mattresses were donated by the university to St. Bridget's to use for the shelter.
