Welcome to the new year! It sure has been a little while huh? We hope everyone had a great Christmas season, an enjoyable break and a happy new year. Lets jump right in to all the hot topics we have for this update; We definitely have some good stuff!

Here is a word from Ag Sector VP of Operations Kevin Lynch regarding the new safety slogan:

“We recently completed our contest for a new Safety Slogan for Ag Forte and the Ag Sector of LSI. We had some great participation with over 40 suggested slogans submitted. We are happy to announce the winner of the contest:  Congratulations Mr. Jake Wells with the winning slogan “Breed Safety, Hatch Success!”  The general feeling is that this phrase not only pushes a good safety message, but also captures the essence of our business. As a token of our appreciation Jake gets to take home a new flat screen TV with a high definition surround sound system. We congratulate Jake for the interest and effort he put in to come up with the winning entry. Jake is based out of Aurora, MO where he is currently serving in the role of Missouri Transportation Manager.

Other winners include:

2^nd Place:   Tracy Booth (Ag Forte East:  Harrisonburg Hatchery)

3^rd Place:  Beverly Romero (Ag Forte North:  Willmar Hatchery)

Honorable mention:

• Everett Turney:  Ag Forte Central
• Samantha Anderson:  Ag Forte North
• Jessica Shirley:  Ag Forte East
• Wilma Dickenson:  Ag Forte East

Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest.  We hope that this acts as a springboard to improve our safety awareness and leads us all into a stronger, better safety program moving forward.  May you all stay safe as we enter into a new year!”

Ugly Sweater Fun Run

Samantha Anderson and a group of Ag Sector Turkeys did an Ugly Sweater Fun Run in Mora, MN earlier in December.  All the proceeds went to the local food shelf.   Kevin Lynch, Katie Fransen, Britni Gravley, Wayne Ramsey, Craig and Peggy Frederick, Michelle Behl and Samantha Anderson all did a 5K. Wayne Ramsey won first place for the ugliest sweater with Kevin, Katie and Michelle also winning prizes for their sweaters!

Aurora Christmas Party

Pictures from the Ag Forte Aurora, MO Christmas party, looks like a lot of fun going on there!:

LSI Christmas Party

LSI’s Christmas party got kicked off with a meal from Heglund’s Catering. In the first picture below is some kind of blueberry tiramisu (Mmmmm). There was the usual white elephant gift exchange as well as a fun activity planned by Pam Schlagel. Each person had to put a plate on their head and sketch a Christmas scene on the plate as Pam described each detail – a stocking hanging from a fireplace, a Christmas tree with gifts underneath, etc. The rumor is that Renae Chermak has a perfectly-drawn Christmas scene hanging somewhere in her cube from the party. Here are the photos: 

PALS Sweater Contest

Lori Kloster held an “Ugly Christmas Sweater” contest over at PALS on December 23rd.

First place got a big box of chocolates, Blue Ribbon as well as a Trophy. This trophy will be proudly displayed in the winner’s office until he passes it on to his successor next Christmas.

Results:

Ben Watson – 1^st Place

Katie Hoeschen – 2^nd Place

Cindy Gregory – 3^rd Place

Participants – Randy Young, Ben Watson, Cindy Gregory, Sara Stueckrath, Katie Fransen, Britni Gravley, Lori Kloster, Penney Blankenship (not pictured)

Good Luck NTE Co-Op/Intern Students – Welcome 2016 Newbies!

Nova-Tech Engineering continues to offer real world experiences to aspiring students who are pursuing future careers in the engineering or manufacturing industry. They are paired up with an engineering team for several months and spend their time digging into real world projects and challenges that bring a lot of value to both sides! At the end of their time here, each student give a final presentation on their major projects, and shares great feedback with the Engineering Leadership Team on what they learned from the experience they didn’t expect, what they enjoyed about their time here as well as what they did not. They provide the team suggestions for improvement and talk about how their experience will affect their future career path decisions.

We want to thank and wish these 3 students the best of luck in their future careers and lives!  (Pictured left to right): Eric van Gulijk, Mechanical Engineering student at NDSU, Matt Biel, Drafting/Design graduate at Ridgewater, and Nick Peterson, Electrical Engineering student. All completed their experiences in December, but one of them, Matt Biel, was offered a full-time career opportunity here and started with us on January 4^th.  Congratulations Matt!

Please also welcome our 2 new students from NDSU who joined us also on January 4^th, Zachary Solheim and Matthew Ott.  Zach is an Electrical Engineering major and Matt is pursuing Mechanical Engineering.  We hope you enjoy your time and experiences with Nova-Tech Engineering!

Employee Announcements 

Congratulations

to Samantha and Manuel Contreras on the birth of their daughter Scarlett Ray Contreras. Scarlett was born on December, 17th 2015 at 7:25am at 6 lbs 9 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Scarlett was welcomed home by her big brother Manny. Samantha is an accountant at Life-Science Innovations.

to Mike and Mary Bregel on the birth of their daughter Nyla Lynnette Bregel. Nyla was born on December 4th, 2015 at 3:15pm at 4 lbs 15 oz and 18 inches long. She came two weeks early and had to stay in the NICU for 17 days due to low glucose, low platelet count and trouble breathing. Baby and mom are now home and doing excellent. Mike is a Communication and Marketing specialist here at LSI; and is feeling very odd writing about himself in the 3rd person 😉.

 

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HR/Employee Services

The Human Resources/Employee Services Team specializes in benefits and payroll, compliance and policy, employee relations, ag-recruiting, legal compliance, and company & employee overall well-being. We are located on the first floor of Life-Science Innovations on the MinnWest campus at 1800 Technology Drive. We look forward to working with you!

Please message us via email at employee.services@life-scienceinnovations.com or give us a call at

320.222.9515 or 888.320.9750 extension 2515

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Recruiting Corner

 

Happy New Year Everyone!  Michelle Falling, MN Affiliates Recruiting Specialist

Wow, another year has flown and I have enjoyed the new connections made through our new employees and working with all our great managers this year!  The best way to apply or inquire about opportunities is through the Employment Page on our website.  It’s updated at least once a week!

You are welcome to contact me with any questions you have regarding the new opportunities posted or if you want to talk through your career goals here at michelle.falling@life-scienceinnovations.com | or just give me a call at O: (320) 222-9790  M: (320) 441-8596.  Thanks for trusting me to help you through the process!

 

Openings

Current status of all organizational openings.

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Welcome New Employees

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Turkey Recipes & Tips!

Sorry! No recipe this week.

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Employee Count

As of 01/07/16 we have 1654 employees