Industrial Park Hatchery Picnic

I’m sure at some point in your life, you have heard the phrase ‘things didn’t go QUITE as we had planned’. That phrase would be an understatement if we were referring to the Willmar hatchery picnic that we had last Wednesday, August 10th at Robbins Island in Willmar. By pure coincidence, the date that we chose to host the hatchery picnic was also the day that Mother Nature decided to dump nearly a foot of rain in Willmar. To say it was extremely convenient would be a very sarcastic statement. Roads were flooded, cars were stalled and and basements were flooding all over town.

Regardless, rain or shine, we decided to have the picnic and to make the best of it. Of course, with the rain, that meant that the plan would change. We weren’t able to play sand volleyball, football, soccer, or really do much of anything outside – however – we were able to canoe down the street and get a serious game of water polo going (just kidding!). Ultimately, employees still got together in the shelter and enjoyed some time together. There was even a 10 minute period where it stopped raining and a handful of employees were able to get half of a game of bean bag toss in. Therefore, the champions are still undetermined.

At the end of the day, the picnic happened and even though the employees were wet, I would call it a success.

– Kristi Degree

 

Swabbing the Deck

Last Thursday, the day after the crazy rain, NTE (along with many other parts of the MinnWest Campus) had some flooding issues in their buildings. You’ll notice in the corner Nova-Tech President Jim Sieben is not afraid to do the dirty work as he was mopping the floors along with everyone else. Servant leadership at its finest!

Questioning Safety

By Tessa Duncombe

What are your safety concerns?

Do you see things happening that are unsafe work practices? Have you noticed something structural that may fail or could be a hazard? Did someone forget to put the safety chain back up on the truck dock? Is an emergency exit blocked? Is there a trip hazard? Is the first aid kit out of bandages? Do you know where the emergency evacuation rally point is? Where is the designated tornado shelter at your location? Do you need to report a minor injury?

All of us need to be responsible for safety in the workplace. You might notice that someone forgot to hook the safety chain back up on the truck dock. How long would it take you to correct that? 20 seconds, a minute? Perhaps the chain is broken and no one was notified about it. It may not seem like a big deal, but it will be to the person who doesn’t notice it and falls. Tell your supervisor or lead. Having situational awareness doesn’t take a lot of extra time, but it may get something noticed that could potentially hurt someone. Don’t assume that someone else will do it. Don’t have the attitude that “it’s not my job” where safety is on the line. If you’re not sure about a policy or procedure, please ask.

Let’s all work together to stay safe.

August Years of Service

We want to congratulate the following individuals who are celebrating Years of Service anniversaries this month.

Name	Years	Company	Month	Day	Year	Position Description	State
Wichael, Craig	5	Ag Forte	8	1	2011	Serviceman	VA
Gold, Randy E.	15	Ag Forte	8	10	2001	Serviceman	MO
Beliveau, Marlin	30	Willmar Poultry Farms	8	11	1986	Outside Sales	MN
Baumgartner, Jennifer L.	10	Life-Science Innovations	8	14	2006	HRIS Administrator	MN
Reed, Jason A.	10	PALS	8	21	2006	General Manager	MN
Chermak, Renae D.	5	Life-Science Innovations	8	29	2011	Accounting Tech	MN
Lozano, Eric	5	Ag Forte	8	29	2011	Farm Manager Reike Lay	MN
Turner, Richard L.	10	Turkey Valley Farms	8	31	2006	CDL Driver Live/Direct Haul	MN
Ferrell, Heidi N.	5	Ag Forte	8	31	2011	Gender Technician	OH

 

Mirian Halleland (pictured below): Celebrates 5 Years with Ag Forte. Pictured with Supervisor Maria Rodes (Service Room PST Supervisor). Mirian’s Position: Poult Service Technician.

Samuel Alameda Fernandez (pictured below): Celebrates 10 Years with WPF. Pictured with Supervisor Brant Beckman (Farm Supervisor). Samuel’s Position: Fransen Farm Laborer.

Pals Golf Open

 

On August 1^st PALS employees Jason Reed (left) & Randy Young (right) along with Ralph Wilson (middle left) and Andy Schmoll (middle right) won the Central Minnesota Turkey Open. They carded a 6 under par in the best ball golf tournament held in Melrose, MN.

 

Pokemon

“Not only do you need to watch out for trucks when crossing the Logistics parking lot, you also need to be on the lookout for Pokemon.” – Diane Gleaves

Employee Announcements 

Congratulations

To Reuben and Hannah Lanctot on the birth of their daughter Evalyn Louise Lanctot. Born: August, 7th Weighted: 7 lbs. 20 inches long. Reuben is an IT Support Specialist for Nova-Tech Engineering.

Horsing Around

Angie Peters,  Administrative Assistant for FSE & WPF, has a pretty neat accomplishment to share regarding leadership and horses! Now, from Angie:

“I am pretty proud of my accomplishment.  I learned how to get respect from my horse and how to be a better leader for him.

This is what I did this past weekend. 14 hours of ground training and completing an obstacle course with my 1100 lb. horse.  30 obstacles including water crossings, jumps and bridges.  It was hard work but lots of fun.  Hearts & Hooves Horsemanship Clinic in Deer River, MN. The obstacle in the last image is called the Tear Jerker. The clinician said the record longest time to get a horse to do it was 4 hours.  Thankfully my horse Magic didn’t take nearly that long.  My next goal is to get all 4 feet on that pedestal. I should add that on Saturday my fitbit logged 14151 steps (6.18 miles) I did not wear it on Sunday though so it was probably double that for the weekend.”

-Angie Peters

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HR/Employee Services

2016 Biometric Screening Form

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

I am extremely excited to welcome (back) Jami Halliday to the LSI Recruiting Team!!!  🙂

Jami will be taking the lead role focused on the recruiting efforts within our Ag Sector affiliate companies in MN.  Some of you might remember her smiling face from her previous experience in Employee Services and Recruiting not so long ago!  Please help me extend a big Bienvenidos a Jami!  You can find her in the HR Department at LSI located on the MinnWest Technology Campus.

You can reach Jami at jami.halliday@life-scienceinnovations.com or give her a jingle at (320) 222-9810.

 

Keep the referrals coming!  Our website is updated on a weekly basis, so please encourage your referrals to apply online to a specific opening at http://life-scienceinnovations.com/employment/ 

You are welcome to message me personally at michelle.falling@life-scienceinnovations.com | or just give me a call at O: (320) 222-9790  M: (320) 441-8596 with any questions about the open positions posted or to discuss your personal career development.  (PS  A new class in the fall will be coming soon – stay tuned!!!)  Thanks for trusting me to help you through the recruiting process!

Have a great week!

– Michelle Falling, MN Affiliates Recruiting Specialist

Openings

Current status of all organizational openings.

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Welcome New Employees

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Turkey Recipes & Tips!

One Pot Turkey Taco Skillet 

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Employee Count

As of 08/18/16 we have 1740 employees