Epitopix Company Meeting, Congratulations Daryll!

The October Epitopix Company meeting was a celebration of 25 years of service for Daryll Emery, the Chief Science Officer. Dr. Emery is a graduate of the University of Minnesota who was hired by Ted Huisinga based on the recommendation of a mutual friend. Dr. Emery’s research led to a Salmonella vaccine that solved turkey disease problems for the Willmar Poultry Company. Dr. Emery is an inventor on hundreds of patents that protect this unique SRP vaccine technology.

The company Epitopix was formed to develop and manufacture SRP vaccines to prevent bacterial diseases in a wide range of food producing animals. The Epitopix custom vaccine business grew by 27% during fiscal year 2016 with more than 60 million doses of vaccine sold to turkey, chicken, swine and cattle producers. Other notable accomplishments include; three new vaccines expected to be approved by USDA next year, significant enhancements in manufacturing efficiency, and sustained improvements in product and customer service quality. Please join me in congratulating Daryll Emery on this milestone and the whole Epitopix team on their accomplishments!

– Terri Wasmoen, General Manager

Seasonal Driving

By Tessa Duncombe

Those big yellow buses…

School buses carry our future. Our sweet, lovable, funny, loud, goofy, whiney, kind, adorable, messy, smart, silly, frustrating and irreplaceable children. As drivers we must remember laws pertaining to school buses. We must be aware of the buses. We must be aware when the yellow lights are flashing signaling us to prepare to stop. We must stop when the red lights are flashing and stop arm is extended which signals that children are entering or exiting the bus. We must stop at least 20 feet from a bus with the red lights flashing and/or stop arm out when approaching from the rear or opposite direction on an undivided road. Drivers do not have to stop on a separated roadway when they are on the opposite side of the median, though they should remain aware of where children are. Do not attempt to pass a bus with the stop arm out and red lights flashing, wait until the bus has continued on and be certain children are not in the roadway.

Locally, on Friday October 14^th, a northbound school bus was stopped with red lights flashing and the stop arm extended on a rural state highway to let children off. The bus driver prevented the children from exiting until a car driving south came to a complete stop. A cargo van driving north then rear-ended the bus at highway speed, killing the driver of the van instantly. Several children were treated for minor injuries, thankfully none were seriously injured or killed. Please pay attention to our future by watching for those red flashing lights.

Unscheduled Venison

According to the State Farm Insurance website, Minnesota ranks 7^th for vehicle collisions with deer, which means 1 in 80 drivers will experience hitting, or being hit by, a deer. Virginia ranks 13^th, Missouri 17^th and Ohio is 19^th. The least chance of hitting a deer while in a motor vehicle is in Hawaii, with the odds being 1 in 18,955.

October, November and December have the highest number of deer/car collisions due to changing food patterns, hunting and their mating season. During the rut, larger bucks will chase the smaller ones away, sometimes into oncoming traffic, sadly, I’m speaking from experience here. The average repair claim is between $3500 and $4000.

Here are some things to keep in mind in relation to avoiding a deer collision:

• They primarily move at dawn and dusk, but anytime is a possibility
• Use high beams when possible
• Scan road ditches ahead of you as driving
• Expect that you could see them anywhere, not just in deer crossing areas, though the likelihood is higher in those areas

When one (or more) jump out in front of you:

• Break if possible, break hard if no one is behind you and road conditions allow it
• Do not swerve, stay in your lane
• Remember if you see one, there is a good chance there is one or more behind it

One last thing to remember:

• Winter is coming

Friday Fun

Jake Wells of Willmar Logistics celebrated his first Minnesota FSE harvest season by jumping in, body first. With all of the pink colored “Snow” accumulating around the building, jake’s excitement brought him to make snow angels at Farm Service Elevator. The excitement wore off however, shortly after he experienced the harvest fluff in his mouth and eyes. Looks like fun Jake!

Happy Birthday Merle!

Merle Sietsema, Hatchery Maintenance Supervisor at the Willmar Industrial Park hatchery, just had his 60^th birthday, and was thrown a whole big shabash.

Years of Service

We want to congratulate the following individuals who celebrated Years of Service anniversaries in the month of October.

Name	Years	Company	Month	Day	Year	Position Description	State
Niemeyer, Dennis	30	LOG	10	1	1986	Transportation Specialist	MN
Bilky, Jessica	5	Life-Science Innovations	10	17	2011	Research Technician	MN
Andres, Julie	25	Life-Science Innovations	10	22	1991	Employee Services Lead	MN
VanderSpek, Wes	15	Ag Forte	10	26	2001	IT Support	MO
Williams, Lauri	15	Ag Forte	10	26	2001	Poult Service Tech Toe Treat	MO
Perez, Eliuth	5	Ag Forte	10	4	2011	Inseminator	MO
Perch, Brett	5	Ag Forte	10	14	2011	Mechanic	MO

 

Julie Andres (October 25 Years of Service)

Photos from Julie’s 25th year Anniversary surprise party:

Reyes Castaneda, Hatchery Sanitation (10 Years of Service in June)

Narciso Flores, Hatchery Worker for Ag Forte (5 Years of Service in June)

Michael Gorobchuk, CDL Poult Driver for Willmar Logistics (10 Years of Service in May)

Randy Gold, Ag Forte Serviceman (15 Years of Service in August)

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HR/Employee Services

The Human Resources/Employee Services Team specializes in benefits and payroll, compliance and policy, employee relations, 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

Our department continues to be bursting with opportunities!

Just a note about your REFERRALS: Given the volume of positions we have, we really appreciate that if you have a referral, PLEASE make sure you specify the position you are referring them to, and make sure the referral has a resume and ideally a cover letter stating their interest in the opportunity.  You can send them to the website to apply directly at http://life-scienceinnovations.com/employment/ and they can include your name in the ‘how did you hear about this opportunity?’ form or you can email me the resume attached with a note about the position they are interested in.  Thank you!

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!

Sorry, no recipe this time around.

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Employee Count

As of 11/04/16 we have 1793 employees