Today was our annual Vocational Day. Thanks to our hosts: Home Health United (Janelle Sharp), Capital Wealth Advisory Group (Juan Garcia), Blackhawk Technical College (Tracy Pierner), UW Rock County (Charles Clark), Utiz Carstar (Al Utiz), Wisconsin River Bank (Cassie Everhart & Joe Shere), and Arndt Farms (Dave Arndt)
Comments from some of todays attendees and hosts:
UW-Rock Co. very much enjoyed hosting Rotarians on campus today. I am hoping that those who attended learned something about us that they didn’t know before.
I attended U Rock. We had an outstanding tour of the facility with a catered lunch from Best Events. The tour and discussion was very informative. We discussed what is the typical student at U Rock and all the many 2 and 4 year programs they offer. It was a GREAT day.
It was a pleasure to be a hosting business. I sure hope all that joined us also enjoyed the food and friendly conversation. I would definitely encourage those that didn’t make it this year to consider attending the next one. Furthermore, I would encourage fellow Rotarians to host! It was fun! We appreciated the opportunity to introduce our bank- and ourselves to the group. I also learned a lot more about the Corn Roast and other committees our Noon Rotary has to offer. We have an open door policy here at Wisconsin River Bank. If you didn’t join us today, you’re always welcome to stop in, say “hi”, see what we’re about and you may even be lucky and get a cup of coffee out of the deal!
This was the first Vocational Day I attended. I would encourage all Rotarians to take part next year. It provides an opportunity to get to know members of the Club a little better because it is a smaller, intimate group. Plus, it is a great way to learn about what our members do and gives a glimpse of an occupation you may not know anything about. I’ll certainly try to attend again next year.
It was great to see where Cassie and Joe work at the remodeled Wisconsin River Bank building on N. Parker Drive. We learned they are connected with other Banks that are on the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. Great lunch and one of my favorite meetings of the year. Harris
I thought Wisconsin River Bank was excellent. The two host were very informational and even gave us their red badge talks. I think they learned as much from us as we did from them. The food was good and they gave me a new coffee shop to try.
Every Rotarian owes it to themselves to learn about the work that their fellow Rotarians are doing. Don’t just assume you know what someone does. Like many people, I might believe that I know what a farmer does, but every tour I have participated in at Arndt Farms (3 or 4 over the years) has been a learning experience. It is also a great fellowship opportunity. Dave gave us an overview of the family’s farm history in LaPraire Township, dating back to the 1870’s. He described their farming practices, and the key to diversification in agriculture. The farm is diversified through raising a variety of crops, including vegetables for canning and spearmint for chewing gum. These crops are in addition to traditional corn & soybeans, and raising beef cattle. We took a brief farm tour, viewing the grain drying and storage facility, and then stopped by the beef herd, where we learned about the finishing processes for high quality beef.
I was fortunate enough to the the sole guest of Al Utzig and his team of auto magicians at Carstar.. I was treated to a Famous Dave's barbeque feast. I was fascinated to learn about a business I knew nothing about. I was so impressed with Al and his team that I will not hesitate to bring my next Ferrari to him when an upstart Corvette bangs into it!
A Review of the Arndt Farm Vocational Day Tour
After arriving to the farm, Marivi and I parked in a nicely manicured green lawn as all the gravel spots had been taken by Rotarians who beat us there. Greeted at the door by the proprietor, David Arndt, Marivi and I were encouraged to help ourselves to some homemade chili, cheese and crackers and join a nicely set dining room table. At first we were a little put off by the family style seating arrangement but once we began enjoying that warm bowl of country goodness, were able to block out the annoyance of the other diners. By the time we finished our lunch and were being served fresh brownies and ice cream we decided our lunch companions were not so bad after all.
Our meal was followed by a brief oral history of the farm and a general commentary of farming in the area and USA. Several people asked questions; including a few intelligent ones. We also learned that Dave and his wife Kathy moved into their current home in 2014. Previously it had been his Mother’s. Whitey Brunsell helped design the renovations on a piece of graph paper. I didn’t even know they still made that stuff…..
At about 12:30 we left the dining room as a group to pile into the back of David Arndt’s pickup truck. Not all could fit so Bob Kimball offered his vehicle too. Although not very luxurious the truck’s bed was sufficiently roomy and no air-conditioning was needed. There was a pungent smell in the air which may or may not have emanated from the other Rotarians sharing the cargo area of the truck. We first visited a corn drying/storage facility. It was fun to see but not near as entertaining as seeing Gregg Dickinson become trapped in the back of Bob Kimball’s Range Rover apparently due to his child safety locks being activated. I’ll bet it was a good five minutes before Aaron Thomas noticed his flailing hand gestures through the dark tinted windows!
Next we visited a large barn housing cattle in various stages of development. They looked good but not near as good as they would on my grill or dinner plate. We learned that Bob Kimball poured the foundation to the barn in the 1970s and since then the roof has been replaced about four times but the original foundation is still sound!
At 1:15 we were loaded back into David’s pickup truck for the drive back to our cars. All in all I would say it was a very enjoyable afternoon and I would be willing to do it again. How about next Monday? J
Vocational Day not only allows our members to visit and learn more about fellow member businesses, it gives us an opportunity for fellowship outside of our regular meetings. All these businesses exemplify our motto Service Above Self. Many thanks to Steve Servantez for coordinating this year's event for our Club. It was a great day for all!
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