From: Juan-Antonio E Palacios
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 3:34 PM
To: Aaron J Dix; Aaron M Halverson; Agnes B Berenyi; Alden L Colvin; Anton D Stute;
Christopher C Folk; Craig L Lathrop; Daniel R Hein; David G Anderson; David P
Heinzen; Erik Bade; Gregory L Weier; Harlan J Vangen; Harley J Arzt; Jacob D Statz;
Jason M Herheim; Jeffery J Molzahn; Jeffrey D Minter; Joel B Shoemaker; John A
Stephany; John T Roach; Jon R Christian; Joseph P Padrutt; Juan-Antonio E Palacios;
Lonnie L Lingard; Patrick A Molzahn; Paul A Morschauser; Paul J Harrison; Paul T
Flogel; Peter S Dettmer; Rick R Jacobs; Robert R Gray Jr; Steve W Wilcox; Steven G
Mishler; Theresa M Valencia; Thomas J Kaminski; Thomas R Scott; Thomas W
Wozniak; Timothy D Hoege; Timothy J Nelson; Valerie J Weihman; William R Lorenz;
Dawn M Payne; Dorothy F Grant; Kenneth J Starkman; Kimbrin L Cornelius; Kimi K
Conners; Lisa A Delany; Patricia L Johnson; Aaron A Stroot; Andrew A Shultis; Brian C
Landerud; Burton J Wheeler; Carl W Simons Jr; Christopher F Bon Durant; Daniel C
Kerkman; Daniel J Head; Danika C Woods; David E Meister; Dawn L Stellner; Donald
H Berndt; Edward G Kroth; Gary L Haas; James J DeGidio; James Kudzin; James L
Christensen; Jaysen C Schaller; Jerome J Foldy; Jimmy J Hardyman; Joel A VandeHey;
John P Held; John R Schultz Jr; Julia E Sherwood; Keith S Bailey; Kenneth M Dentice;
Kurt Millard; Larry A Sailing; Mark A Behnke; Mark J Kruser; Mark S McCloskey;
Martin D Prew; Mason S Barber; Matthew H Parks; Matthew M Wilkinson; Michael P
Roth; Michael S Bernhard; Michelle L Zwolanek; Patrick C Healy; Peter K Stern Jr;
Quinten D Peddie; Richard A Burditt; Richell A McWilliams; Robert A Niemeyer;
Robert J Smith Jr; Ronald C Smith; Ronald V Lazarescu Jr; Roy L Swanke Jr; Sean P
Crook; Spencer M Statz; Stephen A Pipson; Steven E Grever; Steven G Pirtle; Thomas H
Olson; Timothy J Kleist
Cc: Terence P O'Laughlin; Scott D Baxter; Mark S Durkee; Dawn R Way; Tricia L
Weisheipl; Terry A Wermuth; Robert J Dinndorf; Ellen M Vervoort; Heidi A Hillmer;
Rhoda McKinney; Keith T Cornille; D C Helser; Jeffrey C Orr; Dennis M Michaelis;
Patricia A Prihoda; Jean B Alt; Bettie L Coffey; David M Kasten; James A Bottoni;
Thomas A Riffle; Joshua L Cotillier; Michael D Panten; Vicki J Saffran; Schmit, Sandra
Subject: Thanks for the Great Career Fair!
Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to say Thank You for all of your hard work for this Career Fair or "Circus"
as the Diesel Boys call it!! You guys did an absolutely TERRIFIC job of pulling things
together!! I also wanted to Thank our honorary CMAT programs, Fire Science,
Mechanical Design, Printing and Electronics! So far all of the feedback I have heard has
been positive! I hope that you found it was a beneficial event to participate in!! I know
all of these kids are taking back memories with them that will last a lifetime! One girl
was running back to her bus squealing with pride, I stopped her to ask what was so great
and she mentioned the Cabinetmaking/Millwork crew!-Go Figure…right!!!??? (Great Job
Guys). She proudly displayed her picture frame with her name "Jessica" engraved on the
face of it! "I did it all myself!!!", she said. What a wonderful example of what happened
all throughout the day Wednesday!
We did a great job as a team! Some "feel good" information, between a raffle, our car
smash and other donations…we managed to raise just under $1,000 for the Make-A-Wish
Foundation of Wisconsin! Of course, since Patti Prihoda is a winner in any raffle she
enters, she won the Packer Football. I believe she is interested in donating it back to the
program to have it go by way of silent auction? We shall have to talk with Patti to find
out about that one! Did you get to see the "AFTERBURNER"? That was one incredible
car!!! How about the Rock Crawler Jeep parking on top of those smashed cars? How
about those Fire Science Instructors slicing the Chrysler to pieces!! Awesome. Did you
know we had a professional chainsaw artist here? He made a couple of things we were
able to keep, check out Kimbrin's office to see one of the items, and our Parts store to see
the other! Allie Berenyi and team built a Playhouse for the Childhood Center…talk
about a community "builder"!! One of the most memorable experiences for me is seeing
all of our students helping out in this event, please Thank your students for us!!!
It is my understanding that we hosted around 800 students. Wow, 800 is a huge
number! Things ran smoothly throughout the day, even through lunch!! If you have any
good experiences in regards this fair, if you could share them, that would be nice. Any
negative ones, just send to Ken Starkman! We had a special visit from Russ Feingold's
office, Katie Crawley…she was very impressed with what we do here and expressed her
appreciation for all of us…GREAT Job Gang!
I know that everyone of our programs has some great people in it, so I'm not trying to
boast, but I just want to acknowledge my crew - The Automotive Tech Department!
Dave Heinzen, Paul Flogel, Joe Padrutt, Greg Weier, Craig Lathrop, Steve Wilcox, Jeff
Minter, Dave Meister, Marty Prew and last but certainly not least…the amazing David
Natysin! I tell you, these are the greatest group of guys on the planet to work with! The
would very literally do anything to help you out…Thanks guys, you are the best! Dave
Natysin, I can't say enough about what a fantastic job you did…if it weren't for Dave, this
event probably would have been a total disaster…seriously, he is the star of this even in
my opinion. Dave went well above and beyond what should be expected of anyone to
make sure this event went off in a smooth manner. Thank You Dave, not only were you
a tremendous organizer, you are a great friend.
If you see Theresa in the halls, make sure to give her a pat on the back for the absolutely
tremendous job she did! The scavenger hunt was a huge success, and she managed to
give out hundreds of prizes including some very nice i-Pods to some very happy
students! Theresa was instrumental in organizing this event, Thank You so very much
Theresa for everything, because of you, these kids had FUN!!!!
Just to give you an idea of the scope of people involved in this little project, we need to
acknowledge, Security Services - Jim "Chief" Bottoni and crew, Facilities - Tom "The
Man" Riffle and Mr. Safety, Joshua Cotillier (these guys were a tremendous
support…thank you!), Auxilary Services - Paul Renzi and Paul Algiers (Thank You for
everything!), The Bookstore - The Amazing; Jean Alt, Bettie Coffey and the "Stamp
Man" Mike Panten- thanks for all of your help and encouragement!), The Gourmet
Kitchen - Truax Executive Chef Jeff Orr and his amazing team (These guys were willing
to work in our 2,000, yes…2,000 hot dogs among the dozens of other banquets
happening on the same day!!!!!), Keith Cornielle and staff-(for supporting my Project
Playhouse idea and sponsoring the buses for all those schools!-Thank you so much!), Our
AMAZING Grounds and Maint. Staff (Individuals like Rhoda McKinney, and Dave
Hendricks make this school shimmer!), The Foundation (Tricia Weisheipl, Terry
Wermuth and Bob Dinndorf - for supporting $1,000 in scholarships given out at the
event!) Shipping and Receiving (Dennis Michaelis…enough said…he is incredible!
Thank You!), Event Planning Services - Corey Helser, Bettsey and Matt - (You made
this event Rock!!- Thanks for your tremendous support and aide in each stage of
development for this event…you guys are really a hidden Jewel of a resource here!!!!
Thank You!!) our Parts Store (Patti Prihoda - arranged for some of the food and is
always so very supportive! Thank You Patti for being a great friend to lean on!),
Graphics Design (Dave Kasten, this man drops everything to help out and is always such
a pleasure to work with!!! Very Impressive, Thank You Dave!!! You've saved me so
many times with your support, I owe you big time!), Duplicating Services (Ellen
Vervoort and Heidi Hillmer there aren't many people quite like you! You have always
put your heart and 110% into everything you do…Thank You so much!!!! Talk about all
the times you've bailed me out of a jam…I really owe you guys big time!!!), Advising
and Career Center (for always letting us borrow the "Prize Wheel"!!!!), The Marketing
Dept. - Vicky Saffran and team (great job with student registration and bus
arrangements!!) WTCS Sandy Schmit (Thanks to you, we were able to have an amazing
event!!- Thank You so very much for your patience in dealing with me throughout this
project!) Student Life - Mary Robbins and her staff, fantastic!! and finally our CMAT
office! Ken and staff, Dorothy, Pat, Lisa, Dawn and Kimbrin. You are always so
positive when it comes to some of my "hairbrained" ideas!!! Thanks for always being so
supportive!! Especially Kimbrin Cornelius, you were absolutely tremendous in getting
this event going, and organizing the sessions and lab spaces! Without you, this would
definitely not have been a success, Thank You Kimbrin!! I know there are so many others
who helped out, contributed in some form or fashion…please pass this "Thanks" along to
them as well!! Please join me in Thanking all those involved!!!
See, it really takes everyone pulling together to make positive experiences like this
happen. Yes, I'm sure that there are things we could do differently, and as we go, we
learn what works the best! We are still learning, always learning! I am so very proud to
be a part of such a wonderful place! I am proud of our school, and what we are able to
achieve with our students! I know our students are a success due to the incredible drive
and support you give them every single day!! Thank you for making this institution
amazing!!
I just wanted to make sure that you know how much I appreciated all of your help and
support…TOGETHER, we hosted one GREAT Career Fair!!
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!
Thank You!
John Palacios
Automotive Technology Instructor
Madison Area Technical College
3550 Anderson St. Madison, WI 53704
(608) 246.6816
JPalacios@matcmadison.edu