“Wiscraft Welcomes New President/CEO”

People to People Profile

Wiscraft Thanks Former Board Member

Wiscraft, its employees and Board wish to thank Mia McMillan for her expertise, dedication and support of the Wiscraft mission during her tenure from July 2002 to December 2006.

Wiscraft Welcomes New Board Members
 
Andrea Simon, CPA, is the Director of Internal Audit for Briggs & Stratton Corporation, a Fortune-1000 organization, and the world’s largest producer of air-cooled gasoline engines, as well as a leading producer of outdoor powered equipment.  In her current role, Andrea is leading the company’s Sarbanes Oxley compliance effort while heading up the Internal Audit department.  Andrea previously served as the Internal Audit Manager at the company.  Andrea also serves on the advisory board of Summit Educational Association, Inc., a non-profit corporation devoted to Milwaukee’s inner city children.  Before joining Briggs & Stratton, Andrea worked at Arthur Andersen, LLC, where she performed and managed business assurance services as an experienced senior for public and private clientele.

Andrea earned her Masters of Business Administration degree from Marquette University in 2005 and an undergraduate degree in Accounting from Marquette University, graduating Magna Cum Laude and she was awarded the Deloitte & Touche Award for academia excellence in 1998.

Shawn Duffy, CPA, is the Controller at Phoenix Products Company, Inc., a manufacturer of lighting fixtures in the Milwaukee area.  She is responsible for the Accounting, Information Technology, Inventory Control, Purchasing, Material Handling and Shipping/Receiving departments.  Shawn is on the Board of Directors for the Valley IV Condominium Association and Duffy Grain, Inc.  She has served on the Board of Directors for the Executive Women’s Golf Association, the Rotary Club of Columbus and the Caledonia Conservation Group.

Shawn earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1983, and in Agriculture in 1985 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She obtained her Master of Science in Accounting in 1994 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Eric Schumann is the President and owner of Potala Corporation, Racine, Wisconsin.  He is the past-President of Merit Gear, and FAI, Inc.  Eric earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1969.  He also served on the Board of Directors for the Caledonia Conservation Group.  His hobbies include equestrian, physical fitness and investments.

Lydia Santiago
Wiscraft, Inc.
2007 Employee of the Year
 
Wiscraft is pleased to announce that the 2007 Employee of the Year is Lydia Santiago, Lead Person in the Assembly and Packaging department.

Lydia is a native of Milwaukee and in 1991 was diagnosed with macular degeneration at a regular eye exam.  Lydia has 3 children and 4 grandchildren who fill her life with joy.  Prior to coming to Wiscraft, Lydia attended MATC and earned certificates in childcare and became an early childhood teaching assistant.  She states her passion is education of young children.  She worked at Park Lawn Christian School with ages K4-K5 for 8 years prior to her diagnosis.  Due to concerns for the safety of the children as her vision loss progressed, she came to Wiscraft, hoping she could find work.

That was in October of 1999 and since then Lydia has touched many areas of the company.  The first year, Lydia worked in Assembly and Packaging where she quickly became a “go to” person for complicated assembly jobs.  Lydia was able to assist our training program by utilizing and sharing her expertise with new employees.  In November of 2000, Lydia began working with our sales personnel, assisting in daily inside sales tasks.  She quickly became known as a voice of Wiscraft to several customers and assisted in customer service issues.  In November 2003, Wiscraft, in order to survive the economic downturn, was forced to eliminate some positions.  Lydia returned to production as a shining example of dedication to Wiscraft, our employees and customers.

In March 2005, Lydia was forced to take a medical leave due to a detached retina, returning in mid-May to again show leadership qualities on the production floor.  In August of 2005, a Lead position opened up in A&P.  Lydia submitted her name for the position and was quickly promoted.  Within the orientation period, she showed leadership, dedication to company, customer and quality and has taken on the responsibilities that come with the job, making the supervisor more available for supervisory job tasks.  Lydia continues to welcome new challenges and was recently trained in order fulfillment of JWOD orders.

Activities outside of Wiscraft that are important to Lydia include being involved in Church activities such as bake sales and bible school, horseback riding (an activity she has enjoyed since she was a child) and, of course, the education and care of children remains her passion, and she has 4 grandchildren she spends her free time with. 

Lydia stated she likes her job as a Lead Person because it allows her to assist others in attaining their goals of being productive and improving their skills.  She feels that Wiscraft shows the world that having a disability does not mean you cannot have and achieve goals through your job.  Lydia also feels that the awards Wiscraft and its employees have received during the past year are very special because they come from the competitive world, and as a non-profit company competing with for-profit companies for business; it shows that they respect us.

Lydia and a guest will be attending the annual NIB Conference in Chicago, Illinois this fall.

Wiscraft wishes to thank Harley-Davidson Motor Company for the generous donation of a Mori Seiki.  After final set up we are producing parts.  The addition of this machine expands our capabilities to produce larger pieces and provides more opportunities for blind production labor.

Wiscraft, Inc. acknowledges and thanks G.E. Water and Process Technologies for their generous donation of worktables, shelving, and a hand lift.  These items will assist in the set up of workstations and safe movement of material.

Special People

We want to give a special note of thanks to the individuals and organizations that have supported Wiscraft’s mission since our spring publication. 

We have many contributors who have been very good to us over the years, and we want to recognize all of you in upcoming newsletters.  If you do not want to be listed, please advise at the time of your donation and we will honor your request.

“Wiscraft Employees Give Back to the Community”

This past Christmas Season the employees of Wiscraft joined forces by donating various items (stuffed animals, toys, video games, clothing and “fun” snacks) so that Christmas bags could be put together and distributed to member families at Sacred Heart Croatian Church on Wells Street.  20 bags were donated and the goal for this year is at 25 bags. 

““Wiscraft Recipient of Fifth Community Development Block Grant for the City of Milwaukee””

Wiscraft welcomes new AP Manager

Wish List

Employees have placed the following items on the Wiscraft Wish List to assist them in their daily workday activities.  Anyone interested in helping to make these wishes a reality, please contact Sharon Faeh at 414/778-5800, ext. 5828.  If you are able to contribute to the mission of Wiscraft, a donor envelope is enclosed for your convenience.

2-ton forklift
Two Auto baggers
Manufacturing and Accounting software
Screen Reader Software
Steel Racking
Vibratory Deburring machine
4-drawer locking file cabinet