For Immediate Release
Contact: Kim Schmelz, Foundation Director
Phone: 608.822.2379
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: July 29, 2019
Compeer Financial Gift Supports Student Professional Growth
Fennimore -Compeer Financial donated a generous gift of $6,000 to the Southwest Tech Foundation for the Southwest Tech Agriculture department. A portion of these funds were used to support student professional development and helped with expenses related to traveling to the National Post Secondary Agriculture or (PAS) Conference in Loveland, Colorado in March.
The purpose of this trip was for Southwest Tech students to compete at the conference in their respective areas of study and they proved to be very successful. Ean Goll of North Freedom, WI took first place in the Career Planning Retail Agribusiness event. Zach Cummings of Mineral Point, WI took third place in the Career Progress Horticulture/NR event. Brooklyn Nagel of Eastman, WI took third place in the Career Planning event for Agribusiness Management event. Cole Deitchler of Volga, IA took second place in the Employee Interview for Fertilizer and Ag Chemical event. Justin Ehrhart of Union Grove, WI took first place in the Career Planning Plant Systems event and second place in the Employment Interview in Crop Production event. Finally, Preston Colburn of Viroqua, WI took third place in the Career Progress Power, Structure event.
The trip also included tours that would not have been available to students without Compeer Financial’s gift. Students had an opportunity to experience the following: the USDA Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, NE, the national center for research on beef, swine, and sheep species; Case IH Harvester Plant in Grand Island, NE, a production facility for combines and forage windrowers; Hornady Manufacturing in Grand Island, NE, a premier manufacturer of hunting ammunition; Harper Livestock in Ault, CO, one of the largest sheep farms in the U.S. with a 800,000 feedlot; Morning Fresh Dairy Farms in Bellvue, CO, home of the Noosa Brand Yogurt and home delivery service of farm production; and finally a recreational side trip to Estes Park, CO, the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.
The outcomes fostered by the opportunities provided by Compeer Financial were endless. Paul Cutting, SWTC Agribusiness instructor and State Director of WI PAS explained, “Students experienced first-hand examples they have used in their Southwest Tech courses, and students’ success in national competition was enhanced as they were able to talk with evaluators from their industries with experience based knowledge.” Student Brooklynn Nagel commented, “The generous donation gave the PAS students the opportunity to participate in different tours on the way to Colorado, one of the tours that greatly benefited us was Harper Livestock. This tour strengthened our knowledge about sheep and the information provided to my team helped us win first place at Nationals. Thank you again for this amazing opportunity!”
The gift from Compeer Financial also supported Southwest Tech Ag Day on campus as well as more additional funding for the Grow Lab on campus.
Kim Schmelz, director of External Relations and Alumni Development at Southwest Tech said, “The opportunity for students to travel outside of southwest Wisconsin and learn from those in the industry is an incredible benefit that will have a lasting impact. For many students, this was their first opportunity traveling out of the tri-state area. We are grateful for the support of Compeer Financial and their support of our current and future students.”
Southwest Tech Ag program students at the National PAS Conference.