In The News

HBA Awards Scholarships to Local Grads

Jason Nystrom

Scholarship presentations were recently made to three area high school seniors who will be continuing their education in a field related to the building trades. As a part of our commitment to improving all aspects of the building industry through education and professional development, Headwaters Builders Association has awarded over $12,500.00 in scholarships to high school and Nicolet College students in the past nine years.

On Monday, May 3, HBA Board member Jeff Labs presented a $200 scholarship to Jason Nystrom, a senior at Northland Pines High School. Jason will be attending UW-Stout in the fall, where he will pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management. Jason has participated in Pines’ Building Trades program throughout high school, has been involved in many extracurricular activities, and is in the to 10% of his class.

Kyle Freund

Rhinelander High School’s awards program was held Sunday May 16. The RHS recipient of the $200 Headwaters Builders Scholarship was Kyle Freund. Kyle completed courses including residential construction and computer aided drafting in high school and has worked in the summer building homes. Kyle will also be attending UW-Stout to major in construction and hopes to eventually work as an architect or contractor. The presentation was made by Jeff Labs.

Cory Zdanowicz

Headwaters Builders Association President Duanne Swift presented a third scholarship at Lakeland Union High School’s awards program on Sunday, May 23. This year’s LUHS recipient was Cory Zdanowicz. Cory will attend Nicolet College’s Carpentry program, and plans to pursue a second degree in the Electrician program.

Congratulations to all the 2010 graduates! We wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavors.

HBA Awards Additional Scholarships

The Nicolet College Foundation Scholarship committee recently selected Robert Klein of Eagle River as the recipient of this year’s $500 Headwaters Builders Association/A Day for Nicolet Scholarship. The Foundation provides matching funds for scholarships to be awarded to students accepted into Nicolet College programs. The HBA/Day for Nicolet Scholarship is awarded to a student entering Nicolet’s Building Trades program. Robert, a 2010 graduate of Northland Pines High School, plans to complete the carpentry program and then begin taking university transfer classes, to pursue a career as a high school building trades teacher. In addition to the $500 scholarship, Robert was also awarded a $200 scholarship from Headwaters Builders Association as a result of his participation in the 2010 Nicolet College Skills Olympics. He was a member of the winning team in the skills competition, and completed an essay as a requirement of the scholarship application. Robert is the son of Eric Klein of Cornerstone Builders.

Nicolet Hosts Carpentry Skills Olympics

Nicolet College’s Carpentry Program held its first ever Carpentry Skills Competition for area high schools. All area schools offering building trades programs were invited; three schools competed including Rhinelander, Lakeland, and Northland Pines.

The competition consisted of a two-day building event which included floor and wall framing, hip and gable rafter framing, as well as stair layout and construction. The structures were judged by HBA members Jim VanStrydonk, Robin Coffen and Jeff VanCaster. After the final point tally, Northland Pines was awarded the first place trophy.

A total of 21 high school students participated.

8th Annual Associate Night and Contractor Education

The Eighth Annual Headwaters Builders Association Associate Night event was held Thursday, March 25, at Reuland’s Conference Center in the AmericInn, downtown Minocqua. The event featured 27 member vendors who shared new products and ideas with the builders in attendance, and furnished some great door prizes for drawings. Food was provided by Reuland’s Catering.

Thank you to the following vendors who participated: A+ Doors, All Pro Tile and Stone, Deer Run Stone, Fireside Hearth and Home, Hallman Lindsay Paint Co., HT Glass and Mirror, Jensen-Akins Hardware & Appliance, Krist Oil Co., Kwaterski Bros. Wood Products, Lakeland Overhead Door Co., M&I Bank, Merrill Millwork, Mid Wisconsin Bank, Murphy Insurance, Northern Glass Co., Peoples State Bank, PFI/Polyurethane Foam Insulation, ProBuild, Pukall Lumber Co., Richco Structures, Sherwin Williams Paint Co., Tomahawk Lumber Co., TW Masters Overhead Doors, VerHalen, Inc./Pella Windows, Waterfurnace International, Wisconsin Benefit Planning, and Wisconsin Builders Association.

In addition to the tabletop show portion of the evening, twenty-five member and non-member builders attended four hours of continuing education offered in conjunction with the event. A two-credit program entitled, "Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems" was presented by Scott Niesen of Waterfurnace, International. This was followed by a second two-credit program, "Tall Wall Construction and Design Considerations" presented by Richco Structures and Boise Engineered Wood Products. A special thanks to those gentlemen who provided us with these interesting and educational opportunities. This is the third year HBA has offered Dwelling Contractor Qualifier credits as part of Associate Night.