Posted: 8/16/05
Woodland Industries celebrating 25 years
Goal is to find jobs for people with disabilities
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Find the right fit.
Those words, spoken more than once by manager Roger ìMacî McCabe, seem to sum up the philosophy of Woodland Industries.
The Caledonia non-profit agency provides work for people with physical, mental, and emotional disabilities.
It is located in the back of the Twice Is Nice building at 521 Old Highway Drive, which it also operates.
Woodland Industries is 25 years old this year, and will hold an open house on Tuesday, August 23 from 1-6 p.m. in the parking lot on the east end of the building.
McCabe, who has been with the agency for 10 years, spoke with a lot of pride about Woodlandís purpose and accomplishments during an interview on August 9.
ìOur participants can work just as well as you or I,î McCabe said. The secret, he repeated, is to find the right fit for the 70 program participants.
Those participants work both in the Woodland building and in local businesses, doing a wide variety of jobs.
In the community, for example, a Woodland worker might stock shelves at Quillinís grocery story, clean the Red Carpet Inn, or wash dishes at the Olive Garden in La Crosse. (See sidebar with this story for a list of local Woodland Industries employers.)
Participants are paid a competitive wage and they get to keep it all. Wages depend on the employer, McCabe said. ìLike you and I, [you] start at the bottom and work your way up.î
Some participants who canít work independently do community jobs in ìenclavesî or small groups, with a supervisor. ìThatís kind of the beginning,î McCabe. The objective is to get them all working in the community in a competitive manner, he said.
The work in the Woodland Industries building involves many tasks filling contracts that they have with different companies. The two prime products which workers make from scratch are polishing pads and dog retriever trainer dummies.
Program participant Lori Rommes was taping together strips of sandpaper into polishing pads. during my visit. These are made in various sizes and grits, then fitted with a bolt so that they can be attached to a milling machine for polishing the inside of stainless steel pipe joints.
Lori is an expert at making them, McCabe said. ìSell thousands of them a year,î he said.
The retriever-trainer dummies are made from scratch too, and come in five different colors and sizes. A lot of steps are involved in making them, which means they are an ideal job for the Woodland participants.
ìI like to get jobs that everybody can do at least part,î McCabe said. He isnít interested in jobs that take a lot of high-functioning skills.
Another worker was cutting out patterns for dolls that are given to children who enter a hospital. A different worker was sewing tote bags for a lady who brought in a bunch of cloth and a sample bag.
Jobs should be appropriate
Part of McCabeís job is to determine if the job is appropriate, and how much Woodland should charge. Often there is some negotiation, he said.
For example, Northern Engraving in Spring Grove asked McCabe if his workers could remove flaws from some wood-grain plastic parts for cars. McCabe brought in a sample and had his staff do a time study. After a little haggling, they settled on a price.
Woodland does not try to make money, McCabe said. ìWe have to pay the light bill,î he said.
The goal is to give quality to the customer and teach quality work skills to program participants. ìSo itís a two-way deal,î McCabe said.
Another big job is assembling medical vials for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. The vials come 1,000 per box, with the caps in separate bag. Workers cap the vials and package them in bags of 25, then heat-seal the bags. Woodland assembles about 150,000 vials a month.
Lori Twite, the main supervisor on the production floor, said she was overseeing an order for 500 laundry bags. She had talked to McCabe to see when it could be shipped, then Mac ordered the material, which came in 100-yard rolls. Itís a team approach, McCabe said. If someone takes all the credit, then they have to take all the blame, he joked.
Twite also supervises night enclaves two nights a week.
Twice Is Nice is a good learning tool too, McCabe said. If a participant wants to learn about the cash register or working with the public, they can work there. Itís also a good outlet for the community to bring in used things, he added.
Referrals are necessary
Participants come to Woodland Industries on referrals from the Minnesota Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). Potential participants are then screened by a Woodland program coordinator. DRS usually pays Woodland for 30-90 days of training and evaluation, then the county picks up the funding.
McCabe said Woodland likes to work with participants on things like promptness, getting to work on time, and cooperation with co-workers, before they are put into placement. The Houston County Department of Human Services is involved because every participant has a social worker.
ìItís not all success stories,î McCabe said. But he said there are more than he expected.
ìHouston County commissioners have been excellent to work with,î he added. ìThey deserve a thank you.î
Other staff at Woodland Industries in Caledonia are Kathy Mitchell and Helen Olson, program coordinators; Barb Wolfs, clerical; Audrey Stadtler, Twice Is Nice manager; and Katherine Witt and Vince Carlon, temporary workers who supervise enclaves, sewing, and production.
Woodland Industries: a 25 year history
Editorís note: Woodland Industries prepared this article on its 25-years history in Caledonia. It will celebrate that anniversary on Tuesday, August 23, from 1-6 p.m. at 521 Old Highway Drive.
Woodland Industries opened its doors to participants in 1980 in the lower level of the NetWorks building (now ABC Works) on North Pine Street in Caledonia. The planning for a vocational rehabilitation center began in 1977 when parents, staff, teachers and county government officials saw the need and acted on it.
The history of Woodland Industries is tied to the history of Houston County NetWorks, which had its start as the Development Achievement Center.
NetWorks board minutes show discussion about a workshop that would serve clients and use their abilities in a productive way. It took about three years to establish a budget, apply for a grant, and develop a work program. NetWorks turned to Ability Building Center in Rochester because of its experience with its workshop and its familiarity with sales, accounting, and financial advice. That partnership continues to this day with the July 2001 merger of NetWorks (now ABC Works) with ABC.
Within one year, employees were working at a number of jobs, including cleaning offices. shoveling, doing IBM assembly jobs, polishing pads from APN and sewing surgical hoods for Mayo Clinic. The mainstays on the production line are the dog retriever trainers and the polishing pads for APN. In its best year for sales, Woodland has made over 68,000 dog retriever trainers and over 80,000 polishing pads for APN in 2004. Trade sales in 2004 were $573,000.
Big move in 1990
Woodland continued to grow and more space became necessary. The move to the present building was in July of 1990. This move allowed Woodland to increase the number of individuals served. By the mid 1990s, there was a waiting list. From the original seven participants in 1980, Woodland now serves 70 people.
Houston County has been a progressive leader in establishing programs to provide for the needs of people with disabilities. The payback is that persons with physical, mental and emotional disabilities and others who face barriers to employment in the traditional job market can make a contribution. A visit to Woodland shows how successful the effort has been.
Safety is a high priority at Woodland Industries. The record is 631 accident-free work days. 'This year there are 200 accident-free days so far.
Local businesses use Woodland
Businesses that Woodland Industries works for include: Caledonia Haulers, Merchants Bank, Hammell Law Office, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Camp Winnebago, Ag Center, Northern Automotive, Trinity Fab, Matinee.com, Gopher State, Flagman, Lucky Dog, Lion Country, Buck & Bass, APN, Phoenix Abrasives, Statech, and Kerndt Livestock.
Local employers through the supported employment program are: ALCO, Northern Engraving, Quillinís, Kwik Trip Caledonia and La Crescent, APN, Root River Market Co-op, Tweeten Health Services, Spring Grove Legion, Time Travel, Red Carpet Inn, Good Times, Caledonia Elementary School, Richard's Sanitation, Houston County Recycling, Bauerís Market, Express Personnel and Target.
ìItís great to realize the support we have in this community, in this area,î Woodland Industries manager Roger ìMacî McCabe said.
Woodlandís advisory board members are Judy Tollefsrud, Dennis Gavin, Andy Anderson, Don Meiners, Beth Wilms, Bonnie Gregerson, Angela Murphy, Mac McCabe, Judy Wandling, Steve Hill and Larry Erickson.
Caledonia Argus
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E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com