> NEWSLETTER - Fall 2023 RCS empowers individuals with disabilities and special needs so that they may work, live, and function with dignity and respect.
Letter from our President, Martha VandeLeest
After Hours & Special Events
Fall is in the air and we are harvesting apples, pears, vegetables and elderberries from our gardens. The staff and our participants have been enjoying the outdoors for the past few months as we have enjoyed bike riding, sailing, and exploring our community. Our annual picnic on September 22 was a rodeo themed event held on the RCS premises at our Trailside Park. Games, food and music were highlights along with lots of fun and laughter. I would like to thank all of the volunteers and staff who brought so much joy to all.
Shoreline Metro Trolley Visit September 20
It is hard to believe that we are already in October and planning the activities through the end of the year. Time passes by way too fast! Over the next few months, our after hours programming will continue. This has been very well attended this year, as there are many holidays to celebrate and lots of preparation for our annual fundraiser, “Shine On”. We are hosting our sixth Annual Shine On fundraiser. Our VIP event will take place on Friday, November 10. We also have Community Day on Saturday, November 11 from 10a - 2p. I would personally like to invite you and your family to attend the event. This is an exciting time to both highlight RCS’s amazing campus while spreading holiday cheer. The funds raised during both of the days will go toward our new garden and park space. RCS continues to move forward with enhancements to our garden space to have it become a destination garden and park. The drawings are complete and we plan to develop the space over the next two years. Our participants will have another wonderful area to enjoy the outdoors and come together with the community. RCS will be developing a capital campaign to help support this new project. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to take the time to thank the staff and volunteers who help to make RCS an incredible organization. As we enter the holiday season, please know that I am once again reminded of how incredibly grateful I am for all that you do. Keep Shining On,
Martha VandeLeest
Lake Michigan & Blast Soft Serve Visit September 22
Save The Date Shine On VIP Event November 10 | 6:30PM
Shine On Community Day Free to the Public November 11 | 10AM - 2PM Participant Thanksgiving Meal November 22 Agency Closure for Thanksgiving November 23 & 24 Participant Holiday Party December 21 Agency Closure for Christmas & New Years December 22, 25 & 29 January 1
Employee Spotlight:
Golf Outing
Shine On - VIP Event - November 10th
Through his years with RCS, Ryan Bubb has worked extremely hard to be as dependable as possible in making sure everything is as efficient as can be in the production processes. Ryan is the Assistant Production Manager of Packaging and does an amazing job of making sure all he is responsible for is completed quickly and correctly. Starting his career with RCS in 2012 as a temporary production worker, Ryan quickly learned everything about the label machines and the warehouse. Since then, he has always been willing to pitch in wherever needed, including being an enormous part of the purchasing team for all of RCS’s materials. Ryan does a great job working with everyone in the agency and is always incredibly reliable. Thank you Ryan for all you do for RCS!
On August 7 RCS got the opportunity to host our first ever golf outing. Thank you to all our sponsors, donors, golfers and volunteers for your involvement. To everyone involved we hope you had a great time supporting our mission and the goal of the event, enhancing participants’ daily programming experience. We could not have asked for better weather for the event this year. We hope you’ll join us next year for even more fun at our 2nd Annual RCS Empowers Golf Outing!
We are thrilled to announce the 6th annual fundraising event on Friday, November 10th. The fundraiser will feature a VIP in person experience at RCS with decorated holiday trees, wreaths, garlands, and specialty items. Our focus this year is to further develop our outdoor greenspace. Our fundraising dollars for this event will be used for this project. The enhancement of the greenspace will provide accessible opportunities for our participants and the community to enjoy beautifully developed outdoor space and will be a destination for welcoming the community to connect and interact with individuals with disabilities. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit rcsshineon.com.
RCS Hosts 1st Annual Golf Outing
RCS To Host VIP Event
Happy Anniversary! August Gerk, Shelley – 22 Years Gosse, Ron – 12 Years Harris, Randy – 11 Years Kaemmer, Tracey – 1 Year Meulbroek, Brett – 1 Year Sladich, Laurie – 1 Year Vojtech, Ben – 1 Year
Shine On - Free Community Day - November 11th
Zastrow, Kimberly - 1 Year
RCS will be hosting a free community day on Saturday, November 11th from 10am - 2pm. RCS doors will be open to the public to view decorated trees, wreaths and garland. There will be a brat fry, live music (featuring South High Jazz Ensemble, South High Chamber Orchestra, Dare to Dream, and Kohler Madrigals) and a meet and greet with Santa!
September
RCS To Offer Free Community Day
Bubb, Andrew – 13 Years Felde, Debbie – 33 Years Klemme, Emily – 11 Years Senkbeil, Monica – 43 Years
2023 RCS Rodeo Picnic
Annual Summer Picnic
On Friday, September 22, 2023, participants at RCS enjoyed a fun-filled day at the annual picnic. This year’s theme was an “RCS Rodeo” with many participants sporting their western wear. The picnic was held at the RCS Trailside Park, which is a wonderful park area nestled between the RCS main facility and its North Plant operation. Participants had their choice of playing bingo and trying their luck at several western themed games.
EMPLOYER SPOTLIGHT
Ryan Bubb, Assistant Production Manager
Yang, Khao – 7 Years
October Barts, Jessica – 2 Years
June
Parker John’s BBQ & Pizza
July
Custom Craft Trophy & Embroidery
Haneman, Jenn – 10 Years Kilton, Amy – 6 Years Loeffler, Chris – 2 Years Morey-Erbes, Cody – 1 Year Petricek, Stephanie – 2 Years Van Wyk, Beth – 3 Years Yang, Lee – 4 Years
August
Sheboygan County YMCA
September
Inkworks Printing LLC
Employee Spotlight:
Golf Outing
Shine On - VIP Event - November 10th
Through his years with RCS, Ryan Bubb has worked extremely hard to be as dependable as possible in making sure everything is as efficient as can be in the production processes. Ryan is the Assistant Production Manager of Packaging and does an amazing job of making sure all he is responsible for is completed quickly and correctly. Starting his career with RCS in 2012 as a temporary production worker, Ryan quickly learned everything about the label machines and the warehouse. Since then, he has always been willing to pitch in wherever needed, including being an enormous part of the purchasing team for all of RCS’s materials. Ryan does a great job working with everyone in the agency and is always incredibly reliable. Thank you Ryan for all you do for RCS!
On August 7 RCS got the opportunity to host our first ever golf outing. Thank you to all our sponsors, donors, golfers and volunteers for your involvement. To everyone involved we hope you had a great time supporting our mission and the goal of the event, enhancing participants’ daily programming experience. We could not have asked for better weather for the event this year. We hope you’ll join us next year for even more fun at our 2nd Annual RCS Empowers Golf Outing!
We are thrilled to announce the 6th annual fundraising event on Friday, November 10th. The fundraiser will feature a VIP in person experience at RCS with decorated holiday trees, wreaths, garlands, and specialty items. Our focus this year is to further develop our outdoor greenspace. Our fundraising dollars for this event will be used for this project. The enhancement of the greenspace will provide accessible opportunities for our participants and the community to enjoy beautifully developed outdoor space and will be a destination for welcoming the community to connect and interact with individuals with disabilities. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit rcsshineon.com.
RCS Hosts 1st Annual Golf Outing
RCS To Host VIP Event
Happy Anniversary! August Gerk, Shelley – 22 Years Gosse, Ron – 12 Years Harris, Randy – 11 Years Kaemmer, Tracey – 1 Year Meulbroek, Brett – 1 Year Sladich, Laurie – 1 Year Vojtech, Ben – 1 Year
Shine On - Free Community Day - November 11th
Zastrow, Kimberly - 1 Year
RCS will be hosting a free community day on Saturday, November 11th from 10am - 2pm. RCS doors will be open to the public to view decorated trees, wreaths and garland. There will be a brat fry, live music (featuring South High Jazz Ensemble, South High Chamber Orchestra, Dare to Dream, and Kohler Madrigals) and a meet and greet with Santa!
September
RCS To Offer Free Community Day
Bubb, Andrew – 13 Years Felde, Debbie – 33 Years Klemme, Emily – 11 Years Senkbeil, Monica – 43 Years
2023 RCS Rodeo Picnic
Annual Summer Picnic
On Friday, September 22, 2023, participants at RCS enjoyed a fun-filled day at the annual picnic. This year’s theme was an “RCS Rodeo” with many participants sporting their western wear. The picnic was held at the RCS Trailside Park, which is a wonderful park area nestled between the RCS main facility and its North Plant operation. Participants had their choice of playing bingo and trying their luck at several western themed games.
EMPLOYER SPOTLIGHT
Ryan Bubb, Assistant Production Manager
Yang, Khao – 7 Years
October Barts, Jessica – 2 Years
June
Parker John’s BBQ & Pizza
July
Custom Craft Trophy & Embroidery
Haneman, Jenn – 10 Years Kilton, Amy – 6 Years Loeffler, Chris – 2 Years Morey-Erbes, Cody – 1 Year Petricek, Stephanie – 2 Years Van Wyk, Beth – 3 Years Yang, Lee – 4 Years
August
Sheboygan County YMCA
September
Inkworks Printing LLC
Welcome New 2023 Employees! Jenny Schmidt, Job Developer
Dee Yang,
Birth to Three Service Coordinator
Morgan Ruosch,
IPS Employment Specialist
Kara Petzke,
Birth to Three Service Coordinator
Krisa Aponte,
Caregiver/Instructor
Tom Larsen,
Instructor/Caregiver Specialist
Tom Larsen,
Instructor/Caregiver Specialist
Contact Information Main Campus 1607 Geele Avenue Sheboygan, WI 53083
Our Team
New Human Services Leadership
Jessica Barts, RCS case manager, has been promoted to Manager of Day Programs. Under Jessica’s management abilities and supervisory guidance, she, along with Sara Fredericks, Lead Day Services Instructor/Life Skills Specialist, will further strengthen the Day Services program. Emily Hening, Job Developer, has been promoted to Manager of Employment Services. In her new role, Emily will oversee the Employment Services program and will bring her past leadership experiences and talents to her new position. Jessica and Emily will join Jenn Haneman, Manager of IPS and FORWARDS, Patience Weinberger, Manager of Case Management, and Sheena Kalies, Manager of Birth to Three Services to compliment the human services leadership team. RCS is very excited about the new Human Services leadership team and the talents they all bring. We look forward to the continued growth and success in all of our programs.
Patience Weinberger Manager of Case Management
Emily Hening
Manager of Employment Services
Sheena Kalies
Manager of Birth to Three Services
Jessica Barts Manager of Day Programs
Jenn Haneman
Manager of IPS and FORWARDS
Sara Fredericks
Lead Day Services Instructor/Life Skills Specialist
Mailing Address P.O. Box 248 Sheboygan, WI 53082 Phone 920.458.8261
Email info@rcsempowers.com
Interested in employment opportunities? rcsempowers.com