CONNECTIONS Bradley Banfield ’98 is Presi-
Mark Kienbaum ’03 is the owner
dent of Buesing & Associates Inc. Banfield continued the work of past-president and UW-Platteville alumnus John Gantenbein when he was named President in January 2020. Buesing & Associates Inc. has offices in Dubuque, Iowa and Belleville, Wisconsin.
of Primrose School of Middleton.
Carrie (Neff) Pratt ’05 is an English Teacher at the Riverdale School District in Muscoda, Wisconsin.
Amanda (Lederer) Zopp ’05 is the Director of Annual Fund and Alumni Engagement at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Lynn (Jetzer) Weinfurter ’98 is a Teacher at the Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Area School District.
Paul Huettl ’05 is a Senior Mechanical Engineer at the ShiveHattery Madison Design office.
Do you know a fellow alum who deserves thanks? Give thanks for an alum who is a frontline worker— professionals in health care, schools, food service, and more. Tell us who you are thankful for, for working hard to keep the country running. Your note may appear in the next Alumni Today issue, the alumni e-newsletter, or the UW-Platteville Alumni Facebook page.
uwplatt.edu/shareyourstory
In the last issue of the Alumni Today, we asked you to share your story if you are part of a Pioneer legacy family. Here are some of your stories. View more on the UW-Platteville Alumni Facebook page.
Dave Nies ’68 writes, “I have five generations of graduates from UW-Platteville since 1908. My grandmother Catherine McDermott went to Platteville Normal School in, I believe, the summer of 1908 for a six-week teacher training certificate, and then taught for several years at the Patterson Country School in rural Bloomington. She was paid $240 for eight months of teaching and had eight students, only six of them full time. The rest of my family graduates are as follows: Catherine McDermott Nies (grandmother), 1908; Florentine Knautz Nies (mother), 1939; Delia Fischer Cooley (mother-in-law), 1942; David M. Nies (me), 1968; Marilyn Cooley Nies (wife), attended for three years before graduating from UW-Whitewater in 1970; Kenny Nies (son), 1991; Michele Schmitz Nies (daughter-in-law),
1995; Jeannie Nies (Porter) (daughter), 1993; Robert Porter (son-in-law), 1992; Paula Nies (daughter), 1995; Ellie Nies (Olson) (daughter), 1999; Aaron Olson (son-in-law), 1999; Kellie Check (granddaughter), 2020; and a grandson currently at UW-Platteville, Brady Olson. I also have five aunts and uncles who are also graduates: Lucille Knautz Pederson, 1948; James Knautz, 1947; Mae Nies Knautz, 1943; Phyllis Nies Bernhardt, 1943; and Bernadine Nies Stroede, 1952.”
Steve Haldiman ’10 writes, “My Grandmother attended the Normal School in Platteville to become a teacher and retired in 1983. My sister got her master’s in education from UW-Platteville in 2003. I received my bachelor’s in business in 2010 and master’s in project management in 2016.”
Here is an example from Crystal Taylor ’07, who writes in about her husband, Josh Taylor ’08. “Josh is an Emergency Room Nurse at Upland Hills Health, Intermediate Tech for the Mineral Point Rescue Squad, and Deputy Coroner for Iowa County. During this crazy COVID time, Josh remains positive and has a deep passion for wanting to help others no matter their situation. When he is not in the emergency room caring for our community, he is taking calls as an Intermediate EMT for the Mineral Point Rescue Squad. Josh’s sons, Nash and Brody, get just as excited when the tones go off on the pager. Both typically run to the front door and watch him leave. You can see the pride and joy on their
face when their dad drives away with the lights on his truck rushing to the EMS garage. He is currently studying Family Nurse Practitioner at Walden University. Despite a few COVID related setbacks, he plans to graduate in the spring of 2022. Being a frontline employee has had its challenges during COVID, however his family and friends couldn’t be more proud of him as Josh continues to pursue his dream of providing care to others in his community while being a topnotch father, caring husband, supportive son, and dedicated nurse, while giving back to his community.”
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