MADISON – Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association – concluded its month-long celebration of manufacturing on Sunday. To close out Manufacturing Month, WMC released a new video highlighting the unique partnership between EK and Fall River High School’s technical education program that provided students with the opportunity to create this year’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin trophy.
EK – a manufacturer based in Fall River – has produced all six Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin trophies, but this was the first year they partnered with local high school students to produce the final product.
“We at EK are huge proponents of a strong Tech Ed program at the high school level because we believe that it provides career options to kids,” said EK Vice President of Operations Steve Slack in the video. “I just love the overall Wisconsin component of this year’s trophy.”
The acrylic inset of this year’s trophy was cut by two high school students, Trevor Koegler and Sam Salzman, in Fall River’s Applied Engineering 1 Course.
“This partnership helps drive what we’re doing here in terms of our curriculum. It also provides learning opportunities for students that we can’t provide,” added Fall River High School Tech Ed Teacher Brian Anderson. “The good news is, is they get a prototype experience where they’ve made four or five cut outs and they keep making adjustments until they get a quality product.”
Throughout October, which is recognized as Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin, WMC once again partnered with Johnson Financial Group on the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest. Additionally, WMC toured multiple manufacturing facilities across the state, promoted various Manufacturing Month events, engaged in a robust social media campaign and released a number of videos.
More information about Manufacturing Month is available at WIManufacturingMonth.org.
