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JoAnne Soffa, age 87, of Whitewater, passed away at Fairhaven Senior Services in Whitewater, Wisconsin on February 9, 2018, surrounded by her family. 

She was born on September 26, 1930, in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, the daughter of Esther and William Seymour.

Anne graduated from Elkhorn High School and attended UW-Stout and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with a degree in Food Sciences.  She was a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority.  She was a registered dietician and practiced in this area for many years, including at the VA Hospitals in Madison and Milwaukee, Fort Memorial Hospital, and Countryside Nursing Home in Jefferson.  She married Sam J. Soffa on November 17, 1956.  She was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Whitewater and later joined the First English Lutheran Church, also in Whitewater.

She was dedicated to making sure people in her community had access to good food, and she generously dedicated her time to the Gathering, a free community meal program at St. Luke’s.  She also volunteered at the Whitewater Food Pantry and was a member of Whitewater Chapter CI of PEO (Philanthropic Educational Organization).  She enjoyed knitting with her friends in knitting club, working in fiber arts, cooking, canning, baking, gardening, traveling with her husband, swimming, and playing bridge. With her family, she adopted several Gordon Setters through Gordon Setter Rescue.

She is survived by her husband Sam, daughter Dianne, brothers William Seymour (Marlyne) and Daniel Seymour, and sister Kathryn Larson (Roger).  She was preceded in death by her sister Mary French (Clayton), with whom she often traveled, knitted, and played bridge.

Services will be held at the First English Lutheran Church, 401 W. Main Street in Whitewater, at 11:00 a.m. on February 24, 2018, with Pastor Steve Hanson and Father John Splinter presiding.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to the Whitewater Food Pantry, c/o Jacki Hale, 599 S. Franklin Street, Whitewater, WI  53190.

UW-Whitewater Human Resource Management Program Honored with Prestigious Award

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater College of Business and Economics was recognized for the excellence of its Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management at the 36th annual LEAD Awards on February 8, 2018. In the category of Degree Program with Emphasis on HR, 150 programs were nominated and the top 15 were ranked. UW-Whitewater’s BBA in human resource management placed third in this elite group.

The LEAD Awards program is an exciting part of HR.com’s annual conference. Each year this conference draws esteemed executives and experts from around the country, and the awards celebrate exceptional leadership and innovations in developmental programs by organizations, education programs, and individuals.

UW-Whitewater’s award-winning Human Resource Management major features core credits from the College of Business and Economics’ respected BBA and 24 credits of courses that align with the standards of the Society for Human Resource Management. All students must complete a capstone course that integrates the HRM content from previous courses and builds critical thinking skills.

Program Coordinator and Associate Professor Kelly Delaney-Klinger explained, “The SHRM Competency Model has been very helpful for identifying learning objectives, both for individual courses and the overall major. Having students participate in hands-on activities, research and client-sponsored projects greatly improve learning in the courses. These activities also boost students’ confidence in their ability to perform as an HR professional.”

A relatively new addition to the program is a required e-Portfolio. HRM students all must create an electronic portfolio, which is intended to collect and demonstrate what students learned throughout their HR courses. Students must present their e-Portfolios to HR professionals during the capstone class.

Regarding the e-Portfolio component of the HRM program, Management Department Chair and Professor Jon Werner shared, “This has been an important tool for helping students integrate their knowledge and experiences. It is evident the competency-based curriculum, capstone course and e-Portfolio prepare students to effectively present themselves as HR professionals when they graduate.”

Werner adds, “In the marketplace, the program’s success is ultimately measured in terms of job placement and career advancement. We have seen, on average, that 94% of the graduates of the BBA in HRM are working in their field of study within six months of graduation.”

Dean John Chenoweth was pleased with the LEAD award distinction, which helps highlight the competencies-based model and e-Portfolio component.

Chenoweth explains, “The UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics places great emphasis on assurance of learning goals. We want to ensure our graduates are prepared to transition successfully from college to career, and that they have acquired the skills and business knowledge they need to succeed. The SHRM Competency Model used in the human resource management program allows faculty to map student outcomes onto the expected learning outcomes of the college.”

Human resource management is one of 14 undergraduate majors available from the AACSB-accredited UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics.

Chili Cook-off Winners

1st Place- Joe Murn with Joe’s Chili

2nd Place- Blake Scharine with The General’s Blend

People’s Choice- Clyde Curtis with Man’s Chili

Best Decorated Table- Christopher Cohen with Mean Beans

Thank you to the judges: Brian de la Torriente, Cameron Clapper, Chief Lisa Otterbacher

Washington Elementary School Selling Note Cards to Support Mural Fund

Help support our public art project and enhance our community!

Outdoor Regional Landscape Mural  
Card Set  & Site

Washington Elementary School, Whitewater, WI

Our school has begun an outdoor regional landscape mural.  Three hundred native flowers were designed by current and former Washington students, grades 2 – 7, projected and painted at their own specific heights.  These transformed the lower wall of the mural site.   The note cards in this set contain these Wisconsin native wildflower paintings.

The next steps: Student drawn images on the upper walls will depict local city and rural areas, including Whitewater landmarks, flora, and wildlife. Also, sculptural facades of favorite east side landmarks, the water tower, wooden walk bridge, train, and the octagon house will accent the space.

Interested in sending 300 flowers to someone, while helping us fund the next steps in the mural?

Note cards depicting the lower mural wall are on sale.  The set of four 5” x 7” cards may be connected together to create the entire flower painting. An $8.00 set may be purchased at the Washington Elementary School office, 506 E. Main St. and at:  Jessica’s Family Restaurant, Century 21 Realty, Home Lumber Co., Fort Community Credit Union, First Citizens State Bank, Premier Bank, Aranda, Mi Preferida, and at Crocus, in Cambridge, WI. Card proceeds help fund the project.

Contributions may be made to: WUSD Washington School Mural Fund.                                                     

Set of four note cards, envelopes, and postcard – $8.00

Cards can also be ordered by mail.   Prices for mail order card sets include shipping costs to anywhere in the U.S. are included below:

English:       Information         Order Form

Espanol:      Information         Order Form

For more information, visit: http://www.washington.wwusd.org/page/2867 or contact Mareta Hale, Washington Art Teacher, mhale@wwusd.org

Six Whippet Wrestlers Advance to Sectionals

Article by John J. Schimming; Photos by Bob Mischka

On Saturday the Whitewater Wrestling team traveled to East Troy to participate in the WIAA Regional Wrestling Tournament. The tournament had seven teams present with the top team advancing to the team sectional and the top two individuals in each weight class advancing to individual sectionals.

When all was said and done the Whippet team found themselves in second place. The team finished behind East Troy who was able to win more of the head to head competition, which in the end was the difference. Whitewater did have a very good last round of wrestling going 12-2 in the placement round. The Whippets had two individuals place 5th, six finish 3rd, three 2nd and three Champions.

Coming home as Regional Champions included: Jaden Salmieri, Tommy Cushman, and Jimmy DuVal. All three of these individuals wrestled very well in all of their matches to bring home the championship. Jaden and Jimmy defended their titles from a year ago. Tommy pinned all three of his opponents on his way to his first ever championship in a high school tournament.

Coming in second place were Tyler Gamble, Trenten Zahn, and Aldo Soto. Gamble and Zahn reached the finals only to fall in the championship match. Soto lost a tough semi-final match, however, came back to pin his opponent for third. Soto then had the opportunity to wrestle back for true second since he had not wrestled the athlete that lost in the finals. In this match, Soto was matched up against the number one seed who coming into the tournament was 21-2. Soto wrestled a great match defeating his opponent 8-5, earning his second trip to the sectional tournament.

Unfortunately, the team competition is over based on their second-place finish as a team. This closed out a nice season for the Whippet team. The team will focus on our individuals who will be competing next weekend at Cedar Grove-Belgium in the sectional.

The Jefferson County public snowmobile trails will be closed effective 6:00 AM on Tuesday, February 13, 2018.

The Jefferson County snowmobile trails will close at 6:00 am on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, and are closed until further notice.

For more information,  contact the 24-hour snowmobile hotline at 920-699-7669.

JEFFERSON COUNTY SNOWMOBILE ALLIANCE trail conditions web page: http://www.jcsawi.org/trail-conditions/

UW-Whitewater Sports Recap

In the photo (L – R): Head Coach Keri Carollo, Scott Trewyn (father), Brooke Trewyn, Shirley Trewyn (mother) and UW-W Chancellor Beverly Kopper.

Photos by Peter Mischka, Courtesy of Bob Mischka

Women’s Basketball: No. 17 UW-Whitewater 83, UW-River Falls 72
Three Warhawk seniors were honored during the half-time of last night’s game between UW-W and UW-River Falls. Attached is a photo of WHS graduate Brooke Trewyn taken (by Peter) during that ceremony.
Brooke scored a career-high 31 points during the game — a 83-72 win over River Falls which clinched a share of the WIAC title for the Warhawks.
For complete game recap from UWWSports.com, 

Men’s Basketball: UW-Whitewater 66, UW-River Falls 76

The University of Wisconsin- Whitewater men’s basketball team fell to UW-River Falls, 76-66, in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference contest Saturday evening.

UW-River Falls outrebounded the Warhawks (16-7 overall, 6-6 WIAC) 43-27 and shot 26-of-28 from the free throw line compared to 19-of-26 from the free throw line for UW-Whitewater in the contest.

Junior guard Derek Rongstad led the Warhawks) with 16 points and seven rebounds.  Junior guard Mitchell Pfeifer added 14 points and junior guard David Sachs added 10 points.

For complete game recap from UWWSports.com, 

UW-Whitewater Wrestling Places Second at WIAC Championship

The No. 8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team rode four individual titles to a second-place finish Friday at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship (Presented by Culver’s) at Kachel Gymnasium.

Seniors Austin Quartullo, Jordan Newman, sophomores Hazen Rice and Mike Tortorice each captured championships in their respective brackets.

For complete game recap from UWWSports.com, 

Students perform with WCDA Honors Choir in Wausau

Five WHS students performed in the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association Honors Choir in Wausau, Wisconsin, in January. The students rehearsed with students from throughout Wisconsin for two days. They presented a beautiful and inspiring concert at the Grand Theater in Wausau under the direction of Dr. Christopher Aspaas and Dr. Mary Hopper.

Students pictured in the photo, from left to right, are Alexa DuClos, Savannah Boss, Alec Holt, Ian Killoran. Not pictured is Sage Spear. Henry Bresser was selected to attend but was unable to participate.