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Architecture Post Presents Final Project
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This year's project assignment was for the students
to design a four-plex housing unit for single
parents with children. Mr. Chris Swan, builder
of Swan Houses across the nation, has hired Mr.
LaPlant with this project, so Jim entreated his
Explorers to contribute to this real project so they
could see all that he must consider. Mr. Swan
attended and was one of the judges. The
Explorers, once again, did not disappoint after
putting in many hours for each project. It is
always amazing how different each Explorer designs
his/her project --all of them worthy of a prize!
This year, the winner is a 9th grade
student, Xander Renish, from Southwest High School
in Green Bay. His graphic, marketing, and
presentation skills were well thought out and his
project met the needs of the families and children
who would be living in such a building. The
runners-up were Josh Seiltz and Chelsea Novinska,
who also had outstanding ideas and presentations.
Please watch the local WI Exploring website post
list at
www.learningforlifewi.org for the kick-off
of the next architecture program in the fall of
2007.
Thank you again, Jim LaPlant -- excellent job!
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Explorer of the Year Awarded
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After high
school, Jason is planning on attending a four year
university to get his Bachelor of Science Degree in
Criminal Justice. Jason would then like to pursue a law
enforcement career with the United States Secret
Service.
Since joining
in 2004, Jason has been a very active member of the
post. In 2005 and 2006, Jason had perfect
attendance at the bi-weekly meetings. He also spent over 24 hours
in the Communications Center and rode along with
officers on patrol. Jason has performed over 70 hours
of community service; assisting the police department
with parades, McGruff, the bike jamboree, SRT training,
the WBPD open house and the city’s fireworks.
Also during
the year, Jason participated in two different Explorer
Expositions, which are competitions against other Police
Explorer Posts from around the state. Jason and his
peers won several awards at the events in Appleton and
Milwaukee.
Jason has
served as the Lieutenant of the post and was recently
selected as the Captain for 2007.
Active
Explorers and cadets from the Police Explorer Post are
eligible to apply for the award. Each candidate answers
a series of questions and is evaluated on their
attendance at school, grade point average, attendance at
regular meetings and the number of hours of community
service as an Explorer.
The Explorer
Post is sponsored by the West Bend Police Department and
sanctioned by the Boy Scouts of America. Explorer
Posts in twelve different career paths are designed to
give individuals who are 14-21 years old an inside look
at a potential career.
Each
October, the Police Department actively recruits new
members through the area high schools. For more
information, contact Detective Mike Hartwell at
335-5017.
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Explorers Form New Post
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Robb
Szymik, of Appleton, started at the age of 16 with
Post 218 of Racine, Wisconsin. Szymik is currently a
systems administrator for Stumpf Ford in Appleton,
an accomplished musician, and co-owner of Benzor
Audio. Mike Korntved, of Menasha, also works with
computers and is a systems specialist with KayTee
Products of Chilton, Wisconsin. Like Szymik,
Korntved became an explorer with Post 218 at the age
of 14 and later earned his Commercial Pilot
Certificate. In fact, it was Korntved that first
introduced Szymik to the world of aviation while
they
were both attending J.I. Case High School in Racine.
Mentored by the late Carl Helmle, Post 218’s
advisor, both were inspired to excel at whatever
they attempted, even when outside the field of
aviation. Helmle was responsible for introducing
Szymik and Korntved to the EAA annual fly-in
convention at Oshkosh where they serve today as
co-chairmen of the Aviation Exploring Base (AEB).
The AEB not only provides a “high adventure” camp
for over 100 high school age youth, but also
provides a significant number of “volunteers” for
custom aircraft parking and other venues at the
convention.
Although the AEB takes a significant amount of time
and effort, last year, both Szymik and Korntved made
the decision to become advisors of a post for the
Appleton area. With assistance from Outagamie County
Regional Airport and its director, Don Hoeft, Post
9924 held its “First Nighter” in October 2005. Of
the approximately 70 youth and parents that
attended, 24 youth signed up as explorers and a few
adults including Sara Johnson of Neenah who is an
assistant to Hoeft and Dorrie Houk of Menasha, and
also a troop leader in the traditional Scouting
program. |
Anne Bloche of Aviation Exploring Post 731,
Springfield, Ill., behind the wheelbarrow and later,
visiting with friends. |
Because it is the only aviation exploring program in
the area, some explorers travel from as far as 30
miles away to attend the regularly scheduled
meetings.
Meetings are held in the administration building at
the airport on the second Thursday of the month. To
learn more, visit the Post’s website at
www.Post9924.com.
As for “coming around,” it’s evident that both
Szymik and Korntved, like their former mentor Carl
Helmle,
are making a “positive payback” to the youth of the
Outagamie County area.
If you or someone you know is interested in starting
an Aviation Exploring program, you can visit the
national website at www.learning forlife.com/exploring/aviation/index.html. |
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