Our Mentors
We appreciate our mentors!
Michelle Marotzke
"I don’t have ducks in a row, I have squirrels. And they most certainly do not operate in a row.” That is how I would describe my life. I listened to people who didn’t have my interests in mind and bad choices were made. I have done everything from making ice cream cones to driving a forklift in an overnight shift. However, I grew from those choices and learned to call them “learning opportunities” rather than “mistakes”. I learned to define my success based on what I wanted to accomplish rather than what society expected or what other people said I should do or be.
My personal story had all of the classic elements of a kid from the “wrong side of the tracks.” My parents had college certificates, but we were lower middle class at best. Growing up in the 80’s, I did not have the latest styles (like Guess jeans or parachute pants) and my mom even made some of my clothes; however, we always had food and shelter. Our dad raised us, which was a unique small-town situation. Our family also dealt with mental health and abuse issues, keeping it “hidden” as best we could from our extended family and friends. While my sister and I did well in school and participated in activities, we were never the “cool” kids. When I got pregnant during my junior year of high school, many of our classmates’ parents definitely did not want their kids to hang out with us.
Fast forward 28 years later. I have a happy marriage, a solid state college education, and a great job. My son grew up with tons of people watching out for him and is now a small business owner. Regardless of the degrees or the paycheck I earn, I keep in mind that scared young woman who, at 18 years old, didn’t even know what a mentor was. I could not have gotten here if I hadn’t stopped to find the people around me that were good. They weren’t perfect by any means, but they took an interest in me. I learned from them to listen to my gut and not worry about what everyone else is saying about me or what society says I “should” do.
My entire life has been about stewardship, doing good things in the community I live in. I enjoy “paying it forward” by helping others achieve their own successes, however that may look to them.
Jami Tanner
My name is Jami Tanner and I am the Director of Member Services and Sales with the Willmar Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. I am responsible for the management of the volunteers, committees, special events/projects, membership sales and retention. I am a 2010 graduate of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School. I returned to the area last summer after living in the Shakopee, Cheyenne, WY, and Portland, OR following graduation from Augustana College in 2014. Prior to returning to the area, I worked in administration for the construction and naturopathic medicine industries. My husband Hayden and I have been married for five years and have a boxer (Chloe), Boston terrier (Purpen), and a pot bellied pig (Clyde). I enjoy camping, hiking, decorating, working on home improvement projects, being at the lake, and spending time with family and friends.
IMG_0360.pdfHayden Tanner
I am an Assistant Project Manager at Marcus Construction. In this role I help the Project Manager to manage all aspects of a construction project. From getting bids on the work to writing contracts to managing the work being performed. All while keeping the client happy and ensuring he gets a quality building that will last for years to come.
Some of my interests include construction, working on cars and motorcycles, hiking, camping, and remodeling my house.
Jeni Gafkjen
I am the Human Resources Director for Northern Radiator in Willmar where I am responsible for the recruitment, human capital management, compliance, and plan administration for our employees located in 16 states. I am passionate about helping others and I absolutely love animals.
Christopher Radel
I have lived in 3 different countries, and have traveled to 6 continents. I care about making my community stronger, healthier and closer. I currently work at the Utility company finding ways to help businesses and residential customers reduce their energy consumption. I grew up in Willmar and am a graduate, and in 2020 decided to move back with my family.
Kevin Marti
I am the Supervisor of Facilities & Maintenance at Willmar Municipal Utilities, before that I spent 25 years in the automotive repair industry. I am a retired firefighter from the Willmar Fire Department serving 19 years. I am a do-it-yourselfer and enjoy pretty much anything I can do with my hands- woodworking, yard work, whatever... I am married with two grown daughters who are both in college- one in Iowa, one in California. Finally, I am sadly a Minnesota Vikings fan.
Matthew Moorhouse
I'm Matthew. I enjoy watching sports, spending time with my kids, still game when I can and like to get in the car and travel to a new places. I work for West Central Technology in town. Its really exciting being apart of a growing business that helps customers stay on the cutting edge with technology needs. Most of the staff here got their start with a degree over at Ridgewater in the IT field.
Personally I did well in high school, but didn't have any plan going into college and wasted some time there. I ended up with a generic business degree. This got me in the door but didn't give me any specific skill set to make me all that useful. Like I mentioned above I work with many IT professionals that with their two-year Ridgewater degree make more than I do and I'm 10 years older than them.
I took a non-glorious management training program after school and gained some good experience that I could put on my resume, but it was eye opening that my fancy college degree had me working for not much more than if I worked at a fast-food restaurant. Having more education can sometimes give you a better starting spot, but companies like to be loyal to those that come to work with a good attitude, are reliable and willing to work to grow with the company. Companies like work experience and you showing you working to move up at a job. Example: we hired someone here at WCT that only had a 2 yr degree from Ridgewater over a few others that held 4 yr degrees from large universities. The main reason.... this kid moved up at his part time job on the side. That showed us beyond the degree this kid would work hard.
Another example my best friend growing up almost didn't graduate high school. He dropped out of college the first month. He was not good at school but was good at; having a good attitude making professional relationships with his bosses and being responsible at work. He is now in a doctorate degree at the University of Memphis. He will tell you he is not even close to the smartest one there, but he is valuable in this program as he has the most real world experience.
I took my low-paying management training job and used the experience there to show new companies I applied for, my work ethic and moved up to a management role for a large company. I have a lot of experience to share from that role. I was sent across the country from St. Louis to Colorado to Rochester to train in management, sales, conducting job interviews and job development.
Nathan Primus
I am a consultant for Remodeling Solutions or ABC Seamless. I take care of our sales and also am our office manager and also go out in the field and do installation.
I have a wife and daughter. We love to be outside and be adventurous. The company has sponsorships with the Willmar Stingers and Willmar Warhawks. The company is family driven; my dad owns it and my uncle and cousins also work here. I have been through trainings on leadership and management. I am still currently learning more on how a business is run.
