NEW NORTH, Wis. (Oct. 27, 2025) – This is a big week for celebrating October is Manufacturing Month in northeast Wisconsin. On Tuesday, October 28th is the NEW Manufacturing Alliance’s 14th annual Excellence in Mfg./K-12 Partnerships Awards at the Resch Expo from 6:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The Awards are given to manufacturers and educators that are working together to help youth explore manufacturing careers. This year’s winners include:
2025 EDUCATION AWARD WINNERS
Brighter Image – Marinette High School
Career Pathmaker – Administrator – Joe Ciontea, WTEA
Career Pathmaker – Educator – Cyndi Pavelski, Inspire Wisconsin – CESA 6
Career Pathmaker – Tech Ed Teacher – Max Garvey, Oshkosh Area School District
Higher Education – James B. Mathews, College of Menominee Nation & Clintonville High School
2025 MANUFACTURER AWARD WINNERS
Brighter Image – Eagle Performance Plastics
Educational Partnership – Amcor
Leadership – A to Z Machine Co.
Visionary – Russ Nowak, D&S Machine Service, Inc.
Youth Apprenticeship – LaForce
2025 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP WINNER
Community Partnership – Envision Greater Fond du Lac & Project G.R.I.L.L.
The NEW Manufacturing Alliance will be recognizing the 2025 All Stars at the event. Companies that have an employee being recognized are: Burger Boat, Fincantieri Ace Marine, Georgia-Pacific, Green Bay Drop Forge, KI, Miller Electric, Nature’s Way, Nueske Applewood Smoked Meats, Rockline Industries, Titletown Manufacturing and U.S. Lubricants.
The Awards dinner serves as a fundraiser for the NEW Manufacturing Alliiance’s Scholarship Fund. The Alliance awarded $65,000 worth of college scholarships for the 2025-2026 college term. Over the last fifteen years, the Alliance has sponsored over $500,000 in college scholarships.
The 15th annual Manufacturing First Expo & Conference, presented by First Business Bank in collaboration with Insight Publications and the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance will be held on Wednesday, October 29 at Resch Expo. It is the largest annual manufacturing conference in the state of Wisconsin. There are over 1,000 people registered for this conference including over 200 exhibitors.
Admission includes a full day of networking — including the “Power Hour” social with prize giveaways on the expo floor; breakfast; lunch; the opportunity to hear a keynote address by Betsy Allen-Manning discussing how to be a destination employer; plus at the event will be a wide array of educational breakout sessions; and more.
A complete preview of Manufacturing First, including a listing of this year’s over 200 exhibitors as well as a listing of this year’s event sponsors, is available online at www.manufacturingfirst.com.
