Wisconsin Technical College System: Employer connections remain vital to WTCS Board

Conor Smyth, WTCS
conor.smyth@wtcsystem.edu or (608) 266-2991
Officer elections tap two manufacturers and an ag industry leader
 
La Crosse, WI – The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Board on Wednesdayelected two manufacturers and a leading voice in the ag industry to lead the Board in the coming year.
 
The Board elected S. Mark Tyler, founder and president of OEM Fabricators in Western Wisconsin, to a second term as Board President. OEM was recognized as Wisconsin’s Manufacturer of the Year, Medium Category, in both in 2006 and 2012. Tyler serves on a number of other Boards, including the UW Board of Regents and the Wisconsin Technology Council. He is also an active member of SkillsUSA and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
 
“I’m delighted to continue to lead this Board,” said Tyler. “WTCS Board members represent manufacturing, farming, health care, automation technology, construction, labor, Community-Based Organizations, law, finance, hospitality, education and workforce development – truly a cross-section of Wisconsin’s economy,” Tyler said. “As with our colleges, our connection to Wisconsin employers is critical to fulfilling our statutory mission.”
 
Becky Levzow was elected Board Vice President. The WTCS Board is statutorily required to include an individual whose principal occupation is farming. Levzow and her family manage a 180-cow, 750-acre, fourth-generation dairy operation in South Central Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program and is on the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin Board of Directors. Levzow is also vice chair of the Pardeeville School Board and her daughter and son-in-law are both ag educators. In addition to her broad engagement in the ag industry, Levzow is an ultrasound and nuclear medicine tech at Meriter Hospital in Madison.
 
W. Kent Lorenz, elected as WTCS Board Secretary, recently retired as Chairman and CEO of Acieta, a provider of advanced industrial robotic automation systems to North American manufacturers and their global affiliates. He is also the Managing Partner of commercial real estate investment company DKR Investors and serves on the Board of Directors of First Business Bank and the Western Lakes Fire District, among other business and community engagement.