Fermi WIN Kicks Off the Year With a Successful Panel
 The Fermi Women in Nuclear First Annual Kickoff Event on Feb. 9 was a huge success.
Even as the snow piled up outside, 35 people braved the inclement weather to participate and support Fermi Women in Nuclear, including Fermi senior site leadership.
The phenomenal discussion panel included DTE Energy's own Sharon Pfeuffer, director, group performance management; Suzanne Reith, superintendent, nuclear human performance; and Colleen Walker, director, nuclear organizational effectiveness. Each participant answered five panel questions and took further questions from the audience. The panel members were so gracious and have such passion for what they do! It was an amazing discussion and it is easy to see why they have attained the career success they have.
Let's Ride for the Cure
A motorcycle adventure through 13 countries in Central and South America has been organized by Stuart Endsley, a steam turbine technical adviser at the Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Mich., to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen organization. The adventure will cover 16,500 miles and take six months to complete. Fellow nuclear workers are asked to make a pledge at www.LetsRideForTheCure.com. The Web site includes more details, a blog, a satellite tracking feature and photographs taken along the trip. More than $1,400 has been raised to date.
US WIN Region III Conference Report
DTE Energy's Fermi Women in Nuclear hosted the U.S. WIN Region III Conference at the DTE Ann Arbor Center on April 7 and 8. Special thanks go out to Ann Arbor Center's heart and soul, Noree Bowbeer, without whom the conference would have been fraught with technical difficulties. She really went out of her way to make the event successful.
Lori McGuire from First Energy presented four sessions of The Humphrey Group's ”Taking the Stage.” This female leadership training resonated with each attendee, and Lori's facilitation brought out remarkable discussions and revelations.
Guest speaker Sue Simpson from American Electric Power presented on the D.C. Cook Improvement Project and package power uprates to offer a better argument to shareholders.
Lynne Goodman, manager of Fermi 1, spoke to the group about the decommissioning process and gave everyone an eye-opening education on breeder reactors. She also shared stories of her astonishing background and her visit to other sites, including Chernobyl.
Six of the attendees trekked approximately 35 miles to the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Plant site to tour the protected area, including the new dry cask storage building and equipment. They also saw Fermi 1, the Nuclear Training Center maintenance training facilities and the simulator. Fermi's manager of projects and modifications, Dennis Bergmooser, shared his patience, good humor, extensive plant knowledge and expertise while guiding the group through the protected area. Lynne Goodman awarded the group a blast from the past by taking them up into the non-operating Fermi 1 Control Room. Steve Bollinger, supervisor of technical training, was a gracious host, showing off Fermi's industry-best training facilities.
As an extension of the Region III Conference, the 2010 American Nuclear Society Student Conference Career Fair was held April 9 and 10, with the DTE Energy exhibit booth staffed by Rondi Russell and Rhonda Carradine from Fermi Women in Nuclear. Rondi is an especially gifted recruiter and personified DTE Energy's quality engineering force, explaining to hundreds of aspiring applicants DTE Energy's hiring and intern process, as well as her own engineering position. Next to the DTE Energy booth was the North American Young Generation in Nuclear booth staffed by Fermi's own engineers: Justin Wilhelm, Jason Nevel, Jessica Steffke and Matthew Joseph. Chief Nuclear Officer Jack Davis and Peter Smith, director of licensing and engineering at Fermi 3, visited the booths on the second day and had plenty of praise for the enthusiastic staff.
The ANS Student Conference itself was an amazing production. Michaela Eddy was unruffled and resourceful as she coordinated conference logistics. The mixer with the Professional Women of ANS was extremely well-attended, attracting more than twice the projected turn-out.
So many people had a hand in making the U.S. Women in Nuclear Region III Conference a success. Thanks to their planning and commitment, the conference was well-attended, included fascinating and relevant professional development, and was superbly catered. Thank you to Samantha Milosh of First Energy for coordinating all the input, and thank you to everyone who contributed! D.C. Cook has volunteered to host next year's Region III conference, and although it will be tough to outshine the 2010 conference, let's try anyway!
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