employee benefits

How Does Our Garden Grow?

Posted on by Darcia Schweitzer

It’s the time of year in the northern US when you start to the miss green grass, ample daylight and warm breezes that are still months away. The promise of spring’s renewal and seedlings sprouting from the snow-covered ground seems too far out to even indulge in a daydream of better weather.

But then again, I’m not a farmer.                                                    

The Promega Culinary Garden at Bluebird Farms.

Now is the time of year when farmers are reflecting on last year’s harvest, making decisions about changes that need to be made and planning for the upcoming growing season. This work includes choosing what plants and varieties will be planted, estimating how many of each are needed and ordering the seeds. Crop rotation and cover crops are also part of the considerations.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may know that Promega has a culinary garden that supplies some of the produce for our cafeterias on the Madison campus. During the growing season our Culinary Gardener, Logan Morrow, oversees the operations of Bluebird Farms with the help of his colleage Mike Daugherty.

Continue reading “How Does Our Garden Grow?”

Growth at Promega: From Daycare to Employee

Posted on by Karen Burkhartzmeyer

The red roof of Woods Hollow Child Care center peeks out over the prairie swale at the Promega Madison campus.
The red roof of Woods Hollow Child Care center peeks out over the prairie swale at the Promega Madison campus.

Woods Hollow Children’s Center is a prominent feature on the Promega Madison campus, due not only to the building’s distinctive red metal roof, but also the sights, sounds and energy that emanate from it. Playground laughter echoes across the prairie, little ones with their teachers stop in to explore the art at the Promega gallery, children and scientists alike share the meandering paths between lab, manufacturing and office buildings.

The fully accredited child center for children 6 weeks to 10 years old has been part of the Promega community since 1991 when the company built and began financially supporting Woods Hollow, making it available to employees as well as families in the surrounding community. (Promega employees do not receive a break in tuition, but they are given priority for admission. And Promega funding allows Woods Hollow to keep operating costs down while also being able to hire top teachers and offer them competitive wages.)

During its 27 years in operation, the center has served more than 2000 families, many of those with multiple children. It is natural to assume that someday perhaps at least a few of those kids would grow up to work at Promega.

Meet Promega Distribution Services Specialist, and Woods Hollow alum, Tyler Kalish. Continue reading “Growth at Promega: From Daycare to Employee”

Honoring Caregivers

Posted on by Promega

This blog post is contributed by guest blogger Diana Clark, Benefits Manager, Promega Corporation

November is National Family Caregivers Month, first proclaimed by President Clinton in 1997, the proclamation has been renewed by every U.S. President since. When President Obama proclaimed this designation in 2012, he commented, “The unselfish devotion of family caregivers affirms the importance of respecting the dignity of life in all stages and underscores the importance of the family unit.”

Hearing these words, I felt even prouder to be a part of the Promega family. You see, we are already in the process of rolling out Caregiver Leave for 2018. Caregiver Leave will provide Promega employees with an additional three weeks of paid time off annually to care for a sick parent, spouse or child, or to welcome a new child into their family via birth, adoption or foster placement. Continue reading “Honoring Caregivers”