Trillium Works

11/01/2025

in retrospect
As October has come to a close, we would like to thank everyone for joining us in celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! It has been a joy to share stories each day of some wonderful people making their employment goals a reality. We would like to express our gratitude to the many people who have let us share those stories and to the businesses that have supported and fostered those goals along the way. You are the reason we celebrate!
Day 1 to 31;
1. Matt Bahl – Burger King
2. Micah Saarela – Cash Wise Liquor
3. Amanda Benson – TJ Maxx
4. Nick Laudenbach – Anytime Fitness
5. Chris Shober – 5 Below
6. Jesse Miller – Hermantown Hockey/Great Lakes Aquarium
7. Maria Wright – ISD 709
8. Pam Bullyan – Burger King
9. Davey Daniel – Great Lakes Aquarium
10. Jennifer Wilson – KEY Zone, Duluth, MN
11. Solomon Olson – Amazon.com
12. Kat Foster – Kwik Trip
13. Carol Makowsky – Essentia Health
14. Jenny Nemeth – TJ Maxx
15. Jeff Signorelli – Cub Foods
16. Alyssa Prudhomme – Perkins
17. Jenny Schilling – HomeGoods
18. Shawn Stanich – DECC
19. Vern Erickson – Fond Du Luth Casino
20. Jonah Plys – Planet Fitness
21. Leanna – Kwik Trip/Duluth Trading Company
22. Austin Horstmann – O’Reilly’s
23. Angel Hathaway – ISD 709
24. Thomas Anderson – American Eagle
25. Sammy Gibson – Holiday Inn
26. Ben Kizer Bolts – Fairfield Inn
27. Kenny Raabe – Essentia
28. Debra Weber – Waters of Life
29. Hannah Fillman – Kwik Trip
30. Autumn Towle – Tru by Hilton
31. Tanya Karsiko – Target

10/31/2025

10/31/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
Day 31 of 31:

Tanya Karsiko has been employed at Target for 8 years! Wow! Tanya works 2-3 days a week and absolutely loves her job! Tanya can do it all and does a variety of tasks. Tanya mostly works in the clothing department clearing out freight and restocking shelves with new product. Tanya works independently and walks to and from work! She has built great working relationships with her coworkers and she loves being a part of such a great team! In her free time, Tanya enjoys going on walks, listening to music, and of course hanging out with her lovely cat! Great job Tanya and congratulations on 8 years!

10/30/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
Day 30 of 31:

Autumn Towle started a new job this year. After working many years at Target, she switched things up and started working in the housekeeping field. Autumn’s mother was in the housekeeping business, and she wanted to be just like her!
Autumn started her new job at the Tru by Hilton in August. She LOVES her new job and loves all her new co-workers. Autumn works one day keeping the lobby and the lobby bathrooms clean, and the other two days, she cleans rooms.
Autumn takes pride in her job, and is willing to take on any task handed to her. She will always be smiling, even when she has a lot of tasks. Autumn is dependable, and great at what she does.
If Autumn isn’t working, she is volunteering at Second Harvest, or hanging out with her friends and cousin.
Congratulations, Autumn on your new job. Keep rocking it!

10/29/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
29 of 31:

Hannah Fillman has worked at Kwik Trip for 3 years now!! Hannah is a retail helper two days a week! She does a great job ensuring that everything looks neat, clean, and organized for the customers. Her favorite thing to do at Kwik Trip is the coffee bar! Hannah is a strong team player, has a positive attitude, and is up for any task that she’s asked to complete. When Hannah is not at work she enjoys playing with Legos and hanging out with her friends while she beats them in a game of cards! Way to go, Hannah!

10/28/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
Day 28 of 31:

Debra Weber has been working at Bubbling Brook Child Care Center at the Waters of Life LC Church for 4 years. She loves what she does, and works hard. Deb is one of the most dependable employees you will meet. She rarely calls in, and is always ready to go to work.
Some of Deb’s janitorial duties include, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the garbage’s, making sure everything is sanitized, and the spaces are ready for church on Sunday.
Deb takes pride in her work, and enjoys her coworkers. The best part of Deb’s days is seeing all the kids. She has watched a lot of them grow over the last 4 years, and they all know who, Ms. Deb is!
If Deb isn’t working, she is busy giving back to the community. She volunteers 2 days a week at Second Harvest. When Deb isn’t volunteering or working, she is watching Minnesota sports. Deb is a huge fan of the UMD Bulldogs, and a season ticket holder. Deb also loves following the Wild, and the Vikings, but is slightly disappointed in them right now.
Congratulations on another successful year, Deb. Keep up the great work!

10/27/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
Day 27 of 31:

Ken Raabe has worked at Essentia Health in the Environmental Services department for almost two years! Kenny clocks in, grabs his cart, and heads up to the top floor every morning and does a great job of wiping down frequently touched areas in the employee section of the hospital. Kenny has done an outstanding job of showing up to work every day, even if he doesn’t feel it. This is a huge accomplishment for him! Kenny takes pride in his work and has become a popular face amongst the employees of Essentia, as he cleans almost every floor of the hospital. You’re doing great, Ken!

10/26/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
26 of 31:

Ben Kizer Bolts recently started a job at the Fairfield by Marriott located on the beautiful Park Point! Ben has done a great job learning his new responsibilities and has built great relationships with his coworkers! Ben is a hard worker and is always willing to go the extra mile to make the vacationers happy 😊 Awesome work, Ben!

10/25/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
25 of 31:

Sammy Gibson has now been at Holiday Inn & Suites Duluth-Downtown for 2 years! Sammy works Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays and she takes all the bedding off the beds, takes out all the garbage, and grabs all the dirty towels out of the rooms. Sammy has a good eye for looking for stains on the bedding and makes sure they are put into the correct place. What Sammy is most known for is paying attention to deal. Sammy loves coming to work everyday saying hi to all of her coworkers and saying “have a good day” to everyone that passes by. Everyone at Holiday Inn loves when Sammy comes to work because she always has the biggest smile on her face. Keep up the great work Sammy!

10/24/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
Day 24 of 31:

Thomas Anderson celebrated his One-year Anniversary in August at American Eagle, and just started working independently over the last few months. Thomas enjoys his job, and truly loves his coworkers. Some of Thomas’s task’s as a Retail Ambassador are, sweeping, mopping, picking retail stickers (that has now turned into a huge sticker ball named, Justin Jefferson), welcoming guests in, cleaning windows, and making sure customers have the right sizes in the fitting rooms.
When Thomas isn’t at work, he is most likely enjoying his “BYE WEEK.” (No work for the week). Thomas has a love for THE GAME and could tell you all the stats you need to know about any sport. He has perfected his half-court shot, and enjoys shooting hoops at the Y. He loves the Minnesota Vikings, and the Dallas Stars.
Thomas recently saved his money to purchase his own basketball hoop, and is going to his first Vikings game.
Congratulations, Thomas on a successful year. Keep up the great work, and keep being Awesome!

10/23/2025

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month ( )
Day 23 of 31:

This past February Angel Hathaway got the opportunity at starting a new career washing dishes for the Duluth Public Schools at Myers-Wilkins Elementary. Angel was welcomed to Myers-Wilkins with open arms, and her co-workers enjoy the positivity she brings to their days. A perk of the job that Angel enjoys is free school lunches after her shift. Toward the end of the last school year, Angel was given the opportunity to also wash dishes at Homecroft Elementary on the days she isn’t at Myers-Wilkins. This school year she was offered positions at Myers-Wilkins and Homecroft working 5 days a week! Way to go Angel, we are so proud of all your hard work!

10/22/2025

New Book ALERT!!!
And it's a classic!!!
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
There is a lot of excitement around this one.
If it sounds like something you would like please join us!
Our next meeting is at 3:00pm on November 4th.
The goal for the meeting is to read through Chapter 9, stopping at Chapter 10.