Holiday House of Manitowoc County, Inc. in Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Holiday House of Manitowoc, Inc.

The mission of Holiday House of Manitowoc County, Inc., in partnership with the community-at-large, is to promote the advancement and dignity of individuals who are affected by disability or handicapping circumstances.

RAM Program

Millhome Wayside Crew receives 2008 Inspectors Award

Holiday House started providing custodial and landscape services for rest areas located southbound and northbound on I-43 in Manitowoc County in 1988. In 2005, they began providing custodial and landscape services for the seasonal waysides located on USH 42 in Lakeshore at Two Rivers and USH 32 & 57 at Millhome. They began providing services at the Wrightstown Safety Weight and Enforcement Facility (SWEF) in Outagamie County located on USH 41 NB at the Brown County line in 2006.

Currently the program employs seventeen individuals which include eleven people with disabilities in the Rest Area Maintenance (RAM) Program. Assisting the public, working outside and making the facilities clean and safe for travelers are aspects most liked by the employees. While each year brings budgetary constraints and a variety of challenges, Holiday House manages to keep its sites exemplary components of the RAM Program. The site crews have received several Traveler Awards from RFW, Inc., based on the many favorable comments from the traveling public on how nice the rest area and waysides are maintained. On December 18, 2008, the Millhome wayside maintenance crew was awarded the 2008 Inspector's Award from RFW, Inc. The award was created to recognize rest area and seasonal wayside crews that had consistently applied high standards in janitorial, maintenance and landscape services, had responded swiftly to corrective requests and employed a constant positive attitude in their workday activities.

According to Larry Bergner, Program Manager, the RAM Program has had a positive impact on Holiday House. "It has given us the ability to employ the individuals we serve in an environment that allows them to gain new skills and potentially prepare them for other job opportunities in the community. Crew members enjoy having a job that provides a pay check and a needed service to travelers and the opportunity to work with the public. Our workers carry a great deal of pride in their work and that is represented in the quality of their work. They are proud to wear the uniform because it makes them feel directly a part of something bigger. They see thousands of people that utilize the facilities and know the satisfaction of the public is because of them and their work efforts."

Rest Area Maintenance Crew Photo of Wrightstown SWEF