BRI developed into being a ….

BRI developed into being a full-fledged business.

A major emphasis of BRI is doing sub-contract work for other business in the area. The work has included assembling and packaging product, weatherstrip cutting, product inspection, collating and postal work. Customers have included Weather Shield, Hurd Millwork (Sierra Pacific), Phillips Plastics, Aspirus Medford Hospital, Taylor County, city of Medford and Nestlé Pizza as well as many others.

In addition they have expanded to doing custodial work and other projects over the years.

In addition to working at the facility, BRI serves clients and the community through supported employment programs with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).

This assists persons with diverse abilities to obtain and maintain employment in the community.

Over the years BRI has had many homes in the community.

The organization moved to the Happy Americans Club near the present Frances L. Simek Library in Medford. They moved to what is the current city hall building in 1985 and in 2000 moved to its current location on Jensen Dr. in the industrial park. Leadership continues In 2008, Thornton was named director of BRI and served in that position until 2015 when he passed the leadership torch to current director Amber Fallos.

Thornton was the last employee to work in all four buildings.

Thornton moved from direct case management to a marketing role with BRI before he became the director. Working with the clients is still a favorite role among the many he held. “I tell people I miss the case management part of the job. As I got beyond it to the management stage, I was a layer removed from the people,” he said at the time of his retirement.

Thornton helped guide the organization through a number of challenges. The clients rely on having work and when many companies and businesses struggled during the 2009 recession, BRI struggled along with them. He stayed committed to working with those businesses to keep the value of BRI known. “Wherever there was a load-

Continued on page 8 Continued from page 5 ing dock within 50 miles, I was there, selling our mission,” he said. “We were in a holding pattern for a year and half.”

He left a healthy organization to the capable hands of his successor, Amber Fallos.

Fallos came to BRI after serving as head of the Taylor County Human Services department, but her connections to BRI and the community are numerous.

One of Fallos’ biggest connections to Black River Industries is family. Her mother was a longtime employee of the organization. In a news article from the leadership change, Thornton said one of the first times he remembers meeting Fallos was when she was 12 years old and attending a ‘bring your daughter to work day.’ Her mother passed in 2014, but the memory of the pride she took in her work family has always motived Fallos. “They were family oriented and I often heard about the work they do. It’s part of my passion for what I do,” Fallos said. “Obviously, [human services staff] have worked closely together with BRI.”

Fallos brought with her experience and credentials to her new position. Like Thornton, she brings a love of people as well. “To me, people are what make a difference,” she said at the time she was named to lead BRI. “I always wanted to make a difference. I’m lucky enough to have leadership skills to help others help other people.”

As only the 4th long-term director in BRI’s 50year history, Fallos says this stability has been important toward achieving the organizations’s mission and serving its clients and customers “Leadership has been very consistent over the years,” she said. She said the stability in the position, and the outstanding community support shown to BRI, demonstrates that the staff and people are invested in the organization.

“Every day here is exciting,” she said. “It is a new challenge and new energy every day.”

A major benefit of BRI has been to allow people with disabilities to be successful in developing skills and to stay in the community and be part of the community.

“There are very few communities our size that have services for people with disabilities,” Fallos said. “It is very unique that we have this available.”

Fallos said it is because of the community support that BRI has been able to continue to serve the needs of the clients and community. Fallos praises those who helped found what became BRI 50 years ago and who had the vision to bring together an organization.

BRI is a trusted subcontractor that has worked to meet the needs of local businesses and industries for decades.