Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Weiler, Rodman, King, Solberg, Barth
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/05/2017
Weiler Takes the Reins (New Highground General Manager – 2017)
Weiler Takes the Reins as The Highground General Manager
Jon Weiler, who retired from the U. S. Army Reserve June 30, after just under 28 years of military service, poses in front of the Persian Gulf Memorial at The Highground Veterans Memorial Park. Weiler began his duties July 1, as general manager of The Highground. (Photo by Todd Schmidt/Clark County Press)
By Todd Schmidt
Jon Weiler, 49, did not get much time off during his “retirement.”
Weiler retired from the U. S. Army Reserve Friday after a nearly 28-year career in the military, and officially began his duties as general manager of The Highground Saturday.
He sat down in the midst of Freedom Day activities at The Highground June 24 to reflect on a rewarding military career and his new calling.
Weiler has actually been preparing for the job since June 1. He accompanied Kirk Rodman, The Highground volunteer general manager who retired Friday after a stellar 19-year stint, to a session that day at Colby Elementary School to recognize students who raised money for a Korean War Memorial Stone to honor a code-talker.
“Seeing support for The Highground at that level was awesome,” Weiler said.
His first day in the office was June 5. Rodman wanted to make sure his replacement was going to hit the ground running.
Weiler said he was sitting in a Hardee’s restaurant in Wausau in late April with his wife Sabrina and their daughter Anna, contemplating what the next step in their lives would be. He had already turned in his paperwork to retire from the Army. They recently purchased a house southwest of Merrill.
“My wife opened a newspaper to the classified ads page and saw an advertisement for The Highground job,” he said. “I was kind of overwhelmed, but my family said it would be a perfect job for me.”
Weiler had been to The Highground many years ago. He made a phone call, as the application was due May 1.
“I got a return call from Kirk, asking me to come in for an interview May 10,” he said. “We met at the Neillsville Area Chamber of Commerce office.”
C. W. King, chairman of The Highground Board of Directors, along with board members Bob Solberg, and Bob Barth, and Rodman, served as the interview committee. Weiler was offered the position several days later.
“Mr. Weiler has the background we were looking for in a general manager,” King said Friday. “He impressed the committee members during his interview. We are confident he will do a great job working with the board, and staff to continue the success of The Highground Veterans Memorial Park.”
Solberg said Friday he was impressed with Weiler’s service career, and the fact he is a family man.
“I think we picked the right person,” Solberg said. “He is a super fellow who gets along with everyone. He is excited to be at The Highground.
Weiler said a few days before the interview, he, Sabrina, Anna, and their other daughter, Alexis drove down to The Highground. Their son, Kristofer was unable to make the trip.
“We could feel what this place means to people,” Weiler said. “It is very spiritual. We all did a bit of soul searching, and praying. I felt like this was where I was meant to be. I guess God put it in front of us at Hardee’s.”
Weiler said he has been very impressed with the quality, and dedication of The Highground staff.
“They all know their duties very well,” he said. “They are all very dedicated, and I’m excited about working with them. Kirk and Nancy (Rodman) laid some astonishing tracks here. They have done an incredibly good job. It will certainly be tough to fill their shoes. My Job working with the board, and staff is to keep it on the tracks, and moving full speed ahead.”
One of the most thrilling things for Weiler moving into the general manager position is seeing where The Highground can go in the future.
“We will continue to get the word out about The Highground, with an emphasis on veterans’ issues,” Weiler said. “We need to focus on ways to get younger veterans involved and be a part of what The Highground is.”
I have already done some brainstorming with the staff. There are ways we can partner with other organizations. I am a dreamer, and I love to dream big. There are so many wonderful things this place can do.”
Weiler is impressed with the way volunteers step up to help.
“I am surprised about the number of volunteers they have here,” Weiler said. “This place would be nothing without them.”
The volunteer ranks have swelled by three, as Sabrina, Anna, and Alexis were squiring people around on golf carts, and helping with other tasks during the Freedom Day celebration.
He looks forward to discussing the direction, and development of the proposed Welcome Center project with the board of directors.
“I love the vision of this project,” Weiler said. “It is a huge endeavor. The Highground definitely needs a larger meeting facility.”
Weiler understands his role in raising funds to support operations, and projects as The Highground.
“I have never had problems with fundraising in the past,” he said. “It is a challenging part of the job here. It is what we have to do, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Weiler was asked to summarize his work and military career following his graduation in 1986 from Green Bay West High School.
He attended UW-Eau Claire for two years, and decided to join the U. S. Army in August 1989.
After basic training and AIT training, he was assigned a MOS as an intelligence analyst.
In June 1990, he and Sabrina were married in Green Bay. On July 1, he was sent to Gelhausen, Germany as part of the 3rd Armored Division Mechanized Infantry BTN.
On Dec. 23, 1990, his unit was deployed to Iraq as part of the Operation Desert Storm.
“The Commander asked us to look to our right and look to our left. He said two of us might not be coming back,” Weiler said. “We were concerned about Iraq’s large army, and their use of chemical weapons.”
His unit returned to Germany in 1991. In February 1992, Weiler was sent to serve for six months at the U. S. Embassy in Egypt.
Then it was back for stints at Ft. Monmouth, NJ, and Ft. Gordon, GA. In January 1995, his unit was sent back to Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch. His job was monitoring all air and ground traffic flow in Iraq below the 38th Parallel.
His enlistment came up in February 1996, and he decided to get off active duty. He entered the Army Reserve out of Ft. McCoy. His initial duty was instructing young soldiers about the intelligence analyst function.
The Weiler family moved to Green Bay, where they operated the Stroheim’s Frozen Custard restaurant for four years. The restaurant closed in October 2001, about a month after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Weiler family moved to Milladore, when he began working as a Roehl Transport fleet manage out of Marshfield. In August 2002, Weiler was ordered to report to Ft. Sill, OK for active duty.
His unit was sent to Camp Doha near Kuwait City in February 2003, and then to Baghdad, Iraq. Weiler worked for the Foreign Disclosure Office as part of the Combined Forces Land Component Command.
He returned to Ft. McCoy in March 2004, where he wore many hats, including instructor and training NCO.
In May 2007, Weiler moved to Ft. Rucker, AL to attend warrant officer candidate school. In July, he moved on to Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, where he joined the First Space Brigade. In that position, Weiler traveled worldwide.
In October 2012, his unit was deployed to Qatar as part of US Centcom. He returned to Peterson AFB in October 2013, serving there until October 2015, when he reported to Ft. Sheridan, IL. He served at the Army Reserve Intelligence Support Center there until his retirement last week.
Weiler said his family plans to relocate to the Neillsville area after Anna, who will be a junior, graduates from Marathon High School.
“My family and I are humbled and excited about this opportunity,” Weiler said. “We are also anxious to see what we can do in the community.”
