Current News

Most people who have talked to me in the last few months have neck problems. It is a cliché to call something a pain in the neck. If something is difficult or someone is bothersome, we call it a pain in the neck. Everybody who has had neck pain understands the origins...

At Willmar Electric, we like to have fun. So, we include a daily educational piece during the office's morning huddle. On Wednesday, the educational piece is typically an idiom. (An idiom is a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from...

I recently read the book “Mind Your Mindset” by Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller. The book was interesting, especially in light of my conversation on the recent Chapin's Commute podcast with Mike Bennett about Safety ALWAYS. In the book, the authors point out how...

My wife, Sue, recently retired from her job as the Business Manager at Lincoln Christian School. We decided to celebrate with a road trip to four National Parks. Our research said if we drove 14 hours from our house, we could visit Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion...

Recently my son, Mike, returned to work at Willmar Electric. He worked here part-time during high school and college. After he graduated from college, he worked here for about a year. He and his wife, Maddie, moved to Nashville, where he worked for a small General...

I remember a life lesson our Grandpa (Elmo) Chapin loved to highlight. Always leave a place better than you found it. Our Coworker, Steve Gardner, likes to put the same principle to practice when he refers to the concept that people shouldn’t know you were ever there....

History is filled with a lot of wars. American knowledge of what took place and who was fighting who in the different wars differs widely depending on the war. We all know about World War I (the war to end all wars). It’s the Allies Britain, France, Italy, Japan,...

I like to golf, and I live on a golf course.  So, I own a golf cart. Often, I use the cart to drive to the course and walk while I golf. Before you get too caught up in my fancy lifestyle, I want you to know that a round of golf at this course is $17. Early this...

Do you get angry? Maybe you are angry right now. I know I get angry.  Sometimes I even get angry about being angry. An author I respect, Gary Chapman, wrote a book on Anger. And since I get angry occasionally, I thought I should read it. The title of the book is...

Recently the topic of career paths has been getting a lot of coverage. At least around me, it has been. A report in the Wall Street Journal said it was the most important thing the class of 2023 plans to consider when they hit the job market. After losing in the first...