Amber Mestl launch speech

It is a great honor to have the opportunity to speak with you today.  I would like to thank Tony Raimondo and Dwayne Probyn for giving me the encouragement and the chance to be here today to tell you about My Hopes and My Dreams.

Throughout high school and college I never really knew what I wanted to do, I always knew that I had to do something that interested me.  I also knew I wanted to go into something that would allow me to grow as a person, a friend, and an employee.

I would like to stop and tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Colorado and soon moved to Nebraska where I have lived ever since.  My father works on a large feedlot located by McCook, Nebraska and my step-dad works on our family farm with his dad and brother.  I have worked many days on the family farm and also helped my dad ship cattle in and out of the feed lot.

My education started at Silver Creek Public Schools where I started my Kindergarten year and went through my freshman year.  I then transferred to Osceola Public Schools where I graduated in May of 2004.  I continued my education at Central Community College in Columbus where I graduated in May of 2006 with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management.

In March of 2006 I started working with my advisor at college to find a career that would suit me.  After much thought and consideration of what I wanted to do we came up with a position that was posted at Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus.  It was to start out as an intern job with the potential to move into a full time position.  My job title is a fabrications division clerk.  At Behlen I have many job responsibilities.  I have had the great opportunity to work with many different departments at Behlen.  I have done every thing from Inside Sales for our Site Furniture line, working with people who sell grain storage systems, and buildings.  I also work with the people who do international business, accounting and administration.  I had no idea that manufacturing had so many different things to offer.  Manufacturing is not just the making of the material or the product, there is so much more that goes into each little piece.        

I know that my generation does not look at manufacturing companies for a job because they feel that it is something that the older generation does.  If you would have asked me what Behlen manufacturing did when I first started I would have told you that they make bins and buildings.  I would have told you that because this is all that I have seen on our farm.  I really had no idea that they did so much more.  The technology that they use is quite outstanding and very interesting if you get into the details of things.  I know my generation has heard of these changes being made in manufacturing companies but I feel that they don’t understand what these changes can mean for them.  I feel that most anyone could find a job at a manufacturing plant of some kind that would help them to fulfill their hopes and their dreams.  No matter if they dream of helping to build buildings for a huge event like the Olympics or if it is to help make the first flying car.  All of these things are done in manufacturing companies.