LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

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Since 2004

Tag: Joanna reese

  • Loveland Schools Robotics Team Supported Loveland Police Department inclusion efforts for Halloween

    Loveland Schools Robotics Team Supported Loveland Police Department inclusion efforts for Halloween

    “Loveland FTC Lego Team Striped Might, their coaches Anna Macura and Jay Frazier, and mentors Joanna Reese, Brayden Watts, and Ally Oh, created candy bags – including special robot candy – for the LPD’s efforts to make Halloween in Loveland inclusive of all, especially those who are restricted by disabilities. Inclusion is a core value of the FIRST Robotics program.”

    During his hour-long visit with Striped Might, Lt. Szpak took the opportunity to demonstrate the technology he uses on the job.

    Loveland, Ohio – On Halloween, the Loveland Police Department (LPD) took candy to the homes of children and adults in the Loveland community who were unable to trick-or-treat due to a disability. It was part of the LPD’s effort to include those who otherwise would not be able to participate and make Halloween special for them, too. Loveland Middle School FIRSTLego Robotics team “Striped Might” met with Lieutenant Mike Szpak last Sunday evening to share their supply of candy and gifts to be distributed. Striped Might is a rookie team with rookie coaches – Anna Macura and Jay Frazier – rising up to the challenge of FIRSTRobotics.

    Grant, one of more than a hundred students in grades 2-12 involved in robotics at Loveland Schools, showed his work to Lt. Szpak.

    “Robotics is not just about the BOT,” said Joanna Reese. “Inclusion is a core value of the robotics program and this is a wonderful way for us to share that with our community.” Reese is a member of the Bionic Tigers, one of two FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics teams at Loveland High School, and serves as a mentor for the younger members of Striped Might.

    Lt. Szpak spent about an hour with the team members during their Sunday practice at Loveland Middle School. At the end of the visit, the team was invited to help deliver any Halloween leftover candy to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House.

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  • Jeff Reese receives Distinguished Service Award

    Jeff Reese receives Distinguished Service Award

    The Jeff Reese family: Wife Susan, son Jonathan, daughter Joanna, Jeff Reese, daughter Diana, and mother and father Diane and Dick Reese.

    Miami Township, Ohio – Resident Jeff Reese, a 1985 NC State Paper Science and Engineering alumnus, was recognized with Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry’s (TAPPI) highest individual honor, the Herman L. Joachim Distinguished Service Award, at their 2018 PaperCon event. Established in 1983, this honor is presented to an individual for “exemplary leadership that has significantly contributed to the advancement of the Association.”

    Reese works for International Paper at its Cincinnati Technology Center as manager–paper solutions.

    Reese’s commitment to the pulp and paper industry goes beyond his 33-year career and extensive work with TAPPI. Dedicated to recruiting and training young engineers, he is an active participant in the College of Natural Resources’ Pulp and Paper and Program advisory committees. He also provides guest lectures for senior design class and freshman orientation classes.

    Each year, Reese spends a week on the NC State campus conducting mock interviews with students in the paper science and engineering program to help them prepare to get internships and jobs. He meets with each of them, helping them improve their resume and tailor their stories to secure jobs.

    “My two favorite hobbies have been TAPPI and working to recruit, engage and train new engineers into the pulp and paper industry,” Reese said while accepting the Joachim Award.

    “I’ve been leading recruiting at NC State and helping with training engineers for 22 years now, starting before the current students were born. I’ve had the chance to help train and develop over 900 engineers in this time. Some of the early classes were about 20 engineers per year. Our most recent class has over 150 new paper, chemical, mechanical, electrical, environmental, and safety engineers,” he said.

    Reese has also passed his love for both NC State and engineering on to his three children. His daughter, Diana, graduated from NC State in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in paper science and engineering. She is a 2011 Graduate of Loveland High School (LHS). Colleges and universities from all around the country had bid more than 1.2 million dollars to entice Diana Reese to study on their campus. His son, Jonathan, also a graduate of LHS is currently double majoring in electrical engineering and computer engineering at State, and his youngest, Joanna, a LHS freshman, hopes to study engineering in college as well.

    “Jeff is the epitome of a dedicated volunteer to our industry, TAPPI and NC State. He constantly challenges the status quo to keep our program and students at a world class level. We are so excited and proud of Jeff and his accomplishments!” Jennifer Piercy, director of student recruiting for paper science and engineering, and executive director of the Pulp and Paper Foundation, said.

    An Extraordinary Leader

    In announcing Reese as the 2018 Herman L. Joachim Distinguished Service Award recipient, the Association said:

    It’s difficult to imagine any TAPPI member who has not directly benefited from the expertise, experience, and tireless volunteer leadership of Jeff Reese, this year’s recipient. The HLJDSA recognizes an individual for voluntary leadership and support, including contributions that have significantly and demonstrably advanced the mission and vision of the Association. Reese works for International Paper at its Cincinnati Technology Center as manager–paper solutions (his work even includes a recent study at Herman Joachim’s original mill in Bogalusa, LA).

    In 1985, Reese graduated Summa Cum Laude from NC State University with degrees in Pulp and Paper Technology and Chemical Engineering. His senior project was to develop TAPPI Technical Information Paper (TIP) 0404-33 “Dryer Section Performance Monitoring.” He has since been task group chair for multiple revisions of eight additional TIPs and served as a task group member on 19 other TIPs. He has been active with numerous TAPPI Divisions and Committees since 1986 while working for Poyry-BEK, Valmet-Enerdry, Georgia-Pacific, and two stints with IP. He has served through the chair rotations of the Water Removal Committee, Papermakers Committee, and Engineering Division Council and currently serves as the WRC Drying Subcommittee Chair, Paper and Board Division Scholarship Chair, and Papermaking Specialists Subcommittee Chair.

    Reese has served as a Track Manager at every Papermaking or PaperCon conference since 2006. At PaperCon 2015, he shared the podium with his father, Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medalist Dick Reese; and his daughter, NC State Paper Science and Engineering graduate and IP engineer Diana Reese, for “Back to the Future in Papermaking – Three Generations of Perspective.”

    A TAPPI Fellow since 2004, Reese received the Engineering Division Technical Award and Beloit Prize in 2007, the Paper and Board Division Technical Award and Harris O. Ware Prize in 2010, and the Paper and Board Division Leadership and Service Award in 2016.

    In addition to his technical areas of expertise in paper machine optimization, energy conservation, drying, steam and condensate systems, and ventilation, Reese is passionate about recruiting and training engineers for the pulp and paper industry, working with the GP Entry-Level Engineering Program since 1996 and then the IP REACH program since 2004, leading recruiting efforts at his alma mater and helping develop and present training sessions for more than 900 entry-level engineers.