At Ramaker & Associates, you will find a passionate and talented group of people. Our goals are simple: provide creative and effective solutions for our clients and have fun doing what we love. We consider ourselves lucky to be members of an industry that celebrates the child inside!
DARYL MATZKE, PE
BORN IN: Madison, Wisconsin
FAMILY: Wife - Diane; Daughter - Emily
FAVORITE SPORT: Skiing - downhill and cross-country
FAVORITE VACATION: Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's U.P. - beautiful lakes,
rivers and waterfalls
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: Going down slides with Emily
BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Vacations up North
WHO I WOULD CHOOSE TO PLAY ME IN A MOVIE: Tom Selleck (No, not really, but I'd rather have him than
Jason Alexander.)
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: As compared to street and sanitary sewer design, the fringe benefits in this field of civil engineering are significantly better.
FAVORITE AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling - I'm addicted to Harry Potter!
FAVORITE VACATION: It's a tie: whitewater rafting in the Rockies and cliff diving
in Mexico.
FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE: Peanut butter Oreo and banana blizzards
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: Highest, fastest, drop-you-off-a-cliff type rides
BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: My favorites are the summer vacations up north with my family.
JAMIE SKOWRONSKI, PE
BORN IN: Rockford, Illinois
FAMILY:A wonderful wife of 36 years, Deborah; Son – Chad and his wife Sara plus the new addition of a beautiful little girl named Isabelle; Daughter – Amron and her husband Matt Gravett plus their new addition of a handsome boy named Luck. Oh yeah, two dogs round out the family.
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Chilling out in the Islands
FAVORITE SPORT: Now - Golf. When I was younger - racquetball.
BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Neighborhood baseball games in my backyard.
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: It really makes you feel good when you've helped a client or peer accomplish their goals. You know that you as an individual, and the company as a whole, have done everything within your power to make that happen. The sense of accomplishment feels pretty nice.
JIM SCHWINGLE, PE
BORN IN: Boscobel, Wisconsin
FAMILY: Wife - Marie; Children - Hunter and Sierra
FAVORITE COLOR: Realtree Hardwoods - camo
FAVORITE SPORT: Football
FAVORITE TEAM: Green Bay Packers - I'm sure even Viking fans secretly
root for the Pack!
FAVORITE VACATION: On a lake in northern Wisconsin
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: The variety of the work, from calculations to
waterpark "testing".
JODI KLEIST
BORN IN: Mazomanie, Wisconsin
FAMILY: Husband - Don; Daughter - Kenzington; Dogs - Tucker, Kramer, Lexi; Cats - Peanut, Emma Jean, Little One, and Smokey
FAVORITE TEAM: Green Bay Packers (Who else!)
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Cayman Islands
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: Lazy rivers and people watching
BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Spending time with my dad
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: Everybody in the company is so nice and easy to work with.
JOHN OLTHAFER
BORN IN: Ellenboro, Wisconsin - A crook in the road near Platteville
FAVORITE COLOR: "Chlorinated Blue"
FAVORITE SPORT: Dragonboating - because they are long weekends with good friends.
FAVORITE VACATION: Backpacking in Europe or camping in the Rockies
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: Lazy Rivers - The lines are short and the
ride is long.
WHO WOULD I CHOOSE TO PLAY ME IN A MOVIE: Well Brad Pitt of course ... I'm surprised
you even had to ask!
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: It allows me to be creative and always find new and
exciting ways to bring various fun features together.
LISA BECKER
BORN IN: Baraboo, Wisconsin
FAMILY: Two cats (George and Felix) and my house - it has a life of its very own!
FAVORITE TEAMS: Becker Motorsports and Green Bay Packers
FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE: Chocolate and EVERYTHING sweet!
FAVORITE HOBBY: Truck pulling with my family every summer
FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Traveling in our station wagon for two weeks
to Alaska with my mom, dad and brother... well, at least the site-seeing was fun!
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: It provides me with a chance to be creative.
REBECCA PRIEM
HOMETOWN: Columbus, Wisconsin
FAVORITE SPORT: To play - volleyball (although, despite my height, I'm not very good at it). To watch - hockey or baseball.
FAVORITE TEAM: UW Men's hockey team
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: Going on anything that looks really scary.
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: I get paid to color!
FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE: An ice cold PBR on a hot summer afternoon.
FAVORITE VACATION: Jamaica, mon!
ROBIN LINS
HOMETOWN: Currently Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, but previously Columbus, Wisconsin
FAMILY: Wife - Tammy; Daughters - Alexis and Allison; Dog – a boxer named Dakota; 2 indoor cats - Buddy & Spike and numerous outdoor cats; and a 55 gallon aquarium with 50 fish
FAVORITE SPORT: Twisting what people say around to mean something totally
different (being a smart alec) and riding Harleys with my family and friends.
FAVORITE COLOR: Plum Crazy Purple (any good muscle car fanatic knows this color)
FAVORITE TEAM: Evernham Motorsports
FAVORITE VACATION: Sturgis, SD during the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally
BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Making apple cider at my grandparents
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: I look at myself as an unknown international
entertainer. The waterparks I have worked on around the globe are entertaining millions of people every
year.
TERRY RAMAKER, PE
HOMETOWN: Neenah, Wisconsin
FAMILY: Wife - Sandy; Children - Amy, Scott, and Jason
FAVORITE FOOD: Italian
FAVORITE SPORT: Golfing
FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE: Drinking coffee while watching the sunrise over the lake
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: 84" tube slide in a 4-person raft
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: I've always loved giving young professionals the
opportunity to learn and grow.
FIRST JOB: Washing dishes in a hotel restaurant.
TONY LOBRACO
BORN IN: Franklin, Wisconsin
FAVORITE TEAM: Milwaukee Brewers
FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURE: Singing in the shower
FAVORITE WATERPARK ACTIVITY: Tall and fast slides
BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Little League Baseball
WHO I WOULD CHOOSE TO PLAY ME IN A MOVIE: Me, of course!
WHY I LOVE MY JOB: To be able to go to a waterpark and see all
of the kids having such a good time in a place that you helped make possible is extremely rewarding.
