April at Reynolds Group Home has been a customarily busy month, and May is getting off in a rush also. The residents are all hard at work on their individual treatment plans, and making great progress! Several will be reconciled with their families before long.

With discharges just around the corner, we will of course have vacant beds and are anxious to hear of new referrals. Please consider your current and future placement needs and contact us to talk it over.

The academic year has again been interesting and challenging at times. But, for the most part the guys have made great strides and are now coming down the home stretch. We’ve all enjoyed great cooperation and assistance from the excellent staff at Wausau East High School, Horace Mann Middle School, and now the Journey Program operated by Northwest Passages, Inc. Everyone has gone the extra mile for our guys, and we greatly appreciate it!

Meanwhile, programming forges ahead at RGH, always morphing to meet the changing needs of our residents. One such example is seen in an article submitted by Rick:

As an integral portion of the programming at Reynolds Group Home, the young men are required to recognize the multi-dimensional dynamics of respect for self and others. Respect provides the launch pad for the work that we do here…and its meaning permeates into every facet of these young lives. If successfully presented and retained, this thing, RESPECT, will establish the framework for healthy thought processes and appropriate choices for the rest of their lives.
Fundamental in respect and how we are perceived is in our styles of communication. Unfortunately, a good percentage of the young men in our charge have cultivated a style rife with profanity, slander and slang. We work hard in making change in this area, and decreasing the tolerance of all residents for such. Recently, a group discussion was facilitated by Program Coordinator Rick Ferree, focusing on the nonessential components of speech…with each resident sharing a perspective on the harm and negative feelings propelled by such communication. The guys were challenged with an incentive for the week to follow.
They were each given 5 one dollar bills (Monopoly money), with Rick having written their name and signed his own on the back. The guys were told that each time a member of the Staff heard a resident use inappropriate language, one of the dollars would be taken from them. They were further informed that at the conclusion of the week, residents could redeem Monopoly dollars for real dollars! The resident with the largest number of Monopoly dollars would also be treated to a lunch with Rick.
Notable was the effort that the guys put into the program, though we saw varying levels of success. However, as there must always be, a winner did emerge. Fantastically enough, Chace had maintained all five of his Monopoly dollars!! He was rewarded with $5.00, and trip to the Hong Kong Buffet, the place of his choosing.
The effort was a good learning instrument for all, and surely such incentive programs will continue the guys moving forward.
Rick Ferree, Program Coordinator


With fishing season only days away, youth worker Nick Simonis has inspected our fishing poles to ensure they have new line and are in working order. The tackle box was restocked and all we need now is to find the fish and sunny weather. We are all excited to get out and enjoy the season after suffering from cabin fever over the winter.

Several camping trips are being planned throughout the north woods, and reservations have already been made at Crystal Lake. Nick Simonis and Rick Ferree are going to enroll in Life Guard Certification Training to afford the boys more opportunities to swim on camping trips…especially with many campgrounds not having an on-duty lifeguard.

It’s always a great idea to have a well stocked first aid kit available for day to day use. Each member of the MYS staff is certified in First-Aid and CPR, and ensures that we have the appropriate equipment and materials on hand to respond appropriately in the event of a medical emergency. Reynolds Group Home residents are an active bunch, and it becomes especially crucial when we head out of the house for camping and fishing trips in the great Wisconsin Wilderness.

This is a big year for one of the guys at Hamilton House. Sam is going to be graduating from high school this year. This past month was also his first Prom! He sure looked great all decked out in his tux. And, he got to go in style with a ride in a limousine, courtesy of our Director, Doug Adams.

Sam enjoyed the evening a lot, and even shared his "ride" with his friends and house mates, Mike and Mark. (even Doug dressed for the occasion!) As can be seen from the picture above, spring has finally arrived. However, it wasn’t so long ago the residents were still involved in more winter-like activities. Here Mark and Sam are enjoying and outing with Suzanne at the dog-sled races. A new adventure for both of them. Judging by the big smiles, a good time was had by all….


The staff at all three houses are always looking for ways to engage our young men in new and interesting pursuits. With spring and summer rapidly approaching, I’m sure there will be many more such activities for the guys to enjoy. We’ll keep our families and supporters up to date on all new happenings. More photos will be available on the web site at www.marathonyouthservices.org.

As mentioned above, Prospect Place is now fully staffed and has two fine young men beginning a new chapter in their lives. We couldn’t be happier or more excited! Both Mike and Adam moved in last week and are getting along great. We’ll continue to do anything we can to make this their new, permanent home. We’ll also make every effort to contribute to this fine old neighborhood. We all look forward to meeting our neighbors personally.

With the continued growth of Marathon Youth Services, we have been joined by three more excellent staff. Larry Austin, Shannon Topor and Mary Duranceau have all joined our MYS team this past month. Larry and Shannon bring with them extensive experience in the field of providing personal care, having worked previously in assisted living facilities. All three are forming a good part of the staff at Prospect Place. Next month I hope to have photos and bio information about them to share.

This month we’d like to introduce our "chief of maintenance", Carl Slagle. Carl joined the MYS staff in November of 1998, and has rescued

staff from many a maintenance emergency since then. Carl came to MYS with a wealth of experience in all phases of household maintenance and restoration, and has been an extremely valuable and reliable member of the overall staff. He has worked many "miracles" with our facilities, patching leaky pipes, shorted wires, and cracked plaster. Carl has also been our lead person for the remodel of Hamilton House and now Prospect Place, giving order to an occasionally disorderly process. There’s been literally no project that Carl is not willing to attempt, from flooring to roofing, he’s been our guy.


In addition to the magic Carl performs for us, he also is self-employed as housing inspector, and is known to remodel an occasional property on his own. We all greatly appreciate Carl’s many contributions and take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts. Thank you Carl!


If you have any questions or program requests, feel free to contact Doug at 715842-3240 or dadams@marathonyouthservices.org. We are always interested in your thoughts or comments.