Woodland Hall of Fame to induct 4

The Woodland Education Foundation announced four new members will be inducted into the Woodland Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees are Alan Conrad, Dianne (Koval) Conrad, Joyce Cook and Jordan Wicks.

Dr. Alan Conrad, MD

Conrad is a board-certified family physician practicing full time at Cadillac Family Physicians PC in Cadillac, Michigan. Cadillac Family Physicians is a patient centered medical home that consistently has been recognized for high quality and patient satisfaction. As president of the regional Physician Hospital Organization since 1998 his passion for delivering high-quality, cost-effective care has contributed to the health of the population in the Northwest portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan. He has held multiple leadership positions on the local hospital medical staff and served on community boards as well as the Board of the Munson Healthcare regional system.

He received his bachelor’s in chemistry and doctor of medicine degrees at University of Illinois and his residency training at the University of Illinois at Rockford where he served as chief resident. Conrad’s professional duties as a family physician are diverse and relentlessly demanding, yet he has tirelessly and successfully juggled them for 40 years. Conrad’s primary goal is to improve the quality of life for his community and family by providing informed, logical, and empathetic health care. He is dedicated to his Cadillac patients, and is a highly valued colleague and leader within numerous local Michigan health care organizations. Conrad has devoted himself to doing one thing as perfectly as humanly possible, healing.

Conrad is a 1974 graduate of Woodland High School. He enjoys spending time with his wife, Dianne, their sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

Dr. Dianne (Koval) Conrad

Dianne Conrad is a 1974 graduate and valedictorian of Woodland High School. She has been married to Dr. Alan Conrad since 1977 and they have lived in Cadillac, Michigan since 1983, where they raised two sons. Paul Conrad lives with wife Elizabeth and their two children, Benjamin and Alexandra in Georgetown, Texas. Their other son, Dr. Mark Conrad and wife Amanda live in Wellington, New Zealand. Dianne Conrad received the doctor of nursing practice degree from Madonna University, she received a post-master’s certificate for her nurse practitioner study at Michigan State University. She has masters and bachelor nursing degrees from Northern Illinois State University and a diploma in nursing from St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet.

She is a family nurse practitioner, having practiced with her husband at Cadillac Family Physicians and is board certified in Advanced Diabetes Management. She also is a retired associate at Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof College of Nursing.

She is a recognized and published authority in the doctor of nursing practice education and practice and has co-authored a DNP textbook, “The DNP Scholarly Project: A Framework for Success,” now in its fourth edition. Dianne Conrad was elected to Distinguished Fellowship in the National Academics of Practice in 2014. She is a Fullbright Scholar, traveling to Ireland for the fall of 2019, exploring graduate education for advanced nurse practitioners. She continues the work as consultant in national and international advanced practice nursing education.

Joyce Cook

Cook began her education at Woodland in kindergarten in 1963 and graduated from Woodland High School in 1976. She joined the U.S. Army from March 1976 to July 1978 and was stationed in Europe as a finance specialist. She joined the National Guard in Ottawa from 1978 to 1984 as a company clerk. She went to college at Illinois Valley Community College under the GI Bill and worked for the Veterans Affairs office during that time. She received a degree in AA Criminal Justice and worked for the Department of Corrections and was a La Salle deputy from 1984 to 1986. Realizing law enforcement was not the right career for her, she made a career move and got involved in the property management field from 1999 to present. She now works for Land Mark Management and also as a part-time monitor for Woodland Bus Service.

Cook began volunteering for the Red Cross in May of 2009 and has been deployed to 48 different states in 15 years for various disasters such as hurricanes, fires, tornados, and flooding. She is a Red Cross Disaster Action Team supervisor and manager for Illinois. Her team along with several other charitable organizations set up shelters and help victims find housing after a disaster in their area. Cook finds the idea of helping those who can’t give it back rewarding and a gift from God. She also participates in two blood drives a month in Streator. She also volunteers with the Assembly of God Church during the week. “I never ask for anything back in return, to just pay it forward when you can,” she said.

Cook’s family goes back decades when it comes to Woodland School. Both her children, Joshua Jenkins and Sarah Jenkins graduated from Woodland. Her siblings graduated from Woodland as well, five brothers David, Dennis, Danny, Steve and Neil Cook and three sisters Patricia Jenkins, Elaine Goerne and Lisa Rhodes. Her grandchildren Elly, Caelan, Tristan and Geneva Jenkins all attend Woodland. Joyce and several of her siblings still live in Long Point. She says “I am proud to be a Woodland Warrior and a Hall of Famer ... and look forward to continuing to pay it forward”.

Jordan Wicks

Wicks, a 2006 Woodland High School graduate, serves as faculty member at University of Nebraska Lincoln in the department of Animal Sciences where she holds the dual role of assistant professor and meat extension specialist. Wicks’ interest in the meat industry began at Woodland School when she participated in both meat and livestock evaluation competitions facilitated by the 4-H and FFA. Those fundamental years led her to study animal science at Southern Illinois University, completing her B.S. in 2010. Wicks continued her education, pursuing a M.S. in animal science with an emphasis in meat science at Auburn University. While in graduate school, she had worked in the university meat laboratory and helped teach a number of meat science-based courses honing her skill-set as well as her knowledge of the industry. Following the successful completion of her thesis, Wicks joined the industry as plant manager of a start-up pork processing facility. Leading the effort, Wicks worked to design a facility, create a food safety program and train and managed 30 employees. On the heels of such a feat, Wicks pursued a new and welcomed challenge to expand and improve production and food safety at the country’s fourth largest smoked sausage company. As the production and food safety manager, Wicks led her team through third-party food safety audits, granting success to new vendors and increasing business by an additional 15,000 pounds per week. However, through her education and time spent in the industry, Wicks’ appreciation for the art of discovery coupled with her passion to move the industry into the future finally led her back to academia.

Wicks joined the faculty at Virginia Tech in 2014, holding a dual role of meat center manager, and PhD student where she studied meat science and muscle biology. During her tenure at Virginia Tech, she heavily contributed to a highly successful and competitive research program. Additionally, during her 9-plus years at Virginia Tech, Wicks led the meat science teaching efforts for the Animal Science Department as well employing, training and mentoring more than 75 student employees at the Virginia Meat Center. Following the completion of her PhD, in August of 2023, Wicks joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she works to serve the greater needs of producers and packers in the Beef State.

While admittedly bias, Wicks credits her passion and success’ in animal and meat industry to her early years at Woodland School. The hands-on teaching and mentorships provided by the teaching staff as well as the ability to grow and lead in both the classroom and clubs are the foundation on which her career as a meat scientist was built. Moreover, they are the same principles which she strives to provide for the next generation of industry leaders.

The four inductees will speak to the high school students at an assembly at 2 p.m. Friday, April 5. They will be formally honored at a dinner ceremony at 6 p.m. that evening at Mona’s in Toluca.