Posted on Feb 27, 2017

 

To say that Lyle Wedebrand has worked in a number of companies throughout his 23 years at Rise is an understatement. But unlike some people who tend to job-hop, Lyle moves around a lot because he’s good at what he does and Rise production site managers appreciate having him on their team.

“I tend to be a perfectionist,” said Lyle. “I don’t ever want my work to come back to me because it wasn’t done right so I always double-check it. When I worked at Celestica in New Brighton before they moved out of town, I loved working on assembling computer circuit boards. That’s when I really developed my assembly skills and perfectionism because it had to be right.”

Yet no matter what job Lyle has had over the years – cutting expensive leather for seat covers at Amcon in Fridley, making beds at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, scanning and computerizing construction blueprints for Minco in Fridley, or collating school textbooks at MuscleBound Bindery in North Minneapolis (to mention just a few!), Lyle brings his A-game to each and every work site.

Lyle is all about team work, too, and is more than happy to assist others in their work as long as he can get his own work done. People appreciate his strong work ethic and attention to detail.

“I tell my co-workers to be the best you can be and compliment them on their work because that really helps people build their self-confidence and constructive comments help you grow.”

Bullied in his younger years, Lyle, now 44, has worked hard to overcome his shyness and be able to reach out to others.

“I lived almost half my life with an amazing woman, Barb Harris, my adult foster mom who died three years ago,” Lyle said. “She taught me many valuable lessons, especially being straightforward and standing up for myself. She was such an inspiration to me. Her soft heart, ability to listen, and the support she gave me changed me, changed my life. Barb was very nurturing, but treated me like the adult I am, and was very respectful. She had a great sense of humor and we – the other three guys and I – were like a family.

“I think Barb rubbed off on me because I also want to be kind and helpful and listen to others like she did. I’m a better person because of her. I still and will always miss her.”

Following Barb’s death, Lyle lived with another adult foster care provider until last October when he moved into his Jeff and Lisa Fischer’s home. Lisa is Barb’s daughter and a community work site supervisor for Rise.

Lisa also supervises Lyle at work, but said they have clearly defined lines between their personal lives at home and their professional lives at work.

“Lyle is a fantastic worker who is willing to take on any challenge,” added Lisa. “He loves to learn and continues to use the tools he’s honed by applying them to new work tasks and settings. He’s proud of what he does and you can always depend on his quality and productivity.”

Lyle said his family, including parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, as well as Lisa and her family, are all an important part of his life.

In his free times, Lyle loves to be outdoors – gardening, running, taking nature walks,hunting, fishing, playing golf or tennis, swimming – he even likes mowing the lawn! Lyle also loves watching football and hockey, singing karaoke and country dancing.