APPLETON, Wis.— Let’s say you won the lottery, or a trip to Aruba. Most folks would categorize you as lucky.
Mike Vande Voort is a guy who has twice lost his job after turning 50 — which can devastate anyone who has found themselves in that position. Yet he, too, feels like he has a horseshoe in his back pocket.
“I’ve had a few bumps along the way,’’ he said. “It builds character.”
Vande Voort was 51 when the NewPage mill shut down in Kimberly in 2008, leaving 475 people out of work. He had been there for 30 years. It was a gut punch that turned catastrophic for some people he worked alongside.
“I know a few people that drank themselves to death, a couple of people that shot themselves after the mill shut down,’’ he said. “And it’s sad. But I think those were the people where that was their whole identity. I knew I’d make it, it just… my dad lived through the depression so I think that was, like, you can get through anything.’’
Besides, if anyone appeared to be in an excellent position to reinvent themselves, it was Mike Vande Voort. The man had skills.
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Today they’re called side hustles. But it was never that for Vande Voort. Hobbies would be more à propos. And that expertise was valued. So he decided he would help, for a fee.
Home computer issues? Vande Voort could get you back up and running. Need your car detailed? Heck, he’d be doing that since he was 10, first for his older sisters and then for some of his older customers on his paper route. Need a photographer for a wedding, or a nice wildlife photo for your office? Yeah, he had that covered, too.
How about a design and blueprints for your new home? Vande Voort was your guy. And a nice oil painting for that new home? Are you kidding me? Of course, he could do that, too.
But these were all enjoyable pursuits. He didn’t want to transform any of them into full-time work, for he knew once that happened, it would become a job. He wanted to reserve those diversions for pleasure.
But losing his job forced his hand. The technology field seemed the best path to steady employment. He went to Fox Valley Tech and earned two IT degrees. His grades were excellent. It didn’t matter.
“I think I experienced ageism,’’ he said. “It took me over two-and-a-half years to get an IT job. You know, it’s like you kept on having interviews with 20 and 30 somethings that you could tell right away when they looked at you, you weren’t going to get the job.’’
After several part-time gigs, he took another mill job in Combined Locks, and it was there where he transitioned into IT. But in 2020, that mill was sold, and he was one of 18 salaried employees let go. He was now 63.
He was going to call it quits on his working career. But then the state offered the opportunity to go back to school.
“So I got into culinary because I traveled the world a lot and have been very lucky in my life,’’ he said. “So food is something I’ve always been interested in and I’ve tried a lot of different foods in a lot of different cultures, and I thought it would be fun to learn how to cook some of them.’’
He said his wife Deirdra is a travelholic. Since they’ve been to 48 states and 46 countries — and counting — that assessment holds merit.
So he returned to Fox Valley Tech to reinvent himself once more. This time, the idea was to become a chef.
“I don’t want to work in a restaurant or open up a catering business because it’s a lot of work and a lot of headaches for not a lot of money,’’ he said. “But to do the chef at home kind of thing when it suits my schedule, I think that’s something I would enjoy doing in the future.
“I’m thinking four, five courses and doing the exceptional plating and doing the over-the-top kind of thing to make it special. Pretty and tasty. I’ve been to some really nice restaurants, and it’s the presentation and flavors that get you.’’
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The Vande Voort household, it would be fair to say, was typical with kitchen duties. His wife did most of the cooking, and Mike chipped in occasionally and was the grill master in the summer.
But the times… well, you know the rest.
“My wife is treating me like a restaurant now,’’ said Vande Voort, who considered himself a “5” on the cooking scale before he started culinary school. “She’ll tell me what she wants me to make. Or she’ll leave for work in the morning and she goes ‘What are you going to make for supper?’ Then she’ll say, ‘Nah, maybe this.’
“In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I made blackened catfish and risotto. And as she’s eating it, she’s saying, ‘I want eggs benedict for breakfast for tomorrow morning.’’’
While he is scheduled to graduate this spring, FVTC culinary professor Richard Williams is trying to convince Vande Voort to change his plans.
“He’s traveled all over,’’ said Williams. “So those experiences, life experiences, are good for our students to be around that. So I kind of challenged him to stick with me for one more semester.”
Whenever he decides to move forward, Williams thinks being a personal chef could be a pot of gold for Vande Voort.
“If you do some personal cheffing or some small catering events, some of it you’re cooking and you’re just executing the task at hand,’’ Williams said. “But some of it you are entertaining, so he’s got a very good personality for that. He’s a fun guy.’’
So, all things considered, Mike Vande Voort is a lucky guy. But he’ll tell he was never luckier than he was in 2018.
“My wife signed up to get a calcium score done,’’ he said. “And I said, ‘See if they got another opening and make it a date night kind of thing.’’’
So they did. Her calcium score was 0. Mike’s was 2,785, and thus tabbed for quadruple heart bypass surgery.
“So my left atrium was 98% blocked and the two right ones were 85% blocked,’’ he said. “And the cardiologist said if I had had a heart attack in the hospital parking lot, there was nothing they could have done for me.
“So I consider myself very fortunate there. It was just a fluke that I went and got the calcium score done. It’s funny how life sometimes steers you in the right direction.’’
For Mike Vande Voort, luckily, it always has.
Story idea? You can reach Mike Woods at 920-246-6321 or at: michael.t.woods@charter.com