Local residents named Service Champions by U.S. Steel

According to a press release from U.S. Steel:

• Buus, a senior area manager—operations and maintenance at Minntac, is an active volunteer for the United way of Northeastern Minnesota.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Buus spends time serving in programs that aid other military veterans including 23rd Veteran and the U. S. Steel SERVE Employee Resource Group, of which he is a leader.

Buus also volunteers and raises funds for the Hibbing Quarterback Booster Club and the Laurentian Chamber of Commerce.

To date, he has helped raise nearly $50,000 for the organizations he supports. In November 2022, Buus was one of two U. S. Steel employees chosen to represent the company at a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

• Sterns is an operating technician at Minntac and serves as Director of Operations for Fishing with Vets, a non-profit organization that gives military veterans an opportunity to enjoy guided fishing trips in locations throughout the upper Midwest.{/div}

Fishing for Vets provides the food, lodging, and gear necessary for each trip, which requires hours of work and fundraising from its volunteers.

Thanks in part to Sterns’ leadership, the organization helped more than 200 veterans over the last year while doubling the number of annual trips for veterans.

“I was very excited when I got the call,” said Sterns by email. “We work very hard throughout the year to raise funds and to be able to facilitate a large donation like this was a real shock.”

Buus, also interviewed by email, said he too was excited when he was informed of the designation.

“I received an honorable mention in 2021 but it was nice to see an organization getting some needed cash,” Buss said. “Like my wrestling coach in high school told me, I get way too much notoriety for what I actually do (which is true) but it’s important to tell positive stories too.”

In total, U. S. Steel awarded $90,000 to charitable organizations in honor of its employee volunteers companywide. The “United by Service” initiative was launched in January 2021 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service and to highlight the impact our colleagues are making in their communities.

The employees were recognized for their exceptional service during a “Strength in Unity” themed virtual event attended by employees from across the company’s footprint, including from U. S. Steel Košice in Slovakia. Speakers included U. S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt, Jeff Mohler, President and CEO of Special Olympics Indiana, and award-winning documentary filmmaker Ted Green.

Buus said employees track their volunteer hours in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software.

“U. S. Steel started their United by Service program in 2021 and it’s a great opportunity to illustrate/recognize the impact volunteers and organizations have in local communities. You can be nominated or self-nominate for Volunteer of the year/Service Champion,” he said. “I’m grateful I had a couple of mentors nominate me for the award. Nominations are reviewed by a diverse community and selections are made for one U.S. Steel Volunteer of the year, 15 Service Champion awards and numerous honorable mentions.”

Sterns was nominated this year and said “the president of Fishing with Vets, Jeremy Colsen, wrote a fantastic letter of recommendation for me that was included with the nomination. My supervisor, Sarrah Kolari, whose daughter is a Marine, has been very supportive in my efforts for Fishing with Vets and the Service Champion program.”

Chad Buus

Buss graduated from Hibbing in 1999 and still lives there with his wife Megan and two teenagers, Caleb and Lizzy.

He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and attended college on the West Coast at Chapman University receiving a B.S. in Organizational Leadership.

He returned to the range in 2004 and went to work for U.S. Steel in 2005.

“Valentine’s Day is my U.S. Steel anniversary and this year it will be 18 years. I’m currently overseeing Mine Maintenance at Minntac and Keetac as a Senior Area Manager but most of my working experience has been in the plants,” he said.

He has graduate degrees in business administration and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

“I serve on the board of Directors for the United Way of Northeastern MN, the board of directors for the Laurentian Chamber of Commerce, industry advisor panel for Iron Range Engineering, and a committee member for United for Veterans and the Hibbing QB Club,” he said. “I also chair Minntac’s Employee Resource Group (ERG) for Veterans and work with a number of Veteran focused groups across the area.”

Buss said that the $5,000 will go to the Hibbing QB Club.

“It’s an organization that is doing a tremendous job building character, grit, teamwork and instilling the importance of community service in their young men and women,” Buus said. “The football team played a role in another project I was lucky enough to be a part of last summer which was the Wall that Heals (Vietnam Memorial Wall).”

Buus said he played football at Hibbing and the lessons he learned and the friendships he made are still a part of who he is today.

“I found out in 2022 that the field house that was built approximately a decade ago doesn’t have lockers for the players. I’ve started enlisting the help of some organizations to finish the fieldhouse with lockers and benches, but we have a long way to go,” he said, adding that he is still looking for more help and/or donations.

“I work with a number of organizations. A lot of what I focus on is with Veteran employees. I understand some of the challenges that veteran employees can face when returning from active duty/deployments to rural areas and I want to help ensure we have programs, networks and help in place,” Buus said.

Some of his highlights this year include helping plan the Renegade Trail Run with the staff at the United Way, starting a U.S. Steel team for 23rd Veterans Nearly Naked Ruck March, and being a small part of the United Way of NE MN with all the amazing work they do.

Bob Sterns

Sterns lives in Hibbing with his girlfriend Virginia and their kids. He was born and raised in Hibbing and graduated in 2001 from Hibbing High School. He moved back to the Iron Range after college and has been here ever since.

He started working at Minntac in 2007 and has spent 15 years there working in the Quality Assurance Lab, first as a technician and now as a Quality assurance analyst.

Sterns said the $5,000 will go toward Fishing With Vets.

“I started volunteering for Fishing with Vets six years ago by hosting veterans in my Ice Castle fish house, after a few seasons of helping on ice trips I began bringing my boat to open water events as well,” he said.

From there he was nominated to join the board of directors and now he holds the position of Director of Operations.

“It’s been a joy being able to share the sport of fishing, which I love, with so many Veterans who selflessly joined the military to serve our great nation. I’ve gotten to meet so many people and have made so many friends simply by stepping out of the box and volunteering to give back,” Sterns said. “Our mission at Fishing with Vets is to provide Veterans with the opportunity to have great fishing experiences at no cost to them. Our hope is that by putting like-minded individuals in a serene setting, like being on a lake fishing, we can provide them with opportunities to get to know each other, and over the course of the weekend make some new friends.”

He said the $5,000 will go a long way toward helping the organization and thanked U.S. Steel for having a program that rewards volunteers.

“Our average cost to take a Veteran out fishing for a weekend is approximately $175, this includes food, lodging and all the things necessary to have a good fishing trip. This $5000 will give about 30 Veterans an opportunity to come on a trip with us and spend a weekend enjoying the outdoors and hopefully establishing some new friends along the way,” Sterns said. “We will more than likely add another trip to the 2023 calendar with this infusion of funds.”

Currently, the organization’s biggest fundraiser annually is Schnorr Mudfest 9/11 memorial ATV ride in Chisholm. This year it will be held on Sept. 16.

“This year and we’d love to see the whole Iron Range show up to help support this amazing organization,” Sterns said.

“I would like to communicate to everyone that Fishing with Vets, is just that, Veterans going fishing. There is a stigma around Veteran service organizations that they are for those who were wounded or suffering in some way, and I just want everyone to understand that these organizations are not only for those suffering from hardships,” Sterns added. “If you are a Veteran, deployed, retired, active, reserve or any other form of Veteran and would like to go spend a weekend fishing at some beautiful resorts throughout the Midwest and meet a lot of like-minded people, we would love to have you join us. The only requirement to come is be a veteran, nothing more nothing less.”

More information about the organization can be found on the group’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/fishingwithvets) or at www.fishingwithvets.org.

U.S. Steel

Founded in 1901, United States Steel Corporation is a leading steel producer. With an unwavering focus on safety, the Company’s customer-centric Best for All® strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders.

With a renewed emphasis on innovation, U. S. Steel serves the automotive, construction, appliance, energy, containers, and packaging industries with high value added steel products such as U. S. Steel’s proprietary XG3™ advanced high-strength steel.

The Company also maintains competitively advantaged iron ore production and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 22.4 million net tons.

U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com.