From candidate’s website:
Dennis Fehr grew up on a small hobby farm in Chippewa County. He is the oldest of five siblings, separated by a mere six years, WOW! A lot of his work for his mom and dad, Arleen and Keith. His brother and three sisters Jon, Nonarae, Mary, and Rita, have always been an important part in his life. Dennis says “Growing up in this happy, functional family with his brother and three sisters has been very exciting and rewarding”.
Dennis will agree that he and his family often enjoyed quality time together. Quality times included activities like camping trips, horseback riding, and paintballing just to name a few. And; if you asked Dennis, he would say that his close nit functional family and the activities they enjoyed, even feeding the horses or cleaning out the barnyard, helped shape him into the hardworking, outgoing, and family oriented person he is today. Even though Dennis enjoyed tons of good times with his family, there were a couple of bad times too. Dennis has never forgotten the day when, at age six, he burnt the bottom of his foot on a hot piece of melted plastic. That sent him to the hospital for a week. He certainly won’t forget riding his bicycle into a barbwire fence at age 8. Ouch! That one’s gotta hurt too! But, no matter what calamity or obstacles that came his way, his parents always lent a helping hand, gave plenty of approval, and seasoned Dennis with lots of support.
With this kind of support from his parents, his highly motivated personality combined with a natural entrepreneurial spirit led to early business successes as a kid. So, at the age of nine, he started his first business adventure. Fixing and reselling used bicycles alongside the road. Next, as a teenager, Dennis and his father dabbled in the manufacturing of bio fuel. Dennis boasts that, no matter what project he’s working on, these two business ventures provided him with the building blocks to work out complex processes with the end result and goal in mind. His interest in business and manufacturing coupled with an eager mind led him to graduate from Chippewa Falls Senior High school where he would then head to University of Wisconsin Stout to further his education.
There he studied his tail off, and toward a degree in business management and manufacturing engineering. However, higher education at UW Stout was not his only ambition. During this time he also attended classes at the Chippewa Valley Technical College where he became a certified firefighter. He then joined Chippewa Falls volunteer fire department, exciting!
However, higher education could not provide the ability to create new business’. So, when the opportunity to start a painting company arose, his innovative personality kicked in. This new painting company would provide him the ability to problem solve while using his business skill to negotiate job estimates. Dennis says – “Working for the general public through my painting company has been a challenge.” “I have always met challenges with optimism and a determination to succeed.” “With support from my family, I am eager to enter the race for governor!” “I am optimistic for a brighter future for Wisconsin and the families of our state!”