In this update of DadSpa.com, I focus on two remarkable men who have interesting careers and are excellent fathers.

John Schneider is the Director of Football Operations for the Green Bay Packers. He is also a friend of mine from college, who I have not spoken to in over 14 years. I recently sent him a letter asking if I could profile him on DadSpa. Ironically, he responded while I was on my trip to Chicago Bears training camp. He graciously agreed to answer a few questions about what it is like to work in the NFL and be a dad.

Troy Schmechel is an (Exception Based Reporting) Administrator with a retail company called Sephora. In addition to being a great father and an investigator, Troy is an active volunteer firefighter in his community. Troy has shared many remarkable stories with me about his volunteer work and now he shares them with you.

Interview with John Schneider, Director of Football Operations, Green Bay Packers
Describe your role as the Director of Football Operations?
My primary focus is working closely with our GM, personnel staff, and coaching staff in order to put the best product on the field to compete for a world championship year in and year out. I work closely with Russ Ball our cap guy as well. I scout both at the college and professional levels. I probably visit between 20 – 25 schools per year. In this current role, I tend to concentrate on strategy as well. What is coming down the path? I also work on trade negotiations. We just finished with Brett Favre.

Tell me about your sons, Ben and Jack.
My sons – Ben and Jack….the most important responsibility that I have going in my life. My pride and joy. Ben is 6 years old and has higher functioning autism. We are very blessed as he has words, can communicate, has fun, and while there are some frustrating times, he is a fun-loving little dude who loves to play and smile a lot. We try to get involved in the autism functions as much as we  can, but there is no doubt that we want to do more in this area. Ben is extremely smart and he loves to swim and play with Legos. Jack is 4 years old and is going to be a singer or movie star. He is high drama…his grandmother calls him “ Hollywood “ He loves playing with his guitar, listening to music and entertaining us. He loves Jack Johnson and loves watching his concert on DVD. He also loves snuggling with his mom in bed in the mornings in order to watch  cartoons.  Because I am gone a lot, I simply love spending time with them, which means reading time and prayer time before going to bed. We love taking scooter rides, jumping on the trampoline and swimming. Ben is a fish and Jack just loves hanging out at the pool.  They love coming over to work with me, but it really has nothing to do with football. They love drawing on my dry-erase wall, riding the escalators in the building, and watching tape of the players in rewind. They think it is very funny when I make the players run backward. They also love running around in our gym downstairs. They are not into “ special privileges “ They see coach McCarthy and simply refer to him as coach mike. It is not a big deal to them yet. They both played soccer this last summer, they love swimming, and love running, but neither one is a huge sports guy at this point. They love music and building stuff with blocks and legos. Our favorite places to vacation with them is probably Door County, WI., any water parks, and they loved downtown Chicago last spring.

I know you met your wife Traci at college. What does she do now?
Traci is the CEO of the Schneider household. She has her hands full keeping all of us in line. She is very involved in the boys school and is also very involved with the autism society of northeast Wisconsin. I am very blessed to be married to such a strong and beautiful woman. She is awesome, man.

What career changes/decisions have you made based on being a husband and father?
Probably moving back to Green Bay after our experience in Washington. I could have taken a “ better job “ with two other clubs, but decided to move back to Green Bay with a newborn baby .

I know you have been mentioned in the local media as a potential candidate for GM positions in the past. Is that your dream job? Being is a GM is the pinnacle of our profession. Before I had children, this was my primary focus, but now that we are a true family I am more laid back about the situation and am simply waiting for the best opportunity to come along. Ideally, yes, I would like to be a GM someday and put my own stamp on a team, but it is not the ultimate driver in my life, like it used to be before children.

Do you have any friends who are players on the Packers or other teams?
Most of my league friends are now former players or executives with other clubs. We work with the players and try to give them advice, but it is hard to get too close- you may have to end up cutting them at some point.

You were a part of the team under Ron Wolf when Green Bay won the Super Bowl, did you get a Super Bowl Ring?
Yes I do have a Super Bowl ring…you’ll have to check it out sometime.

Which Packer legends have you met? (Other than current team members)
Tony Canadeo, Lynn Dickey, Fuzzy Thurston, Sterling Sharpe, James Lofton.

Which player(s) do you currently admire in the NFL?
I really admire the players who have had to overcome big obstacles in their lives just to be here playing with us. We have two players Donald Driver and James Jones who were homeless at one point in their lives. This builds character and I really respect what a lot of players have had to go through.  I also really like L. Tomlinson and Maurice James Drew.

What is the most memorable moment in your NFL career?
Most memorable football moment was watching Desmond Howard return that kickoff for a touchdown in the Super Bowl vs. NE.
Birth of both of my boys was the two of the best moments of life personally.

Who were your favorite players growing up?
My favorite player growing up was my role model Walter Payton. I played running back and wanted to be like him. His work ethic, his character, fun-loving personality, the way he finished each run…I spat my shoes and had a towel  because I wanted to dress just like him. He was a great role model for me as a young man…I’m sure he was a big role model for a lot of boys my age.

Many dads watch football to relax and unwind. Is it hard for you to take that approach to watching a game? Are you always working?
I am always working, but it is very enjoyable for me to watch a high school game or a college game where I really don’t care about the outcome. I still just love watching football. I do like going to baseball games. It is pretty fun because I have no clue what is going on. I thought I may add the following for the DadSpa – Relax page. What I like to do to relax is, in the evening, get on my knees next to my boys beds while they are sleeping. Then I get in bed with my wife and read next to her while listening to some soothing smooth jazz.  This is a good relaxer to ease the stress.

Interview with Troy Schmechel, volunteer firefighter and dad
What do you do for a living?
I work for a retail company called Sephora. My official title is EBR (Exception Based Reporting) Administrator. I manage the system that monitors cash register activity, looking for both dishonest activity and exceptional associate performance. It is a ‘loss prevention’ position, which is the department in retail that protects the company’s assets.

How many children do you have?
Family: Wife – Tannille, 11 y/o Daughter – Madisen, 9 y/o Daughter – Emilee, 8 month old son – Aiden

As far as likes, Madisen is in to volleyball and softball.  Emilee is more in to crafts like knitting and crocheting.  Tannille enjoys cooking and gardening.  We all enjoy fishing, and the outdoors. The kids think that me being involved in the Fire Department is pretty neat. They got to ride in a parade this summer for the Fire Department, and that was a thrill for them. 

How do your wife and children feel about your role as a volunteer firefighter?
Tannille knows how much the department means to me, and therefore puts up with my passion.  I don’t think she necessarily wants me doing it, being that it can be dangerous, and it takes us apart at times.

How did you become involved in volunteer fire fighting?
My Dad joined the Volunteer Fire Department where we lived when I was in Middle School, and I thought that the family atmosphere that the department displayed was so welcoming. Eventually, when I turned 18, I talked a friend of mine into joining with me. Together we went through Fire Fighter training at the Milwaukee Police & Fire Academy for our Fire Fighter I certification. I was amazed that someone would allow me to run into a burning building, especially when everyone else would be running out. It was also a great way for my Dad and I to get closer, as we could work side-by-side doing something that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

What kind of special training or certifications do you have?
State Certified Fire Fighter I & II, RIT or Rapid Intervention Team, Emergency Medical Technician, Recognition & Identification of Hazardous Materials, Arson Detection through national Fire Academy, Dive Rescue I, Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, Dry Suit Diver, Ice Diver.

What was your most memorable moment as a volunteer fire fighter?
Well, not that this was a happy experience, but I guess it was the most memorable. Last year, our RIT Team was called to another neighboring community to a structure fire where there had been people in the home at the time of the fire. Upon arrival, I noticed two ambulances pulling away, lights and sirens running. In my mind, as I had experienced many times before, I knew that meant that victims were being transported to the hospital. As the flames were nearly extinguished, the three person group that I was in made entry again to the home. We were instructed to go to the second level to pull ceiling and search for fire extension within the walls. As we entered the home, and made our way to the base of the stairs that lead to the second level, a Fire Fighter was making his way down. He seemed very disoriented, and panicked. We helped him out of the building and then proceeded to the second level to complete the task we were assigned. Once we got upstairs, we were radioed by Incident Command to hold off, as they were sending in a sheet. At the time, I thought that it was a sheet that we had to complete or that it was some list of items that we were to search for. To my then disbelief, the sheet was being sent in to cover the body of one of the victims that lay in the bedroom at the end of the hallway. When we went through fire fighting school, we were instructed that should we discover a body, to leave the hose line and a hand light at the body. This was to insure that anyone else could find their way back to that spot. I then looked down the hallway only to see just that, the hose line and a hand light. What took minutes, but seemed like hours, the sheet was finally delivered to us. We then walked down the maybe four or five foot hallway, but to me it seemed like miles. Once at the end of the hallway, at the entry way to the bedroom, I shined my light around the room on all the usual places one would expect to find a person. I was puzzled as I didn’t see any. Then I scanned the floor, where there I saw two little legs sticking out from under what was left of the bedroom door. Every surface of the interior of this house was covered in black soot, which means that the fire burned really hot, and produced a lot of heavy smoke. The victim had obviously attempted to exit the room, but had been overcome by the smoke. What was even harder to deal with was later finding out that the Fire Firefighter that had come down the stairs as we were to make our way up them had been fighting the fire in that back bed room. Flames had apparently sprung up again, and his crew was to knock them down. He stood just inside the doorway, and sprayed the room with water. He noticed that his footing was not stable, as he stumbled about. He looked down, only to notice that he had been standing on top of what was left of the door, which covered the upper torso of the victim.

You told me a story of rescuing a deer from a frozen lake. ..
On a local lake, a resident had called in that a large buck was struggling in a hole that it had fallen through out on the ice. The Fire Department was called, and responded to the scene. They made the decision to rescue the animal, as they felt that this was probably a great opportunity to put the training and equipment they have to use in as close to a real life situation possible. It obviously was a success, and it also drew some positive publicity to the team.
Have you been involved in fighting a lot of fires?
Yes. We fight many wild land or grass fires every year. Luckily, structure fires are few and far between. Of course we respond to many vehicle accidents too. We do though have a really good prevention program in our community through the department. We visit all the schools, and daycares in the area distributing materials and talking about prevention. We also have an open house every year in October where we put on demonstrations for the community.

Have you ever consider full time fire fighting positions?
Oh absolutely. At one time I applied all over the place, but it seems that folks in this industry fall so deeply in love with their jobs, they never want to give them up. I am completely satisfied being a volunteer at this time.

How does your department raise funds for equipment?
We do have billable calls; we also have a contract with the areas we cover. Beyond that, we receive donations. We are strictly volunteer; no one is paid for their time.

Do you have to pay for any of your own training or equipment?
No, all of that money comes from the department. It is so important though that if you join a department like ours, that you take it seriously. PPE (personal protective equipment) can be distributed to someone else roughly the same size if you leave, but the training that you received can’t be. So if the investment in your education is made at their expense, you have to make the commitment to putting that to use with them.

Do you have any fire safety tips to pass on?
This sounds so cliché, but you need to be prepared. Fire can be a great tool, but you can’t become complacent when using it or being around it. Many people burn off leaves or their grass clippings, but they don’t follow the rules in getting permits or even notifying neighbors before they ignite the materials they are burning. There are some simple steps you can take to prevent things from getting out of control. Use of accelerants in these burns just adds a whole other level of danger. Just be cautious anytime you are using or around fire. Keep the appropriate extinguishers around your home.

What are your hobbies?
I just started hunting last year, does that count? Through the Fire Department I took several scuba diving classes, so I guess that is a hobby too. I enjoy building things, and fixing things around our home.

Has/does anyone from your fire fighting group volunteer with large scale efforts such as the fires that affect large portions of California? Some may have, but you have to understand that all of the members in our department or departments like ours are volunteers, and they have other full-time jobs. So, if they are able to go to another state that is impacted by wild land fires like that, they usually have to take time off from their REAL jobs.

Picture from training
This was a home that was donated to the department for us
to use as training.  Basically, we ignite a fire in an upstairs room, and then send a team of firefighters in to extinguish it. 

We do several evolutions of this, moving the fires from room to room as the fire consumes portions of the home.  We continue this until the home is no longer able to be entered safely.

(Troy is one standing in the middle of the group
with sunglasses and a blue shirt)