North Central Chimney Guild

Winter Workshop – Merrill, WI
2026 North Central Chimney Guild: Winter Workshop Information

ADDRESS for meeting: 1405 W Taylor St. Merrill WI
HOTEL RESERVATIONS: The American Inn – 3300 E Main St Merrill WI
Phone: 715-536-7979. Dates: February 4ᵗʰ-6th 2026 Codeword for Hotel: ChimneySweep2026

Meal situations will be figured out closer to the workshop. (***side note here – we need to know if anyone has food allergies!! Please let us know!)
The following are the tentative/rough plans for the 2026 Winter Workshop so plans are subject to change between now and then: PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE CEUS!
Seats limited to 60 for this event.

This is a change from previous years

Wednesday: February 4th
Morning: Bill Ryan and Ahrenfire: Installation of an Ahrenfire Fireplace Demo (4 Hours)
Lunch
Afternoon: Jeremy Biswell and Priorfire Fireplace: Priorfire Fireplace installation Demo (4Hours)

Thursday: February 5th
Howard Rowell: Creosote and its stages ( different stages of creosote and white pages) class. (2
hours).
Guild Meeting:

Tom Urban: Chimney and Fireplace Inspection class. (2 Hours)
Lunch
Smoke Chamber Parging: smoke chamber parging and smoke dome options.
2 hours parging and 2 hours dome)

Friday: February 6th
Jeremy Biswell: CSR class morning: 2 hours

Good bad and ugly prefab changeouts: understanding manuals , framing and such to prepare for
spring workshop. 2 hours

Lunch and Final Cleanup

SIDE NOTES:
To register for the event please call one of the officers or email
northcentralchimneyguild@gmail.com and fill out the application which can be found on the website www.thechimneyguild.org
If you have recommendations and/or need specific accommodation, please let one of the board members know.

If anyone has any questions, please contact one of the following officers: See email for contact details
President: Caleb Martinez – Leonard and Sons
VP: Kurt Wendt – Merrill Sheet Metal
Sergeant at arms: Jake Royal – Royal Chimney
Secretary: Nick Hammetter – Humble Sweeps
Treasurer: Phil Perino – Naperville Chimney Services
Safety Officer: Jim Fletcher – Fletcher Chimney Service

If any members have ideas for additional training, scenarios, or things they would like to see at our guild events please let one of the board members know about future events.

Seats limited to 60 for this event.

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Spring Workshop – Camp Lucerne WI – May 2026
SAVE THE DATE May 4th-8th for the upcoming Camp Training. We have been working on plans for the repairs that are needed at Camp Lucerne in the dining hall replacing 2 factory built fireplaces with Gas fireplaces.  If anyone has connection for donations of direct vent or factory built wood burning units, please let one of the board members know.

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Workshop plans are subject to change between now and then:  

The fee is $50 per person for the event. Your company yearly guild dues of $250 must be paid you members to attend the workshop. You can email the guild at northcentralchimneyguild@gmail.com to check on due payments.

Seats limited to 90 for this event.

Payment can be made through:

Zelle – northcentralchimneyguild@gmail.com or scan QR code

Check – Sent to 195 Kendall Point Dr, Suite 3, Oswego, IL 60543 or brought first day of class

Credit Card – First day of class

If payment is not already made or by first day of the either Workshop, you will not be able to attend.

SIDE NOTES:

To register for the event please call one of the officers or email northcentralchimneyguild@gmail.com and fill out the application which can be found on the website www.thechimneyguild.org

If you have recommendations and/or need specific accommodation, please let one of the board members know.

If anyone has any questions, please contact one of the following officers:

Previous President: Bill Majewski

President: Caleb Martinez

VP: Kurt Wendt

Sergeant at arms: Jake Rowell-  

Secretary: Nick Hammetter

Treasurer: Phil Perino

Safety Officer: Jim Fletcher

If any members have ideas for additional training, scenarios, or things they would like to see at our guild events please let one of the board members know about future events.

—–‐——————————————————————————————————–

Past President – Bill Majewski

President – Caleb Martinez

Vice President – Kurt Wendt

Secretary – Nick Hammetter

Treasurer – Phil Perino

Sergeant of Arms – Jake Rowell

Safety Officer – Jim Fletcher