“As a leader, you have the power to help others become winners.” — Ken Blanchard
Leadership Shawano County was started in 2000 by former chamber of commerce director Val Wiley, along with UW-Extension staff Linda Olson and Jim Resick. Chuck Dallas, a graduate of Leadership Wisconsin, brought the idea to Shawano and encouraged the formation of the local program.
The goal of LSC is to build a pool of citizens with a broad knowledge of ideas, issues and concerns facing our local communities. Participants become aware of the challenges and existing resources, and it is hoped they will take a leadership role in helping to meet those challenges.
I recently attended the ceremony for this year’s graduates: Kimberly Buettner, Randal Chevalier, Kathryn Ciantar, Gary Cumberland, Stacey Eggleston, Christa Hansen, Matt Hietpas, Kyle Hoffman, Dana Lynn Kriha, Penny Kuhn, Jeffrey Lenzner, Lesley Nemetz, Ashley Schugel, Eddie Sheppard, Jakie Sperberg, James Zukula and Tami Zuleger.
A special thank you to program coordinator Wendy Crawford and the steering committee for LSC: Todd Buettner, Karissa Kunschke, Jay Moynihan, Chris Onesti, Nancy Schultz, Nancy Smith, Dana Usky and Colleen Weishoff.
Each year, the group selects community service projects. Sometimes the projects live on; others are one-time events. A few of the previous leadership initiated events include Taste of Shawano (aka Food and Culture Fest), Mountain Bay Walk Run and The Main Event.
This year’s class selected two projects. One of them focuses on the Boys and Girls Club. The leadership class of 2014 worked on the project, and some members of this year’s class joined the executive committee and are continuing to work on targeted goals.
The idea for the second project surfaced after a great deal of brainstorming among the participants. It was agreed the ideal project should bring people into the community and give Shawano an opportunity to showcase our uniqueness.
Participant Lesley Nemetz commented, “Promoting the importance of the annual journey of the sturgeon to Shawano and the significance of the fish to the Menominee Indian Tribe motivated the group’s creative thinking.”
Nemetz continued, “The idea of a sturgeon search in our downtown business community emerged.”
Nemetz added, “We quickly discovered that we were going to need to reach out to the community for help with this project. We were amazed and encouraged from day one regarding the outpouring of support we have received. Everyone we talked with wanted to know how they could help.”
Participant Eddie Sheppard commented, “We talked about the need for the sculptures to be durable and able to withstand the elements.”
He continued, “The city’s water department had about 100 decommissioned brass water meters, and we all agreed it would be great if they could be recycled.”
Aarrowcast was quick to respond to the request for assistance. They generously donated their time, talents and materials needed to make a mold.
The Shawano Community High School Technology Education Department, under the direction of Jason Eggert and Gereon Methner, melted the water meters and made the brass sculptures.
Local artist David Aschenbrener helped with the vision by creating the original wax mold, assembling the sculptures and providing the finishing touches to these pieces of art.
Nemetz commented, “A kickoff event will be held in conjunction with the Jumpin’ June Jamboree on June 13.”
She continued, “There will be 12 sturgeon permanently mounted and hidden in plain sight on the exteriors of buildings throughout the downtown area. Clue cards will be available at the chamber as well as at local downtown businesses to help searchers find all the sculptures.”
Nemetz added, “Be sure to tell your out-of-town family and friends to look for the sturgeon when they visit Shawano. Our hope is that the word will spread quickly and people of all ages will want to take part in spotting these amazing pieces of artwork, and at the same time they may just find a shop or restaurant to visit.”
Thank you to our beloved veterans! Have a safe and pleasant Memorial Day weekend.
The answer to last week’s question — Can you name the seven bars located on Main Street in 1976? — is The Bank, The Gin Mill, Edna Maltbey’s Southside Bar, Pleshek’s 400 Bar, Rosenow’s Bar, Schmidt’s Tavern and Town Club.
This week’s question: What business located at 724 E. Green Bay St. in 1970 did Kenneth Sumnicht own?
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