Ron Schmidt has been a member of the Bonduel Lions Club for 25 years. His late father, Dennis Schmidt, was a member, and his great-grandfather, Lawrenz Ebert and grandfather, Lyman Ebert, were charter members in 1951.
Schmidt was born and raised in Bonduel, graduating from Bonduel High School. He earned a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in business administration with a minor in economics. Schmidt works for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
He lives in Bonduel with his wife of 20 years, Pam, a deputy county clerk. They have two daughters, Courtney, a freshman at Concordia, and Miranda, a junior at Bonduel High School.
Schmidt is the president of the Bonduel Broncos Baseball Club, was on the Bonduel Village Board for six years, and has served as an elder at St. Paul Lutheran Church. He enjoys golf in the summer, attends Packers and Brewers games, going to local sporting events, and Dairyland baseball games.
He is co-chair of the Lions’ annual fishing derby with Matt Pleshek and has been on the board of directors, membership committee, and project committee.
Q How long have you been with the Lions, and what offices have you held?
A “It’s been 25 years. I was asked to become a member. I’ve served as president and am currently third vice president which means I’ll be taking over as president in 2017. I am co-chair for the Fishing Derby and oversee the raffles.”
Q What do the Lions do?
A “Our major programs are the fundraisers. The corn roast is the first Friday in August. We serve about 600 dozen (ears of) corn. It’s a good family night with music and ballgames. We also have the fishing derby the Saturday after Christmas on Shawano Lake. It’s the first ice fishing tournament of the season. We have a rose sale in the spring. We sponsor flowers for the Bonduel homecoming court and have the corn cob float in local parades. This Saturday, we are sponsoring Visit with Santa at Lisa’s Flowers from the Heart from noon to 3 p.m. with candy bags for the children.”
Q How is the money used?
A “The money is used to support the Lions Camp in Rosholt. We give scholarships to graduating seniors. We’ve donated to various projects in the community — maintain ball fields, scoreboards at Little League parks, and contributed to the pavilion rehabilitation. I’m glad it’s been maintained. It was a joint project with the Cecil Lions to build a handicap accessible dock on Cecil Bay on Shawano Lake. It is now owned and maintained by the village of Cecil. We maintain Lions Park in summer and at Christmas we decorate the tree at the main corner of Highway 117 and Green Bay Street.”
Q Why do you volunteer?
A “I think it’s important to give back to the community. The main motto of Lions is we serve and help those less fortunate. It’s a way to give back time and effort and give others better opportunities. We are always looking for new members to join and participate in fundraising activities and carry on the Lions tradition of serving Bonduel and surrounding communities.”
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