| The Fennimore Chamber of Commerce has been recognizing Fennimore area volunteers since 1981. The Citizens of the Year are recognized during the Chamber's Annual Chicken BBQ which was held in Memorial Park on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Citizens of the Year committee members include Steve Birkett, Sheila Ruchti and Correne Morgan. In 2010 the committee decided to expand the community awards to include a Chamber Business of the Year and a Family of the Year. 2010 Award Winners
Citizens of the Year In addition, Mary accompanies various high school solo and ensemble participants with their musical selections. Her joy in singing is further evident through her volunteer work at the Good Samaritan Society-Fennimore, where she offers "Sing Along with Mary." She has volunteered at the nursing home for a majority of her life. Dr. Eulogio Aguilar has generously devoted his life to caring for those with illnesses or hardship, either through his family and emergency medical practice or as a compassionate member of the community. He started working at Boscobel Area Health Care as an emergency room physician upon coming to Fennimore. Later, in 1991, he became an emergency room physician at Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster. Today, he continues taking on duties at both hospitals, all while serving BAHC as a family physician at its Fennimore Family Medicine clinic in Fennimore and Bluff Street clinic in Boscobel. He treats his staff with kindness and personal friendship. He has even been known to contact his patients at home to see how they're feeling. According to his nominator, Dr. Aguilar is a "behind-the-scenes" kind of person.To name just a few of his contributions, the doctor has given scholarships to many students graduating from Fennimore High School, he has frequently taken mission trips overseas and he also sends supplies to U.S. military members. Shortly after he came to Fennimore 25 years ago, he and his family sponsored a special breakfast for the state-qualifying boys basketball team in 1987. It is for such kind-hearted acts as this that Dr. Aguilar is much deserving of being honored. To name a few of the charities he and his family work with or donate to, those include: Food for the Poor, Smile Train, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Feed the Children, Disabled American Veterans, Hospitalized Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Adopt a Platoon, Soldiers Angels, USO, American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Humane Society of the U.S., PETA, North Shore Animal League, Alley Cat, local animal shelters, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Alzheimer's Association, and Right to Life. According to his nominator, the community of Fennimore and the surrounding area are lucky to have Dr. Aguilar living and working in southwest Wisconsin. Business of the Year In addition to going above and beyond for customer convenience, Speedy Mart has always tried to help out the fellow business man by carrying local products, such as farm fresh eggs, an assortment of meats from The Butcher Shop, produce of sweet corn, tomatoes and fresh plants from Hillside Greenhouse. They allow non-profit organizations counter space to sell their items or tickets. Speedy Mart has given for fundraisers for many local organizations, such as the Wild Turkey Federation, Doll and Toy Museum, fire department, youth wrestling club, men's and women's bowling teams, volleyball sponsorships, private family fundraisers and more. The business has also hired local contractors to do construction when improvements were needed. This, in turn, helps the local economy. Speedy Mart is a family-run business and the employees are treated as family. They have worked with employees in times of death, births, weddings, school events and so on. They care about their employees as people, not just as numbers. Speedy Mart will be a constant in Fennimore's future with its new generation of James family owners and the purchase of the adjacent property for further expansion. Speedy Mart is a great place to welcome people to Fennimore. For so many years, a lot of visitor's first impressions of Fennimore have come from the little store on the end of town. The Jameses have run the business in such a way that keeps repeat out-of-town customers coming back, year after year. Family of the Year Christy has lived in Fennimore all her life. Steve grew up in the Lancaster area, and upon their marriage, they became a Fennimore family. Steve and Christy are parents of two active young men who are involved in a 4-H club, instrumental music, church and school. Christy has been a board member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church Association, a Lutheran women's group, and teaches Sunday school classes. She has worked at the Good Samaritan Society-Fennimore for the past 21 years in the dietary department. She sometimes organizes small fundraisers to benefit the needs of residents there. Christy also works several evenings a week at Speedy Mart and can be relied on to aid in staffing there whenever necessary. Steve began work in 1996 at St. Peter as a church caretaker. According to Pastor Miller, Steve has often located items of historical interest and his artistic talents are helpful. Over the past four years, the Cooley's have supported the Doll and Toy Museum by cleaning, scraping, washing, painting and providing materials and expertise in preparing the museum building in its present site. The Friends group has several annual fundraising events and this family provides items at their own expense as well as a multitude of hours preparing for a basket sale each spring. The whole family has aided the Friends of the Museum, of which Christy is an original board member. Whenever Steve and Christy are involved with a project, their sons are an integral part as well. Though they keep very busy with volunteering in the community, the Cooley's continually update their home and provide assistance to their close family members. Thanks! The committee would also like to share that choosing its honorees each year is a very difficult process. The decisions are always based on the nomination forms that are filled out and submitted to the Chamber. More detailed nominations give the committee members more information with which to make their decision. Nominees should be those who go above and beyond the normal activities of life and make a positive impact on the Fennimore community. If you've felt that someone you have nominated was not recognized, please consider re-nominating that person the following year. Sometimes, the committee is faced with an overwhelming amount of honorable people and, just because your nominee wasn't selected, it doesn't mean they were not deserving. The Committee asks nominators to resubmit names again next year, in fact information is kept on file so nominators would only need to submit the nomination form with reference that see 2010 nomination for details. For additional questions, please contact Chamber President, Steve Birkett 608-822-3260. Recognition History Those who have been previously recognized include Jim Larson (1985), Nick Kramer (1986), Al Truitt (1987), Harold Plattner and Charlie Roethe (1988), Hazel Craig (1989), Jim Soman (1990) Ray Hoffman (1991), Virgil Brodt (1992), Charles Stenner (1993), Gerald Munns (1994), Rob Rands (1995), Joe Novinska/Anne Novinska (1996) Steve Briehl/Marcia Bahl (1997), Dennis Lendosky/Sally Behnke (1998), Jerry Day/Richard Rogers, (1999), John Briel/Margaret Sprague (2000), Nancy Vogel/Matt Johnson (2001), Martha Hestad/Bill Wood (2002), Connie Schiestl/Richard Carlin (2003), Kris Fry/Doug Daechsel (2004), Bob Craig/Jeri Novinska (2005), Ed Klais/Alice Mudler (2006), Steve Lendosky/Henry Oechsle (2007), Pam Kreul/Tim Slack (2008), Len Leis and Renee Zintz (2009). Chamber Sweetheart of the Year include Gilda Finnegan (1981), Sybil Koenecke (1982), Velma Helgeson (1983), Norma Brechler (1984), Sarah Lendosky (1985), Brenda Schumacher, Gladys Pettera, Harriet Copus, Isabelle Doyle, Bernice Woll, Arlene Dempsey, Nancy Wells, Linda Parrish, JoAnne Wiederholdt and Jane Soman. |
Chamber of Commerce Citizens of the Year
Mary Davis has been a Fennimore resident since 1958. According to her nominator, during the past 52 years, Mary has continually given of herself to the community. Specifically in the past year, she has been active on the Friends of the Doll and Toy Museum board, as a volunteer at The Depot Exchange Community Thrift Store, and at Castle Rock Lutheran Church. For the Doll & Toy Museum, she serves as president of the board. She also coordinated a tea party for children in town. She started a Sunday school program at her church, which also meets at her home. She has organized the church's Vacation Bible School and played piano for church services as well.
Speedy Mart has been owned by the James family for 40 years-at first, by Jim and Sharon and, in more recent years, by their daughter Angie. The locally-owned convenience store has become a prominent fixture at the corner of Hwys. 18 and 61 in Fennimore and it has seen many changes in products, service, employees and physical improvements. Speedy Mart began as a full service gas station and later expanded to include car repair, self service gas, and sales of tobacco, lottery, alcohol, groceries, copies, faxes and ATM. Gas brands sold over the years have been Standard, Mobil, Sinclair and now BP. Businesses can still get in-store charge accounts, customers can still write checks or use their credit card. Customers looking for a specialty item can often order it through the store. Local implement dealerships have even used the store as a drop off location for farm parts so farmers don't have to make an extra trip out of town to get equipment up and running. Speedy Mart has given away countless prizes, large and small, to its customers over the years, such as a mini beer refrigerator, grill, flat screen TV, camp chairs, hats and coolers.
Steve, Christy, Brian and Brad Cooley are an active family in Fennimore. They have been mostly involved with St. Peter Lutheran Church, the Friends of the Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum, the Mt. Ida Hilltoppers 4-H Club, Fennimore Community Schools and other school-associated groups.