Wisconsin Community Leadership Summit

"Leading the Voyage to the Future"

4th Annual

April 26 & 27, 2006 Appleton, Wisconsin

The Fourth Annual Wisconsin Community Leadership Summit was held at the Paper Valley Radisson Hotel in downtown Appleton on April 26 and 27, 2006. One hundred twenty community leaders from across Wisconsin and the Midwest convened to enhance their leadership skills, share resources and information, learn community-building tools, create partnerships and networks, and recognize outstanding community leadership.

Participants were welcomed by JoAnn Stormer, executive director of the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program, and Andy Lewis professor at the University of Wisconin-Extension, co-hosts of the event with Wisconsin Rural Partners.

The Summit opened with facilitated introductions led by Bonnie Peterson and Kelly Haverkampf, vice president and executive director of Wisconsin Rural Partners, respectively. Participants participated in "The Community Cafe," a progressive conversation that builds listening skills and allows participants to identify common areas of interest quickly. Each community cafe participant learned about leadership issues in at least five other communities, and together in small groups, participants helped each other identify ways to deal with those issues.

Throughout the two days, twenty workshops were offered to participants, including topics such as Appreciative Inquiry, Public Board Simulations, Planning and Land Development, Community Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, Diversity, Group Dynamics and other leadership topics.

Keynote speaker Dr. Richard Kyte (shown left) of the D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at ViterboUniversity, presented Summit participants with guidelines for establishing, practicing, and passing on ethics in leadership positions. Keynote speaker Dr. Stuart Robertshaw (shown right) helped the audience visualize and practice the healing power of humor. Robertshaw, also known as Dr. Humor, is a physician who has dedicated the past two decades to humor development through the National Association for the Humor Impaired. The photo below shows participants at the Summit practicing Dr. Humor's growling exercise.

The Summit also featured award presentations of Wisconsin's Top Rural Development Initiatives and the Wisconsin Communtiy Leadership Awards. Click here for more information on the Top Rural Development Initiatives for 2006.

The Wisconsin Community Leadership Awards are presented each year to an individual and an organization that exemplify dedicated, long-term community leadership. 2006 recipients of the Wisconsin Community Leadership Awards are Jim Pfalzgraf of Thorp, Wisconsin, and Romemakers of the Town of Rome in Wood County. Profiles of these leaders are below.

Program for the 2006 Community Leadership Summit. Click here for the PDF file.

Descriptions of the workshops offered at the 2006 Summit. Click here for the PDF file.

Congratulations to the 2006 Wisconsin Community Leadership Award recipients!

The 2006 Individual Wisconsin Community Leadership Award was presented to Jim Pfalzgraf. Jim and his wife Judy have owned and operated Thorpedo family restaurant in Thorp for decades. For nearly forty years, Jim has been involved in a variety of community leadership roles. He has accepted leadership responsibilities locally, regionally and statewide. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious.

Jim is described as the perfect example of a leader who has consistently, positively influenced the quality of life in his community and in Wisconsin. Running a restaurant would keep most people busy on a full-time basis, but Jim has contributed countless hours over the years to his community. For the last fifteen years, Jim has served as the president of the Thorp Area Development Corporation, a local organization dedicated to creating and sustaining a healthy community through business and economic development.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Jim served as chairman of the Dairy Days Parade and the Dairy Days Committee, and was the Centennial Chairman in 1992-93. In 1994, Jim joined Wisconsin Rural Partners, and quickly took on statewide leadership roles including being elected to the Board of Directors and then elected as President in 1998. In 2002, Jim challenged himself and the elected and business leaders of Thorp and neighboring communities to form the Highway 29 Community Partnership.

Jim is a shining example of what it takes to be a successful community leader. His values and traits are commitment, persistence, open-mindedness, an unfailing positive attitude, and hard work. His motto might be: “whatever it takes to get the job done.” Jim sets a wonderful example for emerging leaders in Thorp, Clark County, and beyond.

The Romemakers of Rome, Wisconsin were honored with the 2006 Wisconsin Community Organization Leadership Award. Shown at left are Jeannie Osgood, Romemakers President, and Sandy Wilkes accepting the award from Kelly Haverkampf.

For over twenty years Romemakers has been an asset to the community. They conduct candidate election forums. They recently organized the use of Rome’s municipal building and promoted a walking program. Periodically they organize a free community breakfast inviting a main guest. They have sponsored breakfasts with the police chief, the fire chief, and the town board. The Romemakers started the first library in Rome in a small room in the municipal building about 25 years ago. They furnished this library with books, materials and operated the library with their own funds totally tax free to Rome property owners. The Romemakers brought the SHARE program to Rome. This is a food co-op program that has assisted the elderly and low income families with needed food.

The Romemakers are busy with efforts for folks outside of Rome as well. They make dolls for new mothers at the hospital. They knit and crochet scarves, hats, mittens and donate them to the needy. They visit and teach crafts to mentally challenged adults in Adams County at the Friendship Connection. They financially support and volunteer at the Food Pantry, the Angel Tree Project and the Salvation Army.

We congratulate the 2006 award recipients on their fine examples of community leadership and thank them for their dedicated service to their rural Wisconsin communities.

Summit Sponsors:

~SILVER~

The Business News

~BRONZE~

Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation

~ EVENT~

M& I Bank

USDA Rural Development

~ COLLABORATIVE ~

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program Alumni Association