Hometown Heroes: The People Behind the Collaborative Community Center
March 24, 2014
When you got home from school every day, did you ever get into trouble while you were waiting for your parents to come home? Maybe you didn’t go straight home like you promised your mom. Maybe you didn’t do your homework like you promised your teacher. Maybe you got involved with the wrong crowd.
Now I won’t say exactly what went on at the Doyle household when I got home from school each day, but I know how great it would have been to have a place where I could go where I could hang out with my friends, work on my homework, play sports, join clubs and meet people from our community. And it turns out that our community is about to get a place just like that but it won’t just be for our teens, it will be for everyone.
Known as the Collaborative Community Center, this project began as an expansion to Holmen High School and turned into a project involving three municipalities, a school district, members of the community and now all of us.
So this week, I want to do something a little different. This week’s Hometown Heroes are everyone who has been involved in this worthwhile project:
Jay Clark, Dale Carlson and Cheryl Hancock from the School District of Holmen,
David Carlson and Robert Stupi from the Town of Holland,
Rolly Bogert and Gerry Monti from the Town of Onalaska,
Scott Heinig and Nancy Proctor from the Village of Holmen,
and at large members Larry Dittman, Laurie Kessler, Dan McHugh, Kristina Schoh and Mary Lin Wershofen as well as moderators Rick Kyte and Tom Thibeadeau of Viterbo University serving as facilitators.
Now as someone who spends a fair amount of time trying to find compromise among 99 members of the Assembly who all seem to have completely different opinions on everything from education funding and economic recovery to bracketology and sports teams, I truly admire these guys. They have spent almost a year working together to make sure that this project meets the needs of everyone involved and serves our community. And what they have put together is a center that will surely become a place where people can come together for meetings and social gatherings, for fun and exercise, for a chance to get out of the house for a little while and for somewhere to go after school.
So thank you to you all for your hard work creating the Collaborative Community Center. I know I am looking forward to taking advantage of it and getting to hang out with everyone else who is excited for this new gathering place.
The Collaborative Community Center will be up for a vote as a referendum on the April 1st ballots for the Town of Onalaska and the Town of Holland. If you have any questions about the center or would like more information, visit collaborativecommunitycenter.org. or follow Holmen Area Collaborative Community Center on Facebook..
Hometown Hero is a regular feature put together by Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska). If you have any suggestions of a Hometown Hero, send a short description of why you think this person should be a Hometown Hero and contact information of both you and the nominee to rep.doyle@legis.wisconsin.gov.