Jonathan Laun, who started working summers at Road America in the 1960s, retires from Road America board: Weekly dose
SHEBOYGAN - Following the annual shareholder meeting at Road America April 18, the Board of Directors presented former Chairman Jonathan Laun with an award in recognition of his retirement from the company’s Board of Directors.
Laun is the longest-serving member of Road America’s Board of Directors, with 44 years of service. He was elected to the board in 1978.
During his time with the board, Laun held numerous offices, including treasurer and vice president. In 1990, he became chairman of the board. He held that position until 2018 while serving with distinction on all the board’s standing committees throughout his service to “America’s National Park of Speed.”
“Since joining the board, Jonathan has helped to grow Road America’s legacy and guide management through many chapters; his positive impact on the company will last far beyond his tenure,” said Ron Pace, chairman of the board of Elkhart Lake’s Road America Inc. “On behalf of Road America and my fellow board members, we thank him for his many contributions to the company and wish him and his family the best in his retirement.”
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Laun, an area businessman, has been involved with Road America most of his life. He started by working summers for Road America founder Clif Tufte as a college student in the 1960s.
Under his stewardship, the track has seen many strategic changes in staff and massive infrastructure improvements, with many new buildings and features, including several track and safety improvements. The track’s profits have consistently been reinvested, and fans can see many visible major enhancements every year.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the shareholders of Elkhart Lake’s Road America Inc. for allowing me to serve,” Laun said. “I would also like to thank the members of the Board of Directors for their confidence and the entire Road America team for their tireless commitment towards establishing Road America in the hearts and minds of fans, enthusiasts, and racers alike as America’s National Park of Speed. My experience was gratifying and allowed me to see firsthand the numerous and tangible impacts of what this wonderful organization is capable of during my tenure. I wish continued success to the team, the board members, and chairman of the board, Ron Pace.”
Mike Kertscher, president and general manager of Road America, added: “On behalf of the entire Road America staff, we want to extend our appreciation to Jonathan for his many years of guidance and direction. Road America is a family, and we will continue to prosper as a family based on the vision, perspective and work ethic that Jonathan has instilled in all of us.”
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Here is more news from throughout Sheboygan County in your weekly dose.
▶ Sheboygan’s Active8 SOUP’s next dinner is April 23: Active8 SOUP (Supporting Our Urban Projects), which aims to give voice to and support individuals wishing to make positive change in the Sheboygan community, will hold its next dinner at 1 p.m. April 23 at 3 Sheeps Brewing Company, 1837 North Ave., Sheboygan.
“Each dinner, year over year, our community shows up to support these ideas,” Dana Elmzen, Active8 SOUP’s board of directors president, said in a news release. “Our job as volunteers is to plan an event that supports the creativity and drive of our neighbors.”
The release said residents are encouraged to submit ideas about how they can improve their neighborhoods or an area of the city. Pre-selected projects will each have 5 minutes to present information about their project and answer questions at the event.
“The dinner is open to everyone on a donation basis,” Elmzen said of the soup-and-salad dinner. “The donations from that dinner go directly to making one of the proposals a reality. This really is about what the community wants to see happen.”
For more information, visit active8sheboygan.com or search Active8 on Facebook.
▶ Annika Nelson to kick off 2023 Season of Arts at the Waelderhaus on April 30, followed by Chordsmen on May 7: Arts at the Waelderhaus is a series of free, family-friendly and fun programs at the Waelderhaus, a house museum filled with Austrian craftsmanship overlooking the Sheboygan River in Kohler.
The 2023 series begins April 30 with classical guitarist and Plymouth High School graduate Annika Nelson, who is attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, majoring in classical guitar performance.
Nelson shared a little bit about her upcoming performance: “The classical guitar holds so much character and emotion that it becomes a new instrument with every piece. I especially look forward to showcasing pieces that helped me grow both technically and musically, like the Cuban 'Sencillos Estudios,' as well as a powerful arrangement of 'Three Pieces' from ‘West Side Story,’ and the jazzy, swinging 'American Fantasy.'”
Then, on May 7, the Clipper City Chordsmen will perform on the lawn of the Waelderhaus (weather permitting, otherwise the performance will be inside) and promises to entertain with the classic barbershop style of four-part, unaccompanied, close-harmony singing. Expect a continuous flow of uplifting acapella music from their chorus and quartets interspersed with humor and a variety of songs. The Chordsmen, now in their 78th year of singing, will be coming off their annual spring show, and this performance is the beginning of a run of appearances that continue through the summer months into late fall.
There is also a recently added performance of Arts at the Waelderhaus on June 18. Milwaukee-based Eric Jacobson Trio will perform jazz standards and original music.
Other shows in the season include the following:
June 4, 2 p.m., Sonora Winds;
July 23, 2 p.m., Daniel Adam Maltz, a fortepianist based in Vienna, Austria; and
Oct. 1, 2 p.m., Eulenspiegel Puppets will present “In the Mirror: Three Tales from Asia,” a set of stories from Korea, Japan and Turkey that all feature atypical heroes. The show is appropriate for ages 4 and older.
Each performance is open to the public and free of charge. Reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling Waelderhaus at 920-453-2851 or by emailing jen.balge@kohler.com.
The Waelderhaus, an Austrian house museum filled with beautifully carved wood, iron work and stained glass, is managed by Kohler Foundation, Inc. It is at 1100 Riverside Drive, Kohler, and is open daily (except holidays) to the public for guided tours, free of charge, at 2, 3 and 4 p.m.
▶ Sheboygan’s JMKAC receives Governor’s Tourism Award for Arts, Culture & Heritage: Sheboygan’s John Michael Kohler Arts Center is the recipient of the 2023 Governor’s Tourism Award for Arts, Culture & Heritage.
The award is presented annually to a business or destination that showcases the arts, culture or heritage for the enhancement of the tourism experience and economic well-being of a community.
The Governor’s Tourism Awards recognize individuals and businesses that turn big dreams into exceptional results leaving a lasting impact on Wisconsin’s tourism industry. Winners were announced at the Governor’s Dinner during the Wisconsin Governor’s Conference on Tourism hosted by Travel Wisconsin.
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center has two art venues in Sheboygan: the Arts Center at 608 New York Ave. and the Art Preserve at 3636 Lower Falls Road.
The Arts Center offers eight galleries featuring contemporary art exhibitions, two performance spaces, a café, a museum shop, and a drop-in art-making studio. Among its program offerings are community arts projects; artist residencies; presentations of dance, film and music; classes and workshops; and an onsite arts-based preschool. Free annual events include Midsummer Festival of the Arts and a series of live outdoor concerts.
The Art Preserve, which opened in 2021, is the world’s first and only museum to focus entirely on work from art environments. The three-level building holds more than 25,000 works in JMKAC’s world-renowned collection, which includes complete and partial environments by more than 30 vernacular, self-taught and academically trained artists. Visitors experience unprecedented access and insight into the display, preservation, conservation and interpretation of the collection through immersive installations as well as a unique system of curated, visible storage of the works of art.
Admission and parking at both the Arts Center and the Art Preserve are free. For more information, call 920-458-6144 or visit jmkac.org.
In 2023, a record-breaking 73 organizations were nominated for the Governor’s Tourism Awards in six categories: Legacy; Rising Star; Innovation; Service Excellence Award; Arts, Culture & Heritage; and Diversity, Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion. Twenty organizations vied for the Arts, Culture & Heritage category. Nominees are submitted by industry peers.
▶ Black American Community Outreach appoints new president: Toni White has been appointed as the new president of Sheboygan’s Black American Community Outreach.
White serves as chief operating officer of WRTP BIG STEP, a non-profit workforce intermediary in Milwaukee. She is a native of Sheboygan and attended Urban, Farnsworth and graduated from Sheboygan South High School.
White has two master’s degrees, one in business management and the other in non-profit management and leadership. She has been a member of BACO for about two years.
BACO said in a news release: “Ms. White’s passion for helping people help themselves, combined with her skill sets, makes her an ideal fit for the presidency role at BACO. Her mission and purpose of giving back to the community as a Black-American Leader aligns with her career, her active participation in Rotary, and now as the President of BACO. Her goals for the organization include designing, creating, and developing equitable access to opportunities for Black-Americans in the Sheboygan Area Community, promoting economic growth, academic success, sustainable employment, networking, and providing opportunities for visible positivity through volunteerism and community engagement activities.”
People can learn more about BACO at https://sheboyganbaco.com or on Facebook (Black-American Community Outreach).
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Road America board member, Sheboygan businessman Jonathan Laun retires
