Sheboygan ATHENA awards finalists unveiled, plus more news in your weekly dose

Brandon Reid, Sheboygan Press
·5 min read

SHEBOYGAN — Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce has unveiled the finalists for the 2023 ATHENA Leadership Awards. Here they are, by award:

  • ATHENA Leadership Award (recognizing an individual): Alison Petri, Steimle Birschbach, LLC; Allison Thompson, Fresh Meals On Wheels of Sheboygan County; Denise Wittstock, Big Brothers Big Sisters WI Shoreline; Elizabeth Majerus, City of Sheboygan; Katy Glodosky, Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts; Kayla Hohmann, The Production Farm; Kyleen Flores, Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic; Lindsay Harrison-Eirich, Engaged Marketing Co.; Lisa K. Adams, Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center; Rayna Rokicki, Ladies First Digital Media Company; Shannon Laehn, Van Horn Automotive; Susan McDonald, Random Lake School District; Tanya Boman, Lakeshore Technical College; and Tricia Roberts, Sheboygan Theatre Company.

  • ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award: Alyssa Miller, Fresh Meals On Wheels of Sheboygan County; Courtney Stelter, Ansay & Associates; Crystal Dekker, Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts; Elizabeth Majerus, City of Sheboygan; Lindsay Harrison-Eirich, Engaged Marketing Co.; Molly Mata, Fresh Meals On Wheels of Sheboygan County; Samantha Aschenbach, Plymouth Public Library; and Tricia Roberts, Sheboygan Theatre Company.

  • ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award (recognizing an organization): Fresh Meals On Wheels of Sheboygan County, Horizons4Girls, Professional Women’s Connection - Sheboygan Chapter, Sargento Foods Inc., Sheboygan Theatre Company and The Production Farm.

The Chamber will announce the winners at an awards dinner Nov. 30 at Pine Hills Country Club. Event keynote speaker will be Gabrielle Dow, vice president of marketing and fan engagement for the Green Bay Packers. Emcee will be Jess Lambrecht, executive officer for the Division of Continuing Education & Community Engagement at UW-Green Bay. People can register by going to Sheboygan.org or calling 920-457-9491.

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Welcome to your weekly dose. Here is more news from throughout Sheboygan County.

Sheridan Elementary student wins Artist of the Week

Sheridan Elementary School student Lorelai Respalje was the winner of Artsonia’s Artist of the Week contest, a voting competition held on Artsonia.com, the world’s largest collection of student art portfolios exhibiting more than 100 million pieces of student art. Respalje received more than 500 online votes for her winning art depicting a smiling cactus, shown here.

Sheridan Elementary School student Lorelai Respalje is the winner of Artsonia’s Artist of the Week contest, a voting competition held on Artsonia.com, the world’s largest collection of student art portfolios exhibiting more than 100 million pieces of student art.

Respalje received more than 500 online votes for her winning art depicting a smiling cactus.

“I made a rainbow cactus,” Respalje said, describing her winning artwork. “I love the purple so much that I made it on the bottom.”

When asked how she felt when she found out she won Artist of the Week, Respalje said, “I felt happy because I won.”

Respalje’s teacher, Michelle Jorgensen, has been teaching art for a decade.

“I am constantly inspired by my students’ art,” she said. “Children’s artwork has a beautiful, innocent quality that is hard to recreate when you’re older.”

Jorgensen is one of the thousands of art teachers who use Artsonia to showcase their student art, manage the art room, crowdsource lesson plans, and fundraise for their classrooms.

Artsonia lets family and friends of student artists create and purchase custom keepsakes from the student art and then gives back 20% of all revenue to the local art classroom.

Artsonia selects 12 random submissions each week in four different age groups (Pre-K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) from artwork submitted the previous week. Voting is open to the public for several days before the winner is announced.

Blick Art Materials donates a $100 gift certificate to the winning school and an individual $50 gift certificate to the student artist.

Sheboygan Theatre Company to stage ‘A Christmas Carol’ in December

Sheboygan Theatre Company continues its 90th season with “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Alex S. Freeman, opening Dec. 1.

According to a news release, the production has 23 cast members and numerous backstage volunteers.

In a unique twist on the timeless narrative, Charles Dickens himself takes the stage to kick off the performance.

“A Christmas Carol” unfolds the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, an aged miser who receives haunting visits from the spirit of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, as well as the apparitions representing Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

The show will be presented at the Leslie W. Johnson Theatre on the Horace Mann Middle School campus in Sheboygan. It will run Dec. 1-9 and tickets can be ordered online at stcshows.org.

Sheboygan Theatre Company continues its 90th season with “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Alex S. Freeman, opening Dec. 1.
Sheboygan Theatre Company continues its 90th season with “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Alex S. Freeman, opening Dec. 1.

Tickets available for Dec. 1 St. Nicholas Eve Gala

Tickets are now available for the 26th annual St. Nicholas Eve Gala, hosted by the HSHS St. Nicholas Foundation, Dec. 1, at The Osthoff in Elkhart Lake.

The HSHS St. Nicholas Foundation is the philanthropic, charitable arm of HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan. In the same spirit as St. Nicholas, and as part of a nonprofit, Catholic-based health care system, HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital provides compassionate health care to all without regard for social status, creed or ability to pay.

The St. Nicholas Eve Gala will benefit the HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital Women and Children’s Health Initiative. Proceeds will support the creation of an exam room in the hospital’s emergency department specially designed for pediatric patients; a breast milk dispensary; a women’s imaging health center associated with breast health; new services for mothers experiencing perinatal mental health challenges; and renovation of the HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital Women and Infants Center.

The St. Nicholas Eve Gala is inspired by St. Nicholas Eve — a celebration that inspires generosity and goodwill to all. It will feature hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, dinner, desert, and live music by Big Mouth & The Power Tool Horns. Semi formal and formal attire is encouraged. Tickets are $150 per person and can be purchased by visiting stnicholashospital.org/gala.

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Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan ATHENA awards finalists, plus more news in your weekly dose