At Town Square, it’s always about the people. There’s always SOMETHING happening, but the magic lies in the SOMEONE (or somebodies) behind it. 

Here is a look back at the people and personalities who helped shape some of our standout moments from the past year. 

Jenn Aither, Claire Maes, Eileen Vandervelde and Kari Schleicher joined the Town Square Board

Our Town Square Dream Team expanded this year with the addition of FOUR new board members: Jenn Aither, Claire Maes, Eileen Vandervelde and Kari Schleicher. Each member brings a unique skillset to the table. Jenn Aither, owner of Aither State Farm Agency, is our resident artist. Not only does she conceptualize the most fun art events (Bob Ross night at The Tap, anyone?), she teaches classes and donates her artwork to many of our fundraising events. Claire Maes, owner of Claire Maes Design, is a programming powerhouse. From Dino Daze to our new Cabin Fever Kids Series, Claire comes up with the most exciting kid’s programs and, not to mention, she uses her interior design eye to help us organize and creatively utilize building space. As a real estate agent with Special Properties, Eileen Vandervelde brings a deep understanding of our community, its changing demographics and what residents are looking for at their community center. Foodie and caterer Kari Schleicher has been behind events like our Supper Club Dinner and farm-to-table brunches, and she brings a wealth of hospitality knowledge which is vital as Town Square now operates The Tap (see more on that below). 

Tami Doering and Amelia Compton Wolff joined the Town Square staff

There’s something about Town Square that keeps people coming back - staff included! The year started off with a bang when Fran Hill returned as Town Square’s executive director. In April, Tami Doering returned for HER second round as Town Square’s program and events manager. Amelia Compton Wolff joined the team (for the first time) in July as marketing manager. This is our “get ‘er done” crew. Our community-obsessed coordinators of FUN. These action-oriented individuals cull the many, MANY ideas and bring the best ones to life. And there is probably a dog or two hanging out with them while they do it.

Sean and Jo Ellen Madden made the ballroom sparkle.

Surviving a pandemic when you are in the people-gathering business means always looking for the silver lining. If the people-gathering was going to be light in early 2021, then the time was right to give our ballroom a much needed makeover. Town Square supporters Sean and Jo Ellen Madden lead the charge with vision and tenacity and today the ballroom is almost unrecognizable. “When Phil Burkart showed us what was behind the fake wall/stage, we knew that those beautiful windows and authentic tin ceiling needed to be exposed, returning the room to its original glory,” Jo Ellen said. “Fellow Town Square board member Amy Arnetveit did amazing research finding all of the historic elements and Design Specialty Builders did an excellent job in restoring the former courtroom into a space of which original architect William Waters would be proud.” From an elegant Sweet 16 birthday party to Broadway Music Camp to a Dead Horses concert, the ballroom hosted a wide variety of events in 2021 and more to come in 2022! 

Jean and Mike Regan brought The White Hot Party back to land

After a rockin’ socially-distanced boat party in 2020, this year Town Square’s biggest annual fundraiser returned to land. Specifically the gorgeous land of Mike and Jean Regan, who served as the hosts of our White Hot Party in July. The Regans graciously and generously welcomed 200 guests to their home for our fundraiser which supports all of Town Square’s annual programs and events. 

Claire Maes created our Mission Control Team

As Town Square grew busier than ever this year, our front desk operations (a.k.a. Mission Control) have become even more critical. This year, new Town Square Board Member Claire Maes joined Mission Control, jumping in to organize, rearrange, and help create a new front-desk manual. Claire worked to recruit and train volunteers to staff the desk, ensuring that everyone who walks through our doors feels welcome. As the front-and-center faces of Town Square, Mission Control volunteers meet dozens of people every day, listen to great ideas, solve problems, and most importantly, are part of a team that’s making a difference in our community.

Trent Hazelberg entertained more than 600 people who showed up for the inaugural Dino Daze

We planned for 200 people and got 600. At Town Square, the more the merrier! Friend and chef Trent Hazelberg played a key role in this smashing success of an event last June by serving as emcee of the Fred Flintstone Feeding Frenzy. If you know Trent, you know he’s the perfect man for the job. He had to recruit (a.k.a. convince) people from the audience to participate in this wacky turkey leg-eating contest. Trent also brought his “Jurassic Jeep” for a fun photo opp. The day was wild and crazy in the best possible way. 

Karen Wisehart and Carol Skivington got the whole town moving

In 2021, Town Square really got moving and grooving! This year Karen Wisehart began teaching beginner ballroom dance classes and Carol Skivington brought yoga classes to the community. These ladies have brought our fitness offerings to a new level of AMAZING. Karen has been dancing since she was a child and teaching at Arthur Murray Studio since 1988. She is incredibly passionate about teaching beginners. Her classes cover the essential elements of ballroom dance, including the Fox Trot, Swing, Waltz, Rumba, Cha-Cha, and the Tango. Classes, held the first Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m., have been gaining popularity and Green Lake is looking better for it!

Carol teaches from the hatha yoga tradition and has studied and become certified through Wild Spirit Yoga in Tomball, Texas, with Jennifer Carmack. Join Carol on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. to get your zen on!

Mary Cyrier led Town Square Tap to success

What better time to enter the hospitality industry than during a pandemic and period of unprecedented staffing shortages? Town Square Community Center began operating Town Square Tap on July 1, 2021 amidst both of these scenarios. (The Tap was launched in 2019 as a beer garden adjacent to Mill Pond Terrace and was operated by Town Square Concessions LLC for the previous two years.) The current state of the hospitality industry is intimidating enough for veterans, let alone a group of first-time newbies. But Board President Mary Cyrier bravely stepped forward and led The Tap operations this summer - from scheduling staff and music to handling inventory. Thanks to Mary’s efforts, The Tap was able to continue serving as a popular community gathering space with proceeds benefiting our community center.

Greg Lundberg, Jean Regan and Sean Madden pulled off a huge golf outing success

This trio spearheaded our first annual Tee Up for Town Square Golf Outing in August. This group is a great example of making your passion happen at Town Square - they saw an opportunity and ran with it. The four-person scramble, held at Lawsonia Links, featured a silent and live auction, raffle and dinner at the clubhouse. We couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better group of people to spend the beautiful day with. The event raised money to support Town Square’s mission and best of all, it created a sense of community for everyone involved. Do YOU have an event that you want to lead? Drop us a line! 

Joan Lloyd spearheaded our first-ever Paint the Town Red 5K

It was a year of firsts for many of our events and that included our Paint the Town Red 5K in August. Town Square advisor Joan Lloyd helped bring this event to life. She believed a 5K would help Town Square accomplish its mission of providing health and wellness events for the entire community. “Paint The Town Red was so much fun! It was such a terrific way to bring together everyone in the community—families, friends, neighbors, guests ( and dogs!) for a fun walk around our friendly town,” Joan said. “Town Square Community Center is all about community engagement —and wellness is a key component of the mission— so I thought a healthy activity that could bring the entire community together would be a fun, new activity— and it was!” The event met Town Square’s mission, brought the community together and supported our cause financially. A win-win-win! Our Paint the Town Red 5K, sponsored by ThedaCare, featured interactive stations along the route including donuts at the police station and a water gun stop! Paint the Town Red will be back and better than ever in 2022. Next year’s route will feature points of historical interest in honor of Town Square’s 10th and Green Lake’s 175th anniversaries, both in 2022! 

Tami Doering gathered the girls for a night of ‘70s fun

Program and event manager Tami Doering couldn’t pass up the opportunity to gather our female community members in honor of National Girls’ Night Out in September, which just happened to fall on the 45th anniversary of Charlie’s Angels television debut. Of course, the event had to have a retro-70s theme and even included special video missions for attendees from Charlie himself! Located in Town Square’s newly-renovated ballroom, the night featured an accessories marketplace with local vendors selling earrings, necklaces, bags and more, as well as champagne and cupcakes. The raffle included gorgeous prizes from nearly a dozen local vendors. Tami worked tirelessly to pull off a spectacular event and her efforts paid off. We even had attendees show up with their own water guns to strike the infamous Charlie’s Angels pose at the selfie station! 

Phil Burkart made our supper club dreams come true

When Phil Burkart gets an idea - watch out! This is exactly what happened with our first Supper Club Dinner in October. This was a “Phil project” - to recreate the classic supper club experience of camaraderie, food, drink and entertainment right at Town Square. And apparently it struck a chord with our community because the dinner sold out in record time! A planning committee executed the event which featured a prime rib dinner catered by Goose Blind, drinks, live entertainment, dancing, and plenty of nostalgic touches and surprises. Special guest and singer Anthony Loefelchelli performed favorites from all the classic crooners like Frank Sinatra,Tony Bennett, Engelbert Humperdinck, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole. The event was so well-received that we will be hosting TWO MORE in 2022. 

Amelia Compton Wolff kicked off Club Nights with a familial connection 

When our marketing manager Amelia Compton Wolff joined the team, little did she know that one of her first tasks would be promoting the Dead Horses concert in the newly renovated ballroom. The ballroom’s first club night, to be exact. This may not seem like a remarkable assignment for a marketing manager, but when you consider that Amelia’s brother is Dead Horses bassist Dan Wolff, it gets a little more interesting. Amelia worked to promote the October show and she filled the house (she likes to pretend the band’s loyal following had nothing to do with it). We even had to scrounge up extra chairs because so many people showed up for the first club night in the ballroom. 

Santa performed a Christmas miracle at our Holiday Faire & Hofbrauhaus 

After 2020, we weren’t sure what Christmas would look like this year. But when you have been really nice all year long, you get rewarded! We reached out to Santa and he said as long as there was a little bit of social distance with the kids, he would be able to swing by Town Square for our Holiday Faire in November. And the event went off without a hitch. We switched things up this year by transforming the ballroom into a festive German-style beer hall with hefeweizen and mulled wine, and offered crafts and cookie decorating in the lobby. The new and improved Holiday Faire was well-received and we can’t wait to welcome Santa and Mrs. Claus back to Town Square next year. 

Becky Day launched a new pilates series

A new series of pilates classes debuted at Town Square on Wednesday, December 1. Instructor Becky Day, owner of Best Body with Becky, leads the beginner level classes teaching the basic movements that make Pilates so unique. “Pilates, a form of functional exercise, enables us to perform efficiently in our day-to-day lives with ease and without discomfort thereby improving the quality of living,” Day said. “Pilates is not just an exercise for the body, but it benefits the brain also.” Day began practicing Pilates in 2011 and rediscovered her passion for the exercise regimen in 2020 when she became a certified instructor. In addition to being a certified personal trainer, Day also has certifications in acupressure and runs an acupressure studio in Waupun. We love that she is bringing her passion for movement to our Town Square community. 

Linda Burkart and Brigid Yeomans expanded Hangers to Include Housewares 

With business booming, Hangers Resale Therapy inside Town Square Community Center expanded its footprint by nearly 70 percent, adding more gently-used housewares and women’s apparel than ever before. A children’s section is also being added. Shoppers will now find a variety of inclusive sizes, styles and accessories for all occasions and an enhanced selection of framed artwork, lamps, small furniture, throw pillows and home decor. This is all thanks to our intrepid Hangers volunteer crew led by Linda Burkart, Brigid Yeomans and Carol Reindl. In December, the team added more home goods and apparel to fill the former Lester Schwartz Gallery. This has a direct impact on our community center, as proceeds from Hangers support Town Square events and programs. 

It’s been A YEAR. Thank you for making 2021 a one for the books. We can’t wait to see you at Town Square in 2022!  Want a look at what’s to come? Check out our 2022 preview here.