• Teen Leaders help complete City’s pond project
• Light up the sky on the 4th of July!
• Farewell to Ruth Barker, our Heart Home Hero
• Kelly Ryan’s Incourage Blog

Fun Summer Events are here >>

JUNE 6
Incourage Night at the Rafters Baseball Game

JUNE 18
Minnesota Zoomobile at Helen’s Zoo House

JUNE 20-23
Tours of the former Daily Tribune property

JULY 4
Incourage Day at the Rafters Baseball Game

JULY 9
Nature’s Niche at Helen’s Zoo House

JULY 23
Amphibians & Reptiles at Helen’s Zoo House

AUGUST 7
Incourage’s Community Picnic at Lake Wazeecha Red Sands

AUGUST 13
David Stokes at Helen’s Zoo House

Area teen leaders are helping with the planning, design and installation of a vegetation buffer for the City of Wisconsin Rapids’ Two-Mile Detention Pond Project.

Area teen leaders have spent the past nine months learning valuable leadership skills. Now they are ready to put them into action.

The South Wood County Teen Leadership Program consists of 26 sophomore students from five area high schools: Lincoln, John Edwards, Assumption, Nekoosa, and Pittsville. Teen Leadership helps participating high school sophomores become involved in their schools and communities.

The program, organized by the Incourage Community Foundation, teaches potential new leaders the skills and knowledge necessary to become effective community leaders through hands-on learning. Part of the program entails that they participate in a community project. It has proven to be beneficial to the community, as well as the teen leaders.

Tyler Wolosek, 15, Lincoln High School, says, “I respect other people’s opinions more and work better in groups (as a result of participating in the Teen Leadership Program).”

This year, the south Wood County teen leaders chose to assist the City of Wisconsin Rapids with its Two-Mile Detention Pond Project which is part of the City’s Storm Water Management Plan. The scope of the project includes the planning, design, and installation of a vegetation buffer which will be the final element needed to complete the water quality project that the City began in fall of 2012. This planting takes place on Wednesday, May 15.

Katie Delaney, 15, Pittsville High School, says she has learned, “We, as teenagers, have the ability to make a change in our environment.”

The vegetation buffer of approximately 140 total plants provided by the city, includes seven species of both trees and shrubs, and would provide environmental benefits, seclusion, and natural aesthetics, as well as protection from soil erosion of the bank. The SWC Teen Leaders have researched habitation needs for various species of trees and shrubs.

Josh Schraeder, 16, John Edwards High School, is excited to, “Help make the community cleaner.”

The final project design plan was approved by the City. Special thanks go to the design engineer for Wisconsin Rapids, Joe Eichsteadt, the sponsors, community presenters, Incourage coordinators and organizers, and the community businesses that donated their time, resources, and money, to help the class enhance its effectiveness in the community.

If you are interested in supporting this program, send your contribution to Incourage Community Foundation, 478 E. Grand Ave., Wis. Rapids, WI 54494, or online at incouragecf.org/give/. Designate your contribution to the SWC Teen Leadership Program.

Contributed by members of Incourage’s 2013 South Wood County Teen Leadership class: Alexandra Sosin, Spencer Howard, Tristan Gardner, Jacob Mueller, Haley Goggins, Laneli Patino, Toni Kiedrowski, and Sienna Preuss

Morning Magazine April 10, 2013

• Is Incourage moving to the Daily Tribune building? No, we’re not moving.
• How to grow the economy in central Wisconsin.
• Tune in every month to ARE YOU IN.
• Kelly Ryan’s Incourage Blog

One of the reasons we’re doing this is so that we can act as a bridge between people of like interests. For instance, we can connect “Mike” who wants to start a kayak rental business on the river, with “Jane” who is interested in the health of our waterways. In this way, Incourage can join hands in the community, not hold them. Our next step is to develop an inventory of the good work already underway in our area. Read more from Kelly Ryan, Incourage CEO’s blog>>

Click here!

In her first blog post, Kelly Ryan gives readers an update on the recent purchase and upcoming public tours of the former Daily Tribune building, as well as the process to get residents involved in helping determine the future use of the property.

Ryan also writes, “I hope this blog will be a place to share some of our great stories; I believe there are many more to come. It will also be a place to hear from you. At Incourage, we believe that solutions to our region’s most pressing issues must come from its residents. We believe that by doing the hard work together, we can create a growing and vibrant community. That’s why I encourage my readers to comment, email, or call to share their ideas about our work and any of the topics I post.”

The blog is online at http://kellyincourage.blogspot.com/. Please read and post your comments!

The Wisconsin Rapids Police Department plans on holding training exercises in the old Daily Tribune building on a temporary basis. As Incourage continues the process of finding a new use for the iconic downtown building, authorities soon will use it to train a special response team and K-9 unit, and teach patrol officers how to clear a building.

Incourage also reports that they will offer public tours of the building while it’s vacant – to increase awareness about the opportunity that the building holds and the need for resident input about the building’s future use. Tours may begin in April with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

Read coplete story here: February 27, 2013, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

Governance expert Chuck Loring leads Get On Board! workshops. Attendees will learn basic board roles and responsibilities; the board/staff partnership; understanding boardroom dynamics; and questions to ask before joining a board. Chuck is a dynamic speaker who has helped hundreds of nonprofits improve their governance practices.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Feb. 26, 2013 … Area residents who love their community and want to become involved are needed to serve as board members of local nonprofits.

Incourage Community Foundation is offering Get on Board! a training session geared towards people who have never served on a nonprofit board before. It takes place Monday, March 18, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Hotel Mead. Cost is $15. The session will cover questions to ask before joining a board; basic board roles and responsibilities; the board/staff partnership; and understanding boardroom dynamics.

“The future of a healthy community depends on a vibrant nonprofit sector. Our local organizations need individuals willing to lead as board members,” emphasized Dawn Vruwink of Incourage Community Foundation.

Governance expert Chuck Loring, of Loring, Sternberg & Associates, and senior governance consultant with BoardSource leads this training. Chuck is a dynamic speaker who has helped hundreds of nonprofits nationwide improve their governance.

Register for this session by calling 715.423.3863. To learn more, contact Dawn Vruwink, at dvruwink@incouragecf.org, or 715.423.3863.