Northside News

Nominated by Rachel Deterding (Lake View Community Elementary School)

Susie Hobart is a mover and a shaker in every sense of the phrase. Although recently retired as a teacher at Lake View Elementary, where she taught for 17 years, she remains involved in the development of Lake View as a Community School, particularly with the expansion and maintenance of the school forest and outdoor classroom. During her time as a fourth/fifth-grade teacher at Lake View, Susie cultivated a strong love of learning in her students by integrating civic engagement and environmental learning and stewardship into her instruction.

Currently, as the outdoor classroom coordinator, she continues to advocate for opportunities for our students and families to be outdoors, connect with nature, and be an active part in developing and maintaining the three acres of natural land that is footsteps from our building.

Susie is a skillful change agent and has made her vision of a welcoming, sustainable outdoor classroom and school forest a reality for all to enjoy. She supports educators, families, volunteers and community members in using the outdoor classroom so that children can have meaningful learning experiences as they engage in learning about and in the natural environment. Beyond the positive impact during the school day, the school forest and outdoor classroom is also open to Lake View families and the public outside of school hours. Susie’s vision, work ethic and ability to unite people from many walks of life around environmental preservation and enjoying the outdoors makes her most deserving of a North Star Award.

Nominated by Ana Stephens

Harley was selected to receive a North Star Award for all he has done over many years for the baseball and softball families of East Madison Little League (EMLL). Harley is a hardworking volunteer who makes sure the team’s four fields are mowed, striped, maintained and ready for players to enjoy.

His nominator for this award wrote: “I got to know Harley over the past three years as I served on the EMLL board and found him to be friendly and appreciative of the work I did, even as he did so much more. When I decided I wanted to nominate to Harley for this award, I reached out to current and former board members to ask ‘How long has Harley been at this?’ The overwhelming response was similarly, ‘I don’t know. He was here when I started.’” 

Harley has been an EMLL volunteer since 2000, coached two sons for over a decade and also served on the board. In 2005, he started putting in countless hours maintaining the fields. Harley’s house is adjacent to the EMLL parking lot, leading him to be “on call” for minor emergencies that arise. He deals with such emergencies with a sense of humor and a smile.

Nominated by David Presser (Vera Court Neighborhood Center)

Pulcherie is an ideal candidate for this award. A first-generation immigrant from Cameroon, she is a mother of four and a full time Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) but still finds time to work part-time at Vera Court Neighborhood Center and volunteers countless more hours to bringing her community together. She is a constant presence, volunteering at all the community events that Vera Court hosts, and has been crucial in spreading the word about services provided by the organization. She has also helped to develop and schedule programs at the center, such as a French Club and weekly computer classes. Pulcherie is always willing to help out in whatever role is needed, and is currently filling in as a chef, cooking meals for over 60 kids once a week. 

Although Pulcherie contributes in very obvious ways to her community, perhaps her greatest contribution is the joy that she brings others. She has a unique way of bringing a smile to all of those around her with her relentlessly positive attitude and zest for life. She has been known to burst into dance if she thinks someone is having a bad day, and always has time for a conversation with coworkers, neighbors and children at the center. Pulcherie is the definition of someone who puts her heart and soul into bringing people together and she does so without wanting or expecting recognition. In a world where there is often a focus on negativity, we could use more people like Pulcherie to spread some joy and bring out the more lighthearted and positive aspect of daily life.

By Anita Weier
Northside News

Terrence Thompson, Facility Manager of the Warner Park Community Recreation Center (WPCRC), was honored in November with the Alix Olson Award for the Promotion of a Tolerant and Just Community.

He was chosen for the prestigious award for his efforts to make the WPCRC a multigenerational, culturally diverse, safe and welcoming community of acceptance, equality, connection and solutions.

The award was named for Alix Olson, a retired detective with the Madison Police Department and founder, heart and soul of Seeking Tolerance and Justice Over Hate (STAJOH), an anti-hate crime, inter-agency coalition from Madison and Dane County that provides meetings and trainings for community groups.

The award recognizes contributions of people who make a difference by promoting tolerance and justice in their community.

Thompson said that, when he started the job in 2017, he was determined not to start making waves right away; but soon found that some people in the community — particularly young people of color — did not feel welcome at the facility. So he made a point of welcoming them, and they came. “Now the center is much noisier,” Thompson said with pride.

Past winners of the Alix Award include: Holly Storck-Post, Laura Minero, Karen Reece, Lori Karst, Diego Campoverde-Cisneros, Stephen Blue, Fade to Black and Chris Lang.

By Anne Pryor
Margaret’s Fund

Margaret’s Fund: A Northside Scholarship is delighted to announce two awardees for 2019.

René Bedolla, a graduate of Sherman Middle School and East High School, is now attending Loyola University in Chicago where he is studying Spanish and Italian, and minoring in music. His goal is to return to the Northside as an educator. René has already demonstrated his interest in contributing to our community through his volunteer work with The River Food Pantry and the MUNCH Program. René is the son of Valente and Araceli Bedolla. 

Josselin Ceballos De Santiago graduated from Lindbergh Elementary, Black Hawk Middle and East High Schools. She is currently attending Madison College in the nursing program. Jossie developed leadership skills through participating in multiple programs at the Vera Court Neighborhood Center, including the Latino Leadership Board and Girl Power. She also worked as an intern at Troy Community Gardens. Jossie is the daughter of Froilan Ceballos and Angelica De Santiago. 

This year’s scholarship was available to any Northside resident graduating from high school with plans to continue studies in fall of 2019. Preference was given to applicants who actively participated or volunteered in Northside organizations, were among the first in their family to pursue higher education or had overcome substantial obstacles or challenges to success.

2019 is the first year in which Margaret’s Fund awarded two scholarships, thanks to the core fund having grown enough since it was established in 2007. Managed by the Madison Community Foundation, Margaret’s Fund supports Northside residents who are pursuing higher education. The award goes to a graduating high school senior in odd years and to a returning adult in even years. 

Margaret’s Fund has made 10 awards to date: Tara Hoffman (2009), Nicole Tackes (2010), Stacey Yang (2011), Omobolanle Kikelomo Olumbi (2012), Chekwube Obieze (2013), Melissa Marie Alexander (2014), Aminata Bojang (2015), Felicia Jones (2016), Vanessa Kana (2017), and Terri Hatchett (2018). You can see the happy faces of these recipients at margarets-fund.com. 

Donations to the fund are tax deductible and very much appreciated.