I was born and raised in the Chicago area. I came to Winona to attend Saint Mary’s University. While at Saint Mary’s, I met my husband, John, a Winona native. After living in both West Virginia and the Twin Cities, we moved back to Winona and have been here for the past 16 years. We both love our community and work for nonprofits – John works for Habitat for Humanity, and I work for Cotter Schools as the Campus Minister on the Saint Teresa Campus. We’ve been married for 18 years and have 2 teenagers, one of whom has been very involved with the HCO Musical.
When my daughter was eight, she tried out for the HCO musical, “Mary Poppins.” She had grown up watching the HCO musicals from the audience, so she was thrilled to be joining them on stage when she was finally old enough. Since my daughter was young and very shy, I often accompanied her to rehearsals. That’s where the magic happened: I fell in love with the mission and people that make up HCO. I soon volunteered for everything possible with the musical – backstage, front end, taking photos, ushering, etc. I wanted to be around the HCO family as much as possible! I eventually got recruited to join the Sponsorship Committee, where we invite businesses and organizations to financially sponsor the musical. From there, I was invited to join the Board of the Directors.
It is an honor to be a part of the HCO family and to serve on the Board of Directors. This is my third year on the Board and my second year serving as its Secretary. It’s not just a monthly meeting, but so much more. We serve on several committees and are challenged to really be a part of the work of HCO, use our strengths to support HCO, and to help tackle the big issues HCO faces. It is a lot of work, but it’s worth it in every way.
I will forever cherish the friendships my daughter and I have made through the HCO musicals. It is such a positive and affirming environment, and it feels like anything is possible with HCO musicals. It is a microcosm of what our world could and should be – people of all ages and abilities working together to accomplish a goal. People are given a chance to try new things, and people work together to help others succeed. We are proud to be a part of the musicals and all of the ways HCO builds up the dignity of all people.
Working in education, this has been the hardest two years of my career, and I know the same is true for HCO’s staff. They are worn out and exhausted, and are sacrificing so much for others – I deeply appreciate the important work they do. If I could tell HCO employees one thing, it would be thank you! From the bottom of my heart – THANK YOU!
