For the first time since the award’s inception in 2021, two individuals were awarded the Selfless Service Award at once. You may have seen these names within communities around Juneau County, and they are a joint force to be reckoned with. Acknowledged for their commitment to their community, Oakdale Electric Cooperative members Carol Wagenson and Nancy Walker were both awarded the Selfless Service Award in December 2023.
Carol is the face of Wagenson Auction Service, LLC and an agent for First Choice Realty, Inc., but her community involvement reaches much further. Carol has served on the board of directors for New Lisbon School District and Lynxx Networks in Camp Douglas. She is an active volunteer for the Juneau County Fair and holds a director position on the fair board. When the Lone Rock School in New Lisbon needed money to remodel the historic schoolhouse, Carol assisted in raising funds for the renovations. This past year, her care for community was evident in the year-end thank you party and auction Carol and Butch hosted for those who assisted them with the auction business, real estate business and the farm, with all proceeds donated to the Riverside Park Holiday Lights and the New Lisbon and Camp Douglas food pantries.
Nancy has been a devoted teacher for New Lisbon School District and currently sits on the school board since she retired from full-time teaching. However, Nancy still offers tutoring at her Open Door Learning Center in Hustler, an old bank that she and her husband, Dann, remodeled to provide this service for community youth and parents. Another Walker project was renovating an old chapel into a venue called Tranquil Gardens Chapel and Celebration Venue, Hustler. Most recently, Nancy and other dedicated community volunteers took over the volunteer-driven Community Closet Resale Shop in New Lisbon and will continue to give thousands of dollars back into the community. When she’s not busy volunteering or tutoring, Nancy and Dann assist Carol with her auction business.
When you put Carol Wagenson and Nancy Walker together, they create an energy that lights a path wherever they go. The two joined the Sunshine Movement to carry on the tradition of lights at New Lisbon’s Riverside Park during the holidays. Together, they are committee members and volunteers for Wa Du Shuda Days Festival in July at Riverside Park in New Lisbon. Both being avid horsewomen, Carol and Nancy relish the opportunity to volunteer at the Midwest Horse Fair that takes place in Madison.
As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together,” public-spirited Carol and Nancy make their communities better. Oakdale Electric Cooperative’s Board Chairman and friend of Carol and Nancy, Rick Barrett, reflected as they received their awards: “These two do a tremendous job of taking care of their community; we are lucky to have them.”