NEWS

Marshfield's 2016 People of the Year

The Marshfield News-Herald presents the people who made an impact here this year.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

We were blown away by all the great nominations we received for 2016 People of the Year — because we are blown away by the great things people here do to help make their community a better place. Marshfield News-Herald editors had fun reviewing readers' nominations and adding our own. We hope you enjoy reading through some of the year's highlights and recognizing the people who made them possible.

People traverse the stairway to the second floor of the Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library, which had a soft opening Tuesday morning, September 6, 2016.

The Marshfield News-Herald 2016 People of the Year are:

Lori Belongia

The opening of the Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library was a major event in the life of the community in 2016. The $7.2 million facility is an asset to downtown and a point of pride for the community. And it truly was a community effort — it couldn't have come about without the donation of its namesake, Everett Roehl, and Mayor Chris Meyer played a key role as an advocate and coalition-builder for the project. Both Roehl and Meyer received nominations from readers, and we recognize both of them, as well as countless others who helped move the project forward.

But perhaps no one played as great a role as library director Lori Belongia, for whom we received multiple nominations. In the words of one nominator, "The Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library became a reality because the community supported the concept but it required the tireless efforts of a humble servant leader who rallied the cause. ... There were many skeptics who challenged the need for the new library and community center, but Lori never lost sight of the aim to provide a state-of-the-art library in central Wisconsin."

Gina Mattheisen

A highlight of our own year at USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin was the outpouring of community support shown by readers following our profile of Gina Mattheisen, whose organization Sweet Dreams helps children affected by the drug epidemic by giving them pajamas, pillows and comfort objects to ease their transition to foster care or another home. We called for donations from readers, and hundreds of you answered — enough to provide care packages for 156 kids just in the first month we took donations. That generosity had a place to go because of Mattheisen, who as a social worker saw heart-wrenching scenes of neglected children in drug-ravaged households. Her compassion moved her to start Sweet Dreams, and with it she has now given comfort to hundreds or even thousands of kids.

Dr. Susan Turney

Marshfield Clinic’s planned purchase of Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield will have major implications for the future of health care in central Wisconsin and the patients and employees of both organizations. Key to the transaction was the leadership of Marshfield Clinic Chief Executive Officer Dr. Susan Turney, who has held that role since 2014. A Marshfield Clinic spokesman told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin in late December that the purchase could be finalized soon. The deal is an alternative to what had been an escalating feud: Marshfield Clinic had proposed building a new, state-of-the-art hospital in Marshfield that would have directly competed with Saint Joseph's, which Ministry challenged at multiple turns.

Ed Wagner

A majority of Marshfield voters in August voted against paying more in taxes to bolster road repairs. It was a ballot measure that likely would not have happened without the efforts of City Council member Ed Wagner, who had proposed the idea a couple of years ago. Wagner and other council members gave presentations at city civic organizations about the referendum to help educate the public. And while Wagner has said he personally supported paying a higher tax to improve streets, he said he primarily wanted to give voters a more direct voice on the issue. The city, Wagner said earlier this year, was “caught between the complaints about the roads and requests to keep taxes down.”

Tammy and Dave Meissner

The partnership between the Marshfield Clinic Health System and the Marshfield Area YMCA makes perfect sense. Not only will it spur a large-scale expansion of the YMCA, but its clinic ties also will allow the YMCA to provide new prevention-based health care to the community. The two institutions share a goal of helping make the community healthier. But this partnership might never have happened were it not for the efforts of Tammy and Dave Meissner, longtime supporters of Marshfield's Youth Net program, an after-school and summer program for at-risk children. The Meissners brought the YMCA and the Clinic together, allowing the creation of a partnership that will have a long-term effect here.

Lindsay Zuelke

Nathan Zuelke with his wife, Lindsay, and their two children, Danica and Easton, in their living room in March 2016. Lindsay passed away in December.

A lot of people knew Lindsay Zuelke. She had a lot of friends and inspired thousands of people as the Marshfield native fought cancer. Just a couple weeks ago on Dec. 10 Lindsay died from a rare childhood cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of 31, and the outpouring of love for her was well-deserved. Zuelke left behind two young children and her husband, Nathan. Zuelke defeated the rare cancer when she was declared to have "no evidence of disease" in December 2015. She was cancer-free for just six months when it returned and this time more forceful. The way she fought and stood her ground in the face of cancer was truly inspiring. Lindsay's family held a Celebration of Life party at the Eagles Club in Marshfield and the turnout was impressive, as many came to share their memories of Lindsay.

Honorable mentions

Other great people of 2016, as nominated by readers and News-Herald staffers:

Jason Angell, director of planning and economic development for the city of Marshfield, for work on a comprehensive plan for the city.

Scott Berg, for work with the Marshfield Blue Line Club and the Convention & Visitors Bureau and for community volunteering and donations.

Ryan Dieringer, teen who fought cancer and returned to playing soccer for Columbus Catholic this year.

Lt. Kelly Esker, Marshfield Fire Department, for service to the community and for helping to raise a scholarship fund for Staff Sgt. Joseph Altmann of Marshfield, who died on Christmas Day 2011 in Afghanistan.

Heidi Goblirsch, executive director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Wood County. Goblirsch has transformed the agency into a is financially solid, operationally sound organization that is touching more lives than ever. (Editor's note: Due to an editing error, Goblirsch was omitted from this story on original publication. News-Herald Media regrets the error.)

Tom Hilber, known as “Tom the Elevator Guy” at Marshfield Clinic, an elevator attendant for nearly 40 years who retired in 2016 after touching many lives in the course of his job.

Phil Hiller for community contributions and for organizing and funding placement of flags in Marshfield for the Fourth of July.

Dan McGiveron for work with the Marshfield Parish Pull for charity and involvement with youth sports.

Dr. Narayana Murali for work on Marshfield Clinic upgrades.

John Nelson, CEO at Nelson-Jameson Inc., for leadership in business and leading one of the area’s major employers.

Judy Shookman and her family for work planting and keeping up flowers on Veteran’s Parkway.

Lois TeStrake, board member of Main Street Marshfield, for downtown advocacy and for coordinating the Holiday Parade and helping with other events such as Hub City Days.

Dan Umhoefer for work to eliminate invasive plants on the Wildwood Trail.

Jonathan Anderson, Mitchell A. Skurzewski and Robert Mentzer contributed.