Shawano Community Service Award

Editor’s note: This is the first article in a series of five profiling winners of the Celebration of Giving awards presented annually by Shawano Area Community Foundation Inc. for outstanding volunteerism. The winners will be honored at a gala April 11 at the Gathering.

From their Shawano County home overlooking the eastern shore of the Wolf River, Len and Judy Pubanz have built a deeply personal connection with the river.

So when they learned of plans for a mining operation that they feared would threaten the river, the Pubanzes joined opposition efforts that ultimately succeeded in blocking the mine.

It is among Len Pubanz’s proudest achievements as the environmental activist prepares to accept the Shawano Area Community Foundation’s annual Shawano Community Service Award at the foundation’s Celebration of Giving gala.

Although Pubanz over the years has embraced other causes and channeled his energy into other civic activities, the 78-year-old retired school teacher cites helping to stop the Crandon Mine development as his biggest contribution.

“That was probably the most significant volunteering I ever did,” he said.

In nominating Pubanz for the community service award, some of his fellow civic leaders highlighted Pubanz’s work at promoting education, the arts, business, and other worthwhile causes.

Jim Leuenberger, known for creating barn quilt displays on farms throughout the region, said Pubanz helped to design and assemble the billboard-style display that faces state Highway 22 in Shawano and welcomes visitors to the barn quilt capital of Wisconsin.

“Len is one of the most selfless people I have ever known,” Leuenberger wrote in his nomination. “He is indeed an asset to the Shawano community.”

Pubanz will join four other honorees April 11 at the Celebration of Giving gala, which recognizes individuals or groups that have exhibited a spirit of volunteerism in the Shawano area. Each honoree receives a $1,000 donation to be directed to a nonprofit organization of their choosing.

Pubanz will be donating his $1,000 award to the Shawano Farmers Market.

Born near Stevens Point, Pubanz settled in Shawano with his wife in the early 1960s and took a job as a biology teacher at Shawano High School. After leaving the school district in 1979, he opened a woodworking studio where he cultivated a business as a cabinet maker.

The Pubanzes built their riverfront home and raised two sons along Balsam Row Road in the town of Wescott. As the couple learned of the Crandon Mine project under consideration by private industry north of Shawano, Len joined other protesters and fought for years to keep the mine from opening.

The opposition efforts reached a pinnacle in 1998 when then-Gov. Tommy Thompson came to Shawano to sign into law a mining moratorium that effectively killed the project.

Pubanz said he still feels a sense of pride and achievement about working to protect the Wolf River for future generations.

“It’s an irreplaceable asset,” he said. “I don’t worry about the river anymore.”

Along with his artist wife, Pubanz was an early supporter of the Miles of Art festival, as well as the Shawano Farmers Market, Peace United Church of Shawano and Little Free Library. He used his cabinet-making skills to build the first Little Free Library, and later donated several more.

“Len is certainly one of the most generous and giving members of our community,” library booster Gail Sarnwick said.

At the farmers market, Pubanz serves on the organization’s board of directors and also is among the first to show up every Saturday morning to help get things organized. Market director Nathan Falk said Pubanz’s volunteer service has been immeasurable in making the event a success over the past 10 years.

“He’s such a valuable part of what we do,” Falk said. “He’s always willing to lend a hand.”

Three years ago, Pubanz returned to his first love — the classroom — and utilized his carpentry skills to benefit students at Olga Brener Intermediate School in Shawano. He crafted and donated wooden tabletop puzzles to help students understand basic elements of geometry and science.

Joining in nominating Pubanz for the community foundation award, Olga Brener teacher Joanne Edwards wrote that Pubanz exhibited “natural talent as a teacher” in presenting students with the new learning tools.

“This tremendous gift will allow this lesson to continue on for years and years for our students,” Edwards said.

Pubanz said he will accept the community service award on behalf of all the other volunteers with whom he has worked to make improvements in the Shawano area. He also hopes the award serves as an inspiration to draw future generations into community service and volunteerism.

People need to realize, he said, that volunteering to help a worthwhile cause is its own reward.

“You get so much out of it,” he said. “It’s good for my spirit when I work with other people.”