In December of 1940, Elaine and Ken met while they were students at the La Crosse Vocational School. They both worked for John B. Coleman, long-time director of the school. A short time after they met Elaine was hired by Trane Company as a secretary to the traffic...

Ken Balts was a Western Math instructor for 29 1/2 years. This scholarship honors his devotion to students and Western.

Kim chose to change professions in her later twenties and left the counseling field to pursue caring for others as a Registered Nurse. Kim balanced marriage, a newborn, and part-time employment in the first year of her Nursing studies. Kim was a dedicated student,...

The La Crosse Area Builders Association role is to provide attainable, quality housing and be active in improving our community. It is their goal to: o be the recognized voice for the building industry o promote job training and education o encourage high...

LAREA is a local unit of the Wisconsin Retired Educators’ Association (WREA) which was established to protect our retirement fund (pension) and represent other interests of the membership such as providing local scholarships.

The La Crosse Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc., (ASHRAE) is Premier Chapter of this international technical organization of over 50,000 members from 120 nations. ASHRAE is dedicated to advancing the arts...

Dr. Johnson graduated from the University of Indiana dental school in 1966. He served for three years as a dentist in the Navy before setting up his practice in La Crosse. He enjoyed his work and his patients; they called him “Gentle Gene”. He inspired two sons to...

The Landscape Horticulture Club is a student club at Western Technical College, started in 2008. The purpose of the club is to promote the Landscape Horticulture program at Western, heighten community awareness, and support Green Industry initiatives. Part of this...

Linda Mast and John Patterson, as active community members in La Crosse, are interested in the on-going improvement of dental health professionals as dental hygienists and dental assistants. Linda Mast was a Vice President at Western from 1988 until her retirement...

Terry and Lori and grew up as neighbors being only two years apart. Terry says, “I married the girl next door as she was just across the field on a neighboring farm. We never gave each other a second look until her second year at W.T.C.(at the time WWTI) in 1978...

Lorin A. Gasterland was a firm believer in education all of his life. After serving on the Richfield, Minnesota School Board for many years, Lorin accepted an appointment to the Hennepin County Vocational Technical School Board. During his time on the board,...

L. Peter Groves has been an agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since 1958. Groves is a life and qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table, current president of the Stars of Tomorrow Baseball Tournaments, and...

The Lutheran Hospital Auxiliary was organized in 1950 as a volunteer group of 11 women. Today, this organization of 350 men and women continues to support the hospital through service and fundraising efforts. Since it began more than 40 years ago, the Auxiliary has...