Meet Our Donors

Tom Lindahl of Platteville Signs on as Charter Member of the Legacy Society

“Education has been good to me,” Tom Lindahl of Platteville, “and we wanted to do something into the future that would be long‐lasting for the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program, now Leadership Wisconsin.” Lindahl, UW Platteville Professor Emeritus, was WRLP Board President from 1995-1997, while also Dean of UW‐Platteville College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture from 1991-98.

Tom and his wife Lee Ann decided their preferred vehicle for a planned gift would be through a charitable gift annuity. There are several other ways to designate a planned gift to Leadership Wisconsin. It can be as simple as naming LW/WRLP as the designated beneficiary to a life insurance policy, your retirement plan, or will; a gift of securities, real estate, or other personal property; or other life income gift alternatives. The Leadership Wisconsin office can help you understand the broad options you might have in becoming a member of the Legacy Society.

Tom summed it up as, “this seemed like a good way to help ensure that leadership training is available for the next generation of Wisconsin leaders. WRLP has always provided excellent leadership training. WRLP has produced great leaders for Wisconsin. We’d like to see it continue. I hope my planned gift stimulates others to do the same.”

Nodji Van Wychen of Warrens makes $10,000 gift to support future International seminars

Leadership Wisconsin (formerly WRLP) means different things to different people and graduates lead in different ways when they return to their communities. Some run for office, start a new business project, spearhead a controversial effort, become a community leadership project role model, mentor emerging leaders, become an advocate for UW‐Extension, or remain involved in leadership development through Board and alumni activities, including going on International seminars as an extra traveler. Alumni, Nodji Van Wychen has done all of these things and then some. We could fill a page with examples of Nodji’s leadership. Yet Nodji always give the credit for her passion about leadership to what she learned in the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program, now Leadership Wisconsin. She believes you must lead where you are planted and now Nodji is doing just that – proud to start another new project with us, providing $10,000 to the Emerging Leaders initiative as a reminder of how important she feels the International Seminar is to the curriculum.  Nodji appreciates the life‐changing value of the International seminar for current group participants and alumni. She hopes her example will stimulate others to contribute accordingly to Leadership Wisconsin or to designate a gift to their favorite seminar.

Gerry Campbell, Emeritus Professor Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, UW Madison and UW-Extension, Past WRLP Executive Director.

“I made a major gift to the Emerging Leaders Fund because I appreciate the importance of my gift right now to stimulate alumni, past contributors, and new potential donors.”