By Kim McDarison
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It’s a day of gift-giving and recognition shared between loved ones and friends.
In Fort Atkinson, a nonprofit organization called “Heart of the City,” makes the day special by naming the recipient of its “Big Heart” award. The group has named a recipient annually for 14 years, according to the nonprofit’s president Frankie Fuller.
This year, the group will be awarding two recipients, Fort Healthcare and former WFAW radio newsman Michael Clish, for their contributions to the community made in 2020. (See related story here.)
Each year, the award recipient’s name is a closely guarded secret, made public with a small ceremony, during which the recipient receives a ceramic heart. Recipients’ names are engraved on the heart’s wooden pedestal.
This year, Frankie said, the ceramic heart will be fitted with a pedestal extension because the space to engrave names is full.
Recipients also receive a box of chocolates, she said.
Frankie and Heart of the City board member Bill Johnson met Wednesday with Fort Atkinson Online at Good2Go, a recently opened takeout restaurant, located near the Main Street bridge, a place that might be perceived as the heart of the city, to discuss the group’s plans for 2021.
Heart history and goals
Heart of the City formed in 1999 as a citizens’ group looking to discourage support for a Walmart Supercenter in Fort Atkinson, Frankie said.
After Walmart chose against developing in the city, the group, for a time, disbanded, but a few core members thought there was more work to do, and they reorganized with new initiatives, including: civic engagement, a community-friendly pathway for downtown development, and support for a healthy and sustainable environment, Frankie and Bill said.
Some twenty years later, in the spring of 2019, the group faced questions about disbanding again.
Those discussions began, Bill said, just around the time he joined the organization. He following his wife, Elaine, who had joined a few years earlier, into the fold. Both serve today as board members. Both are retired UW-Whitewater professors, arriving into the area in 1990. Elaine taught Spanish and Bill taught radio, television, film and media.
Bill said he joined the group because its goals embraced his interests, which included then and continue to include a desire to support and strengthen local journalism and develop the city’s downtown as a center of activity.
Adding her thoughts by phone, Elaine said she initially engaged with the group in the mid-2000s as more of a participant than a member, attracted by the group’s initiatives to inform the public about solar energy.
Work and family-related obligations occupied her time between 2006 and 2013, she said, but she became reengaged, joining as a member, in 2012.
“I joined to learn how to help speak up for the environment,” she said, emphasizing her belief in the importance of wetlands conservation and care for pollinating creatures.
As a member of the group, Elaine said, she finds a stronger ability to be influential about her issues of concern, many of which focus on activities that allow mankind to live in harmony with nature.
Frankie joined the group 10 years ago and has served as its president for the past two years.
She joined, she said, “because I was excited to see what Heart of the City was doing with things like the Farmer’s Market.” She described the group as among those engaged with the market’s establishment.
Frankie, a master gardener, worked part-time in the lawn and garden center at Shopko in Fort until the store closed. The Wisconsin-based company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019.
Like Bill, Frankie said she has an interest in supporting local journalism. Before she worked at ShopKo, she worked in the newspaper business in Madison, first in classifieds and then on the records page. She continues a relationship with newspapers today assembling the police blotter for the Daily Jefferson County Union.
In 2019, Frankie said, a meeting was held, after which the group decided to stay together and more clearly defined its mission.
During the meeting, the group made three standing committees, she said.
They are Land Use and Civic Engagement, Love Where You Live, and Climate Change and Sustainability.
Civic engagement focuses on participating in government activities such as the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan, and attending city council meetings so the group can be informed and weigh in on issues of importance to the city’s growth and development, Frankie said.
Supporting local journalism also falls under this committee, she added.
The “Love Where You Live” concept developed out of a desire to see more positive stories written about the community, she said.
“There should be emphasis on what makes Fort a good place to live, like our parks system and our school system,” Frankie said.
The group also likes to acknowledge community members who are making a positive impact within the community, she said adding: “We look for the people who are making Fort a good place to live.”
While the Big Heart award has traditionally been given to individuals, she said, last year, for the first time, the recipient was an organization.
“It was the rotary club. They were chosen for everything they do for education,” Frankie continued.
The group also enjoys sending flowers to people in recognition of their service to the community.
The Climate Change and Sustainability committee has been focused on energy concerns, she said.
Membership
Heart of the City has about 50 members, and many participate on a project-by-project basis. Among goals for this year, Frankie and Bill said, the group looks forward to welcoming some new members who might like to help with existing projects and spearhead new ones.
For members, new and old, Frankie said: “Heart of the City is there to help them implement a new program that they might not otherwise have an opportunity to do.”
Although the group operates with bylaws and a 12-member board, Frankie described its structure as “informal,” while Bill said the group offers a place to make a difference as well as a social outlet.
Describing his own experience, he said the group provides opportunities to become more familiar with Fort while making new friends.
While the group is not dues driven, Frankie said, “every now and then, members are asked to make contributions,” with those funds used to support specific projects.
The group asks for a modest contribution when people join, she said.
People who are not members have in the past also made donations to the group, she said.
Heart of the City meets on the last Sunday of each month. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has been meeting virtually.
Meetings typically begin at 9 a.m. and run from an hour to just under two hours, Bill said.
While the group has several projects underway in 2021, most are still in the planning stages. More information about upcoming projects will be released as plans for each are solidified, Frankie said.
Those interested in learning more about the group, can contact the organization through its website: https://heartofthecity.us.
Heart of the City president Frankie Fuller and board member Bill Johnson stand on what might be perceived as the heart of the city: the Main Street bridge. The two recently arrived at Good2Go in downtown Fort to talk about the nonprofit organization’s history, goals and projects. (Kim McDarison photo.)
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