Community Foundation celebrates Sue Hartwick’s retirement; names Megan Hartwick as successor 

By Chris Spangler

The Fort Atkinson Community Foundation earlier this month saluted Sue Hartwick on her upcoming retirement as program administrator of the 51-year-old organization.

During a reception at the Hoard Historical Museum held Friday, Nov. 15, past and present board of directors members and guests lauded Hartwick, who has headed the foundation for 12 years.

Board Chairperson Sally Koehler explained that five organizations appoint the foundation’s board of directors. Appointees are: Treasurer Jim Schulenberg, Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce; Secretary Bonnie Geyer, Fort Atkinson Historical Society; Vice Chairperson Lisa Caras, PremierBank; Koehler and director Whitney Townsend, School District of Fort Atkinson Board of Education; and director Robert Cassiday and Past-Chairperson Sue Johnson, Fort Atkinson City Council.

Koehler said that in 1992, Hartwick and her husband, Jude, moved to Fort Atkinson with their 2-month-old quadruplets.

Jude took a teaching job in the School District of Palmyra-Eagle, while his wife stayed home with the four babies.

“It has been a wonderful privilege to have watched their family thrive and grow here,” Koehler said, adding, “(It is) really wonderful that some have chosen to come back to the area.”

Three years later, Sue Hartwick began working at the Dwight Foster Public Library, and in 1998, the Hoard Historical Museum.

With an educational background in history, Hartwick soon became museum director, a post she held for 10 years. During that time, the museum undertook a $4 million renovation and added the “Mysteries of the Mounds” permanent exhibit.

In 2012, she followed Helen Rose as the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation’s program administrator.

Friend Jim Nelson continued recalling the early years, noting that he and his wife, Marie, moved to Fort Atkinson in 1994 to open the Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop. He was working for Beloit Memorial Hospital at the time.

“Within a few years of being in Fort, I was asked to help the Fort Atkinson Historical Society convert their paper bookkeeping over to an electronic system for better recordkeeping and information retrieval. It was during that time that I got to know Sue,” Nelson said.

“Honestly, she made the work a pleasure. I think maybe she was just grateful that she didn’t have to figure it out in addition to all the other balls she was juggling at the time,” he added.

Nelson said he became even better acquainted with Hartwick when he joined the Fort Atkinson Historical Society Board of Directors.

“In 2005-06, Sue started discussing ideas to fix some challenges of the existing museum buildings. Her dreaming turned into a $4 million project of what we substantially enjoy today,” he recalled. During the project, he and Hartwick met weekly with the architects and contractors to keep the project on time and within budget. 

“Sue’s vision and passion started the project and really carried us through the project,” Nelson recalled, noting that after it was completed, Hartwick resigned to spend more time with her children before they graduated from high school and left home.

At the time, she also used the skills she learned with the museum addition to help work on the library remodeling and expansion, he added.

“Fast-forward a few years and I found myself on the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation Board. Helen Rose had just given us notice of her intent to retire. We published the upcoming opening. Sue applied and rose to the top of a very qualified group of applicants. Sue slid into the executive director role seamlessly and helped the foundation move to the next level. The rest, as they say, is history and why we are here today celebrating Sue and her accomplishments,” Nelson said.  

On a personal note, he said that the Hartwicks’ daughter, Kerry, worked many years at the Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop and Nelson got to know daughter Olivia Hartwick Nichols through her work with the Rock River Community Clinic.

“Fort Atkinson has been very lucky to have had the Hartwicks make Fort their home,” he concluded. “Their passion and touches are found throughout our community.”

Koehler also offered praise, saying that just as she did at the library and museum, Hartwick has made her mark at the foundation.

“There are so many great things we could continue to say about Sue,” Koehler said. “Her high integrity, professionalism, caring and witty personality have made it a pleasure working with her. Sue has been a good steward of our resources.”

She noted that during Hartwick’s 12-year tenure, the foundation team — which consists of PremierBank, Badger Bank and investment adviser Mike Wendt — grew assets from $19 million and 62 funds to $41 million in assets and 87 funds, all while investing $12 million into the community through grants and scholarships.

“There are many wonderful programs Sue helped facilitate,” said Koehler, who was joined by Johnson and Caras to share some highlights.

“Sue facilitated a true communitywide project when she helped (the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce’s) Project LEAD navigate a fundraising effort to plant trees in Ralph Park to replace the ash trees damaged by the Emerald Ash Borer,” Caras said. “The project was so successful, the city asked to continue the efforts.”

She noted that the Fort Atkinson Beautification Council, Fort Atkinson High School FFA and Fort Atkinson Rotary Club were involved, along with many other donors and planters.

In addition, Caras said, Hartwick started a Classroom Teacher Wish Grant program to give educators the opportunity to help fund classroom needs with grants up to $500. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she encouraged the foundation to award about 15 grants to help organizations through financial hardships. And she worked with Fort HealthCare and its Women Who Care organization to establish and fund school-based behavioral mental health counseling at the high school.

“The biggest part of Sue’s job is managing the scholarship program,” Caras pointed out. “The foundation awarded dozens of students (a total) $429,000 just in 2024. The scholarships are given by donors and managed by Hartwick, helping recent graduates attend 2-year and 4-year degree programs.

She added that Hartwick believes this also is a wonderful introduction to philanthropy for these students.

Johnson said that Hartwick helped shepherd Project LEAD to complete the restrooms at Barrie Park, the Veterans Memorial in McCoy Park, the Riverwalk Plaza and many more projects.

“She established a professional website for the foundation and moved to an online flipbook for our annual impact report,” Johnson said. “Sue also worked with Steve Tesmer to develop a website for Fort scholarships to allow students to apply online and allow reviewers to conduct their reviews s online. As a result, we no longer need to copy hundreds of paper applications.”

In addition, Hartwick established the ‘Making Fort Special’ award in 2017, honoring people who have made a difference in the community and helped fulfill the foundation’s vision of “A Better Fort Atkinson,” she said.

Hartwick also provided ongoing counsel to the Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE) and has guided it on applying for a grants it seeks an expansion. She advised the Friends of Haumerson’s Pond on its shelter project, resuscitated the Ernie Pope Memorial Art Show and reclassified the foundation’s fund structure, creating a new designated fund category, Johnson reported.

Koehler added that Hartwick brought the foundation into the Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, added a part-time employee and developed new office space at the chamber office.

“Sue planned a 50th anniversary celebration for the foundation,” she said. “As part of the celebration, she established the Bur Oak Legacy Society for planned giving.”

Koehler explained that the fund recognizes people who have made provisions in their estate plans to provide a gift to the foundation for the causes they care about most.

“Sue believes so much in this program, she has designated her retirement benefit from the foundation back to the foundation,” Koehler said. “She also has established a Hartwick family fund so she and Jude can continue contributing to the community.”

In other words, Hartwick practices what she preaches.

“Sue has been proactive about seeking donations and has guided many people through the donation process,” Koehler said. “She has been the face of the foundation. Her strong connections in the community have helped the foundation navigate needs and actively seek out opportunities. Sue has been a strong team player and has been a wonderful advocate for the foundation.”

In fact, she noted, the slogan for the foundation — “Making a Better Fort Atkinson” — appears to be Hartwick’s personal mission.

“Sue, thank you for the many ways you and your family continue to make Fort Atkinson a wonderful place. You will be missed! We wish you wonderful adventures and lots of family time during your much-deserved retirement,” Koehler added.

Also offering a tribute was Connie Meyer, retired director of the Dwight Foster Public Library and a close friend of Hartwick.

She recalled when Hartwick applied for a job at the library. Meyer was looking for someone “friendly, flexible and dependable.”

“Sue sent me a six-page CV (curriculum vitae) to apply for the job … of circulation clerk. I scoffed as I paged through the extensive list of her publications with titles such as ‘Irish Tithe Wars’ and ‘The Great Famine’ and thought, ‘Are you kidding me? I just want to know if she’s willing and able to plunge a toilet!’” Meyer said.

She decided to interview Hartwick only because of the cover letter that “made me laugh out loud.

“Basically, she wrote that she wanted the job because she was desperate for some adult interaction because she had four little 3-year-olds at home,” Meyer said. “OK, she threw you kids under the bus, but it worked. I had one child of my own at this time, so this spoke to me.”

So Meyer hired Hartwick, and certainly was not disappointed.

“I like to think the library gig infected her with the idea that Fort Atkinson is a really special place and that service to others is a righteous calling,” Meyer said.

Their connection certainly did not end when Hartwick moved on to the Hoard Historical Museum. There, she guided it through a much-needed remodeling, leapfrogging the library’s own planned expansion.

“We worked to make Fort Atkinson better and I couldn’t have asked for a better ally, sounding board and friend,” Meyer said.

She continued: “Sue’s contributions at the museum are significant and all-encompassing. She built an actual building. She also built staff, the board, funding, exhibits, collections, policies, practices and daily operations. … And when she felt she needed to focus more on her children, she retired to expend her energy and attentions at home for one last year with the kids before they all flew the nest.”

During that hiatus, Hartwick still served as president of the Friends of the Library and of the Jefferson County Library Board. She also headed the library’s Foster Growth capital campaign.

Meyer said that she was delighted when Hartwick took the program administrator position at the community foundation 12 years ago.

“In typical Sue fashion, she brought monumental change to the foundation, including updating the website, bringing the scholarship process online, streamlining operations, expanding the donor base (and) promoting the foundation in new ways,” Meyer said. “No detail was too small for Sue. She paid a lot of attention. She has always had that unique ability to think big and act small — handwritten thank-you notes, phone calls and follow-ups.”

The retired library director said Hartwick’s impact on the community will be felt for years to come.

“She loves Fort Atkinson and leaves it better — way better — than she found it,” Meyer said. “‘A Better Fort Atkinson’ is a tagline the foundation often uses, and it perfectly describes her work here in the foundation. She deserves to receive her own ‘Making Fort Special’ award.”

A humbled Hartwick thanked the foundation and friends for their kind words.

“The foundation is a ‘we enterprise.’ Everything we do involves partnerships,” Hartwick said. “The foundation itself can be thought of as three partners.”

First, she pointed out, there are the staff and board members, who Hartwick called the “kindest, most thoughtful people dedicated to our city.” Also cited were the trustees: Steve Olsen and Tiffany Reysack and the crew at PremierBank, and Karen Riemer and Mike Wendt at Badger Bank.

Hartwick then mentioned the donors and fundholders, “who literally invest in the community.” Calling them inspiring, she said many regular contributors are people from out of state whom she never has met.

Third, there are the project champions, “people who give us a reason to send money out the door, (providing) ideas for a better Fort Atkinson,” she said.

Hartwick acknowledged dozens of people, governmental bodies and organizations that help make the community foundation so successful. They include the School District of Fort Atkinson, City of Fort Atkinson, Fort HealthCare, Rock River Clinic, Fort Atkinson Food Pantry, BASE, Fort Atkinson Beautification Council, Fort Atkinson Generals, Fort Atkinson Kennel Club, Paddy’s Paws, Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce, Homeless Coalition of Fort Atkinson, The Fort Atkinson Club, Dwight Foster Public Library, Hoard Historical Museum, Humane Society of Jefferson County, Jefferson County Literacy Council and Rainbow Hospice Care.
“And soon, we’re adding the new Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha and Jefferson Counties, which will be kicking off a housing project in Fort next year,” Hartwick said.

“All these organizations, all these good people (are) pulling on the oars toward a better Fort Atkinson,” Hartwick concluded. “It’s been my good fortune to be in the boat with all of you.”

Gifts of appreciation

Also Friday, Koehler and Kristin Wallace announced that the foundation board has approved a transfer of $1,000 to the Hartwick Bur Oak Fund. The board also presented Hartwick with a $500 L.L. Bean gift card to encourage and support her retirement travels.

“Prior to Sue’s pregnancy, she had been pursuing a Ph.D in Irish history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” Koehler said. “Sue will say, “the wheels fell off the PhD bus.”

Meyer added that Hartwick never did receive her Ph.D on the Irish Tithe Wars.

Thus, Wallace and Meyer presented Hartwick with a “Ph.D in Fort Atkinson Community Enhancement: “Preserving, Highlighting and Developing the wonder and beauty of Fort Atkinson.”

“Although this degree does not have the academic rigor of a university setting, it has much more breadth and depth and is so much more important to all of us in this room,” Meyer said.

New director named

The program also included an announcement of Hartwick’s successor: Her daughter-in-law, Megan Hartwick.

“Megan brings over a decade of local nonprofit leadership to our organization, previously serving as the executive director for Bethel House of Whitewater and the United Way of Jefferson & North Walworth Counties,” Koehler said, noting that Sue Hartwick was not involved in the selection.

She said Megan Hartwick has extensive experience with nonprofit support work and marketing and communications and is a “passionate, active community leader,” currently serving as a member of the Police and Fire Commission and Kiwanis Club of Fort Atkinson, as well as the Luther Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization treasurer.

Founder of the Fort Atkinson Summer Charity Concerts, Hartwick previously served on the Fort Atkinson City Council and Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation Board of Directors.

“She calls Fort Atkinson home with her husband, Sam, and her two sons, Weston and Davis,” Koehler said. “We are excited that Megan will work with Sue after the first of the year.”

Since 1973, the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation has distributed more than $24.3 million in grants and scholarships. In 2023-24, the foundation received more than $1 million in gifts from 265 community members, businesses and organizations.

For more information about the foundation, visit its website: www.fortfoundation.org.