Fort’s BASE honors Edwards, Statz at Harvest Dinner

By Chris Spangler

The nonprofit agency that provides after-school and summer wrap-around programs for Fort Atkinson youth recognized a volunteer supporter and longtime club member on Saturday.

During its Harvest Dinner at the Kutz Dairy Farm, Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE) presented its 2021 Heart of Base Award to volunteer Shaun Edwards, culinary and product development specialist at Jones Dairy Farm, a major supporter of BASE.

In addition, it recognized 10-year-old Jackson Statz as the 2021 BASE Kid of the Year.

Formerly the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Atkinson, BASE provides critical after-school care from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays at all four public elementary schools in Fort Atkinson. It also offers a full wrap-around program from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. during summer. 

Its Harvest Dinner is one of several fundraisers held annually by BASE. This marked the third year that the event was held at Kutz Dairy Farm east of Fort Atkinson.

Following a pheasant dinner, BASE Executive Director Alicia Norris announced the awards and reviewed the nonprofit’s plans for a permanent facility.

“This is an award we started a few years ago as a way to recognize an individual, an organization, a group that really shows dedication to our mission,” she said of the Heart of BASE Award.

Norris noted that although the coronavirus pandemic prompted cancellation of last year’s Harvest Dinner, BASE still presented the award.

“In 2020, we weren’t able to celebrate, but we gave it to the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation,” she said. “We have been in partnership with FACF for many years and they are a huge part of the success of our capital campaign currently.”

The 2021 recipient, Shaun Edwards, has been employed at Jones Dairy Farm since August 2013.

“Shaun has cooked I don’t know how many pieces of French toast for us at Wings and Wheels,” Norris said, referring to the annual country-style breakfast prepared by Jones Dairy Farm to benefit BASE. “He has helped us with the event all three years that we have done it.

“He’s always here; he’s always supporting us,” she added. “He does a lot for the community, not only for us, so it only seemed appropriate that we award him with this because we could not do this without him.”

Edwards earned an associate’s degree in culinary arts/chefs training from the Culinary Institute of America in 2013 and a bachelor’s degree in management/ finance from Lipscomb University in Nashville in 2006. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s two-year Master Meat Crafter Program in 2016.

In his current position at Jones Dairy Farm, Edwards helps create new food-service and retail products. He oversees menu development, manages the kitchen and makes traditional German sausages at the Jones Market. 

He previously worked at Cirque Du Soleil, cooking for its VIP and Bistro concept, and as a line cook in New York City; Charleston, S.C.; and West Virginia.

Jackson Statz, a fourth -grader at Purdy Elementary School, was introduced Saturday as the 2021 BASE Kid of the Year.

“Our staff nominates kids from every site and they go through a process where they put together a portfolio about themselves and pictures,” Norris said. “We have the staff go through that and (the portfolios) are sent to a panel of community judges, and that’s how we choose our Kid of the Year.” 

The son of Joe and Shannon Statz, he has a brother, Andrew; sister, Lena; and dog, Deak. 

In his nomination form, Jackson wrote that his favorite subject at school is physical education and his favorite teacher is art teacher Katie Merchant.

“Mrs. Marchant inspires me to draw. I inspire others and teach others how to do things,” he said.

Jackson said he is “good at math, science, art and sport activities,” adding that he shows creativity by thinking “of crazy ideas in my head, using categories like fantasy or nonfiction to overtake them and then I draw it out.”

Responding to other questions on the nomination form, Jackson said that teamwork is important because “if there was no leader, things would be out of control, like an orchestra with no director.”

What helps him solve problems, he wrote, is “I talk about the problem with others and come up with a solution.”

What makes him a good leader, he said, is that he is “always specific on how to do things and set things up correctly.”

He said he can make a difference in the community by cleaning up litter.

Jackson also shared that his “favorite foods are asparagus, carrots and potatoes. It is important to eat healthy so your teeth don’t rot and you don’t get sick.”

As for exercise, he said, “I like jumping jacks. It’s important to exercise so your body stays healthy.”

He said he has learned to cook desserts from his family. He likes riding go-carts and playing Fortnite, and playing with his dog, and wants to be a YouTuber when he grows up. 

Jackson added that his most favorite thing about BASE is the staff.

The staff, in turn, said, “Jackson is such a great kid and we are happy to see his smile every day, Jackson always has positive things to say about BASE and comes to staff with great ideas, as well.”

Also during the program, Norris looked back briefly at the past year.

“Our mission at BASE is to provide quality out-of-school-time programs to kids,” she said. “As you can imagine, the past year-and-a-half has been a challenge for us.” 

She said that BASE held programs in the park, did virtual outreach and hybrid programs, and for the first time ever, held a summer STEM camp, thanks to a grant from the Batterman Foundation and Spacesaver Corp.

“We were open for 10 weeks this summer, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30. We had over 100 kids,” Norris reported.

She also outlined BASE’s proposed building project, for which a capital campaign currently is underway.

The Fort Atkinson Community Foundation has issued $2.75 million challenge grant to BASE to help purchase and renovate the former W.D. Hoard & Sons Co. printing plant on the north end of Edward Street. It would be transformed into a permanent home for the BASE program, as well as provide a community recreational space and house a new teen center for Fort Atkinson youth.

The 37,000-square-foot facility designed by MSI would include classrooms, a gym and walking track, commercial kitchen, Early Childhood Center for youth ages 4-6 and a teen center, Norris said. 

“It also includes showers and a laundry room so we could be a shelter for homeless people in the winter if they need it,” she continued. “So we’ve really taken this seriously, (designing it) to become a facility that is used all the time — open during the day so people can come in and walk and for young kids to come in and play in the gym.”

The center would have specific classrooms for science, technology and art.

“This is a really big investment for the organization, and for the community in total,” Norris said. 

The “challenge” portion of the foundation grant means that in order to receive foundation’s $2.75 million grant, BASE must first raise $2 million toward the project. The overall pricetag of the project is just over $8 million, which includes eventually raising $3.5 million for an endowed fund to help cover the cost of operating the facility.

Norris explained that the $8.75 million budget includes three components: purchasing the building, renovating the building and then building an operational endowment to make it financially sustainable.

“The $3.5 million endowment fund will generate income to help offset operational costs of the building,” she said. “We feel that it’s really important to build that into the initial fundraising … it’s just really important to us that its financially sustainable right out the door.”

Norris pointed out that, as a nonprofit, BASE relies on the community’s generosity. For example, $50 and $100 donations help enrichment programs, while $250 provides professional development opportunities to staff, $500 helps buy new academic materials and recreation activities. $1,000 provides a scholarship for one child for the entire school year, $2,500 helps a child attend summer programs and $5,000 covers BASE operations for two weeks.

All donations toward are appreciated, she said.

While all donations are welcomed, the building project does have some levels of support for donors: Friend, $250-$2,499; Leader, $2,500-$9,999; Pioneer, $10,000-$24,999; Dreamer, $25,000-$49,999; and Visionary, $100,000-$4 million. 

Naming opportunities, with donation amount noted, include: facility, $4 million; gym and walking track, $1 million; Early Childhood Center, $500,000; teen center, $500,000; kitchen and multipurposeroom, $25,000; makerspace (two available) $250,000; STEM classroom, $250,000; technology classroom, $250,000; learning classroom (two available), $100,000; outdoor classroom, $100,000; and art room, $100,000.

For more information about the project, visit https://www.basefortatkinson.org/futurehome. 

Harvest Dinner sponsors included Jones Dairy Farm, Kutz Dairy, Fort HeathCare, Spacesaver, Johnson Financial Group, PremierBank, Baker Glass, US Cellular, IPEC, Wayne Hayes Real Estate, mk Cellular, MSI General and Hausz Bros.