Becky Beissel

We held our first Elevate Ellsworth community volunteer day on Wednesday, May 29, as an extension of our Rock the Block initiative through Habitat for Humanity last September. The inspiration for this community-wide volunteer event came from Mayor Ann Groves Lloyd of Lodi. Mayor Lloyd and I discussed the importance of community engagement while on a panel together at the 2022 League of Wisconsin Municipalities CEO Conference. Lodi's event, Lift Lodi, aims “to cultivate a sense of community connectedness through a devoted day of service that brings Lodi together to revitalize what's around us and lift what's within us.” This mission resonated with us and became a guiding principle for Elevate Ellsworth.

This year’s event in Ellsworth provided a wonderful opportunity to address some much-needed maintenance projects throughout our community. During our planning, we identified East End Park as a priority due to issues like peeling paint on pavilions and swing sets, rotting wood, a broken basketball hoop, and rusted metal railings. While not all tasks were completed on the day, our dedicated Public Works crew finished the remaining work in the following days. If you haven't seen the updated bathrooms in East End Park, be sure to visit and see the remarkable transformation with fresh paint and new wood! We also made improvements in front of the old library building and in the parklet on Broadway Street.

A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Oran Nehls, Principal of Ellsworth High School, for leading this initiative. We were fortunate to have a large group of high school students who contributed throughout the day, particularly in East End Park. We also extend our gratitude to the businesses and organizations that participated: Village of Ellsworth, Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth Chamber, CCF Bank, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services/SwiftCurrent, Common Man Tap & Table, and YB Urban?. Special thanks to Ace Hardware and Reuvers' Nursery for their support.

The importance of maintenance and upkeep was highlighted by our community in the 2022 Comprehensive Plan update. Maintaining a community is vital for fostering civic pride, enhancing quality of life, creating a safer and more cohesive environment, boosting economic prospects, and improving residents' psychological well-being. When a community is well-maintained, residents feel more proud, engaged, and invested in its future.

In addition to maintenance, our downtown corridor is looking fantastic with annual flower baskets, planters, light pole banners, and American Flags. This beautification effort is a collaboration between the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Ellsworth. The Chamber, through fundraising efforts like the Cheese Curd Festival and member support, funds the light pole banners, hanging flower baskets, stone planter flowers, and brick planter flowers in East End Park, as well as the watering of these flowers. The Village of Ellsworth assists by hanging the light pole banners and providing the UTV for watering. This collaboration is yet another example of how working together can lead to wonderful improvements in our community!