Bob Hansen named 2020 Batavia Citizen of the Year
In a year where nothing is "normal" and everyone can use positive news, the Batavia Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to announce that the 2020 Citizen of the Year is Robert "Bob" Hansen. Additionally, the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry and Clothes Closet is the Spirit of Batavia award winner for 2020.
Normally, all awards, including the chamber's Ole Award winners, would be presented in January 2021 during "Inspire 2021: A Celebration of Those Who Inspire Us!"
Because of the pandemic, this event is moved to May 2021.
Margaret Perreault, president and CEO of Batavia Chamber of Commerce, commented on the slate of honorees.
"Truly great people do not have it as a goal to be a great person," Perreault said. "It is never about the accolades they will receive. Great people just like to help and make a difference in small ways. It is in that determination that makes them inspirational. In Batavia, we are blessed with humble leaders who are willing to make a positive difference."
This year, during a pandemic, Batavia has witnessed many groups and individuals offer assistance to those who need it and to our community as a whole by activating volunteers and the public to support businesses, front-line workers, families in need and offer a platform for education and change.
"I am forever grateful for these individuals who understand that 'the time is always right to do what is right,' as Martin Luther King said," Perreault said. "Batavia is a community that historically steps up to help in a big way when necessary.
"I am so pleased that the Batavia Chamber can help honor these people," she concluded.
<h3 class="breakHead">Citizen of the Year</h3>
Rob Hollis, in his nomination letter, described Bob Hansen as "one of the most community-oriented people that I've had the pleasure of knowing." Hansen has been involved with Batavia community events and initiatives since he first took over Funway Entertainment Center, 1335 S. River St., in 1990.
Hansen is currently serving as president of the Batavia MainStreet board of directors and is in his second term. Although he's worked with many boards and organizations, including the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, his voluntary project during the past year is one of the most visible - and likely to be one of the most important - in Batavia's recent history.
As described in a nomination letter from Marcia Boyce, "Bob is one of the main contributors and a major driving force behind the idea, planning, construction and operations of the very successful Batavia Boardwalk Shops that opened in the height of the pandemic."
She went on to comment that these tiny shops "are the epitome of 'an improvement program of significant value to the Batavia community,'" which is one of the qualifying factors for Citizen of the Year selection. The Boardwalk Shops are a cooperative effort between Batavia MainStreet and the City of Batavia. The idea was to construct 8 to 12 small, movable retail shops that would be placed in Batavia's downtown and provide a location for small businesses that aren't ready to rent permanent spaces yet.
Once the concept was approved, Bob volunteered to be project manager for construction. He provided space to build off-site, managed the costs, recruited many volunteers, and personally contributed hundreds of volunteer hours and financial backing, according to Ms. Boyce.
When the costs were higher than expected, Bob led an effort to partner with the high school to build two of the shops, said Hollis. He also explained that Bob found a Batavia architect, Steve Vasilion, to design the shops, and Hansen solicited sponsors to help fund the increased costs of building materials.
Under Bob's direction, the eight shops were constructed and opened to the public on June 13. Even during a pandemic, shoppers embraced the concept. Now at the close of their first season, five of the eight shops have signed brick and mortar retail leases to continue their businesses in Batavia. As a business incubator, this has been a resounding success story.
<h3 class="breakHead">More than a Builder of Boardwalk Shops</h3>
Bob Hansen has been a prominent player in many other community events. Batavia Mayor Jeffery Schielke described him as "an all hands-on type of guy."
"Whatever he jumps into, he goes in with full force and with determination that he's going to get something accomplished," Mayor Schielke stated. "Bob has been, I think, very visionary as far as what the needs or wants of Batavia are."
Through the years, many other projects took off because of his efforts. He chaired the committee that organized the event "Post to Present: Celebrating 60 Years of Skating in Batavia." This photo recreation of "Skaters on the Pond" drew more than 500 people to the Depot Pond on a frigid January day in 2018.
Other noteworthy community additions can be attributed to Hansen, as either the initiator or a driving force behind it. These include the addition of the pet parade during Windmill City Fest and the Halloween Parade before it morphed into BatFest. He started "Socks with Santa" where Funway would put together stockings for Santa to hand out during the annual tree lighting ceremony. He also provided Santa, the DJ and sound system for the event. The "Celebration of Lights" has now become a Batavia Park District mainstay.
As a business owner, Hansen has always been gracious in supporting the schools, Batavia Youth Baseball, and most any group that needed a donation or space to make their own events successful. Before local youth could head over to the Fox Valley Ice Arena, Funway opened their skating rink to hockey enthusiasts, facilitating the teaching of hockey - albeit roller hockey - skills to youngsters, complete with their own league, too. Post Prom parties have long been hosted at Funway, providing area youth a fun and safe alternative for continuing prom after the dance ended.
For his work with the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, Hansen was named the Donna Dallesasse Award winner in 2010. His first term on the chamber's board of directors was when Donna Dallesasse was still the executive director, in the early 1990s. In 2018, Hansen was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daily Herald's Business Ledger Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards.
As to Hansen's reaction, he said he "was shocked" when Mayor Schielke called to tell him that he was named the 2020 Batavia Citizen of the Year. He commented that he was always just one person of a team of people who made things happen. When asked what his motivation was, he said that his reward was to create memories and fun for people.
"Whether it's a game of bowling, a weekend of skating or go-kart rides, an event downtown where you see Santa Claus, skating on the Depot pond - all those things, including seeing the tenants of the Boardwalk Shops succeed, is the reward," Hansen said. "Memories, that's why I do it."
Hansen married Janet Wagner five years ago. Two of his three adult children currently work at Funway Entertainment Center. The eldest, Linnea Omholt, has two preschool-age boys with her husband, Kyle. She worked at Funway during high school and college and now is a physical therapist with Edward Rehabilitation Services and Sports Medicine.
His other daughter, Jackie Sommerfeld has a 1-year-old with her husband, George. Besides chasing down a toddler, Jackie is involved with marketing for Funway.
As he transitions toward taking over full management of Funway, Dominic, the youngest sibling, currently serves as Funway's operations manager.
In describing Hansen's contributions, Rob Hollis may have said it best in his nomination letter.
"To sum up, Bob is one of the best humans I know," wrote Hollis. "He's invested heavily in our town and has worked tirelessly for 30-plus years to help make Batavia a better community. We are blessed that he decided to settle in our town."
<h3 class="breakHead">Spirit of Batavia Award</h3>
The Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry and Clothes Closet is this year's recipient of the Spirit of Batavia Award. This is the fifth year the award is given to an organization that has made significant contributions to the Batavia community. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is led by Eileen Pasero, who was named executive director in September 2019. Other staff include Jen Meiring, director of the Clothes Closet, and Laurie Franco, assistant director of food pantry. A large contingent of volunteers and a volunteer board, with Jim Perreault as president, keeps the organization humming.
"There are many dedicated people who've stepped up to be involved with the food pantry," stated Mayor Schielke. "It is a really stellar organization that really speaks to the heart and soul of Batavia, providing food, comfort and clothes to people who otherwise might go without.
"I feel very strongly that they deserve this award. They have really risen to the occasion at this time of COVID-19, helping to make Batavia a welcoming place while maintaining a low profile," the mayor concluded.
When speaking with Eileen Pasero, she commented that she is incredibly honored and humbled to be receiving this award.
"I am overwhelmed every day at the unending generosity of this community," Pasero said. "This year has been a challenge, but it's been a challenge for everyone.
"We knew we'd need to change the way we serve our clients," she continued. "We still need to get clients what they needed, but in the safest way possible."
To that end, the food pantry developed an online ordering system with drive-up, curbside contactless distribution. For clients who are uncomfortable with online ordering, a paper form is available. The form is in English, Spanish and as a pictograph. Volunteers do all the shopping for all clients.
Currently the food pantry serves about 725 families while utilizing around 35 volunteers. Another 20 volunteers help staff the Clothes Closet. This number is significantly fewer than a normal year, when nearly 600 people volunteered, including church groups, student service hours and others. According to Pasero, the number was greatly decreased to limit coronavirus exposure in the food pantry.
"I have a dedicated volunteer group," commented Eileen. "I am so grateful to our staff, our board, and our volunteers because they're the ones that are making it work. I cannot express my gratitude toward them enough because they are rock stars."
To learn more about the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry and Clothes Closet, visit bataviafoodpantry.org or www.facebook.com/bataviafoodpantry.
A committee of previous recipients of the Citizen of the Year award selects the Batavia Citizen of the Year from nominations received from the community. This group also chooses the Spirit of Batavia group honoree.
<h3 class="breakHead">Batavia Community Impact Award</h3>
Because of this year's unique circumstances, many special projects/initiatives emerged. The committee felt that two of them deserved special recognition and created the Batavia Community Impact Award. Selected to receive the honor for 2020 are:
"Taking Care of Our Caretakers," led by Jamie Saam and Sarah Vogelsinger, with committee members Kurt Hagemann, Marcia Boyce, Abby Beck, Jamie Koc and Katie O'Brien;
Batavia Peace Rally on June 3, led by Isabella Irish and Katya Smith.
In awarding these, the committee stated, "We want to recognize the one-time efforts of exceptional merit. The two projects called people to action and were inspirational. We will be proud to honor them at 'Inspire'."
For consideration in future years, the following criteria was established. The project or initiative is a one-time program outside career responsibilities or expectations of an organization that occurred in Batavia by a Batavia organization or resident. Project is inspirational and demonstrated kindness, generosity and goodwill in our community. Any winners will be determined by Citizen of the Year discussion and selection. The committee is not required to issue the award each year.
Batavia's Citizen of the Year, the Spirit of Batavia honoree, Ole Award and the new Batavia Community Impact Award winners are to be presented at the annual awards event for the Batavia Chamber of Commerce. Because of COVID-19, the event, "Inspire 2021: A Celebration of Those Who Inspire Us!" will be postponed until May. Please watch for more information next spring.
<h3 class="breakHead">About the Batavia Chamber of Commerce:</h3>
A local business-centered organization, the Batavia Chamber of Commerce sponsors or is involved with several annual Batavia events, including the Annual Mayor's Breakfast, Citizen of the Year/Ole Awards Event, and much more. The president and CEO is Margaret Perreault. For membership or details on upcoming chamber and community events, visit www.bataviachamber.org or call (630) 879-7134.