2010CivicAwards

 

The Cedarburg Foundation was pleased to honor Barbara and Layton Olsen as recipients of the 2010 Civic Award. The event, held at the Cedarburg Cultural Center on February 25th, honored the couple as business owners who have devoted time, talent and treasure to the community for more than 25 years.More than 200 people attended the event, which is held each year to honor an outstanding volunteer(s) whose efforts have enhanced the community. “We have so many people who are improving and enhancing Cedarburg every day – but no one has done more in that regard than Layton Olsen,” said Bob Chmielewski, President. “Together Barbara and Layton have been a force in this community and have contributed to dozens and dozens of organizations through direct support or indirectly by serving on boards. We are very grateful.”In his remarks honoring the couple, civic event chair and board member Jim Coutts said “Cedarburg would not be what it is today without the hard work and dedication of both Layton and Barbara since they arrived in the area in 1984.” He traced their Cedarburg roots back to the first store they owned – Olsen’s Red Owl located on Mill Street. Soon after it opened, Olsen became involved in the Cedarburg Chamber of Commerce and the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club, where he became very involved in numerous initiatives, including the resurrection of the Music Festival, bringing the Wisconsin Singers and the UW-Madison Band to Cedarburg High School and spearheading the Haunted High School. He served as President of Rotary in 1995 and remains on the board to this day. He also serves on the board of the Cedarburg Performing Art Center Inc., where he plays an active role in its Visiting Artist Series.Referring to Olsen’s Piggly Wiggly on Washington Avenue which they have operated since 1991, Coutts said the store has been a hub of fundraising activity as well as enriching the lives of hundreds of citizens, most notably high school students. “The store has become a place of opportunity not only as a part time job, but as a place to earn scholarships and public recognition for academic achievement,” he said. The store donates bakery and other items to local food pantries, including Family Sharing of Ozaukee County, of which Barbara has been on the board for more than a decade and is currently immediate Past President.”Perhaps the biggest contribution the Olsen’s have made is through their appreciation and love of music,” said Coutts, who explained that Olsen approached the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary in 2000 to underwrite the cost of a music festival should he not be able to get enough sponsors. He raised $16,000 from sponsors and the festival attracted eight drum and bugle corps from around the region. In its first year, the event netted a profit of $16,000. To date, the festival has brought in more than $300,000 which the Rotary Club has dispersed to local individuals and community organizations. “Layton said their success is measured by their ability to give back to the community,” Coutts said. “That being said, they are the most successful couple we know.”