Fond du Lac, Wis. (May 25, 2022) – Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Leadership Advisory Committee named Sherry Behnke (’02) as the 2023 recipient of the Donald G. Jones Leadership Alumni Award. Behnke was presented with the award during the Leadership Fond du Lac Completion Ceremony on Wednesday, May 17 at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts. The Donald G. Jones Leadership Award was created in 2001 and honors the former area businessman who played a major role in founding and supporting the Leadership Fond du Lac program. This award, made possible by National Exchange Bank & Trust, recognizes a past graduate of the Leadership Fond du Lac program for the effort they have put forth in helping improve their community through volunteer service and utilization of their leadership abilities. Behnke is a Consumer Study Manager at Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Neenah, Wisconsin with more than 38 years at the company (in a variety of roles including research & engineering and business process development). Behnke is active in the community and North Fond du lac School District, as well as on several boards and committees. She is most proud of her family – husband, Tom and sons, Ryan and Riley – and their commitment to giving back to their community. “The Leadership Fond du Lac program was really just the nudge I needed to expand my role in my community,” Behnke said. “Remember, there’s always an opportunity to make new connections – embrace them, share them with others. Promote the Leadership Fond du Lac program whenever you can and together, as alums, we can continue to make the Fond du Lac area communities and beyond a better place for people to live, work, and play.” Behnke served as a Fond du Lac County board supervisor from 2002-2014. In addition, she served on the Fond du Lac County Board of Health since 2008, serving as Chair from 2014-2022. Behnke is active in the Village of North Fond du Lac, serving as a citizen member of the village planning commission since 1990, and holding the Chair role since 2000. Previously, Behnke also served on the Volunteer Center of Fond du Lac County board from 2001-2007. Beyond civic involvement, Behnke founded the Fond du Lac County and Beyond Autism Support Group. In 2003, she created a forum to gather parents, educators, and community members to learn and share information monthly. She worked with the North Fond du Lac School District and Police Department to address a need to identify homes with children on the autism spectrum who may need different forms of communication or intervention during an emergency. This project expanded to training in several Fond du Lac County police and fire departments about how to interact with individuals on the autism spectrum. Behnke also actively supported the North Fond du Lac School District as a member of the Touchdown Club from 2010-2016 and the Facilities Committee in 2015. She is the current Communications Coordinator for the Backpack Buddies program which provides food bags for students, grades K-5, within the school district. Lastly, Behnke, along with her family, has worked to address community needs including matching donations for pedestrian (warning) signs placed in busy intersections, amongst other projects and donations. Leadership Fond du Lac, a program of Envision Greater Fond du Lac, is currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 class, a nine-month program that provides information and experiences to individuals who are willing to commit to serving their community. Accepted applicants learn about local institutions and issues and put their skills and knowledge to use through the required small-group community project. Through the program, individuals develop leadership, interpersonal and communications skills, and develop a strong network throughout the community. For more information, contact Envision Greater Fond du Lac at 920.921.9500 or info@envisiongreaterfdl.com.
