Every year during the annual campaign, UFAH solicits over 500 businesses and members of the community to raise funds for twelve member organizations. We are proud to announce Dr. Robert and Maureen Freedland as our 2022 Campaign Chairs. Robert is now a retired physician, having spent the last 26 years of his 35 years in ophthalmology and surgery with the Mayo group. Painting is one of the new hobbies he now has time to enjoy. Maureen is an advocate and public servant currently serving on the County Board.
Asked to lead the UFAH fundraising campaign, Robert stated that it is an honor to say “yes,” especially now that he has the extra time to devote to that effort with Maureen who has already accomplished so much working with many different groups in this community. She had a very successful campaign to be Conductor Wannabe and took the stage to conduct the La Crosse Symphony, a UFAH recipient. Maureen knows the intense behind-the-scenes need to fundraise to support the arts and is happy to have that formal role here. We are not all artists, but she feels we must support the arts.
Supporting the endeavors of the organizations that illuminate the arts and humanities is very important. UFAH actively demonstrates and stimulates the positive potential and success of the higher aspirations for all people in each group as well as all those fortunate to live in this community. This is especially true as we emerge from social distancing, living behind masks, and now having to witness the tragedy of people going to war, using violence against each other.
The key phrase ‘Recharge!’ will be the focus of their effort this year. This key word seems like very good optics (coming from an ophthalmologist) for re-starting or kick-starting our focus and return to normalcy in our community through the activities and efforts of the different arts and humanities groups in the area. Richness and depth of efforts from each group under the UFAH umbrella and similar groups at our colleges and in our community make this area a special place to live and work. All of these opportunities are in this naturally beautiful physical location on this planet.
The goals are modest, and regardless of what our target is or what we eventually succeed in raising, the effort is laudable. It is truly our fortune to have an abundance of high quality groups dedicated to the arts and humanities to inspire us and whose efforts are there for all of us to enjoy.
Robert and Maureen are humbled and happy to together follow in the footsteps of former chair people for this UFAH effort to support and enhance the lives of all people in the greater tri-state area.
Music, art, theatre, and history can positively change the trajectory of your life. Help us improve our community by working together.
The arts empower us to see beyond the boundaries of our own lives and encompass the world as community.
Toni Asher
Pump House Regional Arts Center
Each day we find a new discovery that tells us more about the lives of those who came before us. The thrill of adventure and the excitement of mystery carries a brightness to aspiring archaeologists everywhere.
Kassie Haines
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center
The impact of the arts and humanities
The La Crosse area is like no other with unmatched natural beauty, a vibrant and growing city center and an arts community second to none.
In one year, the arts contribute approximately $32.7 million to our local economy and generate 1,100 jobs. — 2015 Americans for the Arts Study
The arts and humanities not only benefit the local economy, they benefit our spirit and well-being. They give us the chance to step out of our everyday lives and experience beauty, expression and inspiration.
2022 Campaign Events
Our first event of 2022 was at the Capella for the Performing Arts in honor of Mark Mattison and our second event was at the Bentley-Wheeler home in honor of Marie Louise Lokken. Between both events, we raised $12,812, and our guests enjoyed performances by guest artists and member groups. We had two hands on art projects by the Pump House and a shovel test by the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center.
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